Consumable life

How often you need to change the consumables on your Powermax 45/65/85/105/125 will depend on a number of factors:

• The thickness of the metal being cut.
• The average length of the cut.
• Whether you are doing machine or hand cutting.
• The air quality (presence of oil, moisture, or other contaminants).
• Whether you are piercing the metal or starting cuts from the edge.
• Proper torch-to-work distance when gouging or cutting with unshielded consumables.
• Proper pierce height.
• Whether you are cutting in “continuous pilot arc” mode or normal mode.

Cutting with a continuous pilot arc causes more consumable wear.
Under normal conditions, the electrode will wear out first during machine cutting and the nozzle will wear out first when hand cutting.
A general rule is that a set of consumables lasts approximately 2 to 3 hours of actual “arc on” time for hand cutting, depending on these factors. For mechanized cutting, consumables should last about 3 to 5 hours.