Are Cheap Plasma Cutters...Cheap? BestArc BTC500DP Review

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Chapters:
0:00 Welcome
1:05 Build Quality
3:06 Controls
4:20 Cut Tests
10:30 120 Volt Cutting
12:26 Bargain or Boat Anchor
Plasma Cutter, Pilot Arc BTC500DP 7th Generation 50Amps Screen Display Dual Voltage 110/220V Digital Plasma Cutting Machine (BTC500DP 7GEN 110/220V)

[@kwaaaa]

These cheap plasma opens a new world for weekend welders such as myself. Couple that with a cheap CNC, you can have yourself a plasma CNC. I built myself a plasma CNC for under $300 including the plasma cutter, kinda insane when you think about it.

[@superbarnie]

Under 300?! Even if the plasma cutter is only $200, can you really build a table and buy motors and a controller for only $100?

[@kwaaaa]

@@superbarnie Yep, I posted it on my channel. Not the most most heavy duty industrial one, but cutting out parts for your projects it will work perfectly. $25 GRBL board (mks dlc32) + $20 two NEMA stepper motors + $25 extruded profiles + $15 GT2 belts and wheels. Not much else needed except some frame it goes into. I built mine into a work cart so it doesn't take up space. Maybe if enough interest, I can make a video to give a run-down on how to toss one together for the non-tech people cuz it's not too difficult.

[@patrickfreeman8257]

I love these types of videos. Answer every question I have and a lot of questions I didn't even think of.

[@canamrider7195]

BestArc had HUGE discounts last November and December. I've used mine quite a bit and couldn't be happier.

[@elitearbor]

I recently lucked into a brand new Gen 2 for $140 from a surplus place. It's 100%, without question, worth that much and more. I can't believe how solid it's been for my uses, I expected it to be kind of junky as they're $300-350 new online.

[@TimWelds]

That's a sweet deal!

[@dogpotter]

I bought one of these a while back I think mine is a different model. But have only used it a time or two. I’m just a weekend warrior between this and my HF welder it will accomplish all my needs. Thanks for sharing

[@BobBlarneystone]

I'm primarily a woodworker, but I think with 240VAC available, that this would serve almost all my occasional artwork needs .

[@tedbastwock3810]

Tim, I very much appreciate and trust your review. I had no idea a plasma cutter could be had at such a price, got me considering for sure.

[@TookiesShop]

Great video! It’s been a great machine in my shop. I just upgraded to a PrimeWeld cut 60.

[@laserbeam002]

This cutter would be perfect for my simple needs

[@fitch8363]

My view of its performance in your well done test: For home hobbiest, it's intended market, that machine is a hell of a good deal. It performed really well out of the box. It includes air pressure adjustment as a cutting parameter which my $899 Harbor freight 45A Titanium Plasma Cutter doesn't have. The cuts looked really good to me. Nobody who needs a production machine would even look at it, and they shouldn't. But for the home hobbiest it's a great value in terms of capability for the buck.

[@bobmartin6055]

Thanks for sharing! Seems like a good unit for weekend projects.

[@danbance5799]

I've got a "CUT50" plasma cutter. It was less than $150 and it's great for anything up to 1/4". Maybe someone who actually knows what they're doing might get better results on thicker material. It really works best on thin stock (1/8" or thinner). Wouldn't recommend for a pro welder, but it meets my needs.

[@cyberfox981]

Great and honest review. I have similar machine (220V ver.) and for most of my metalworking needs thing working flawlessly coupled with 24L 240l/min air compressor. Of course this is not made for industrial use, but for hobby or even small workshop its more than adequate enough to get the job done.

[@ChaplainCross]

Great video, Tim. Thanks!

[@donaldhalls2189]

Here in Australia, we only have 240volt single phase power,but we do have 10Amp and 15Amp ,there is 415 3 phase for larger machinery, sounds like a decent machine for the price, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones

[@jamesmurphy9346]

Almost....almost passed by. Glad I watched. Very informative, straightforward, and got me off the Fence. You got a new subscriber.

[@TimWelds]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@grandy0406]

Great video. This is nice to see as I cannot really afford one of the really expensive ones. Thanks

[@jimyoungquist1687]

I have this plasma cutter. the pilot arc standoff keeps you from using templates, makes it hard to use straight edges, and relegates you to hand held cuts. It cuts well, but does not measure up to cut tips which can be used with templates. Now that they have the 80amp model, they should bring out their own torch which also has a gouging head, thus moving beyond the cheap plama cutter category into the hypertherm professional plama category.

[@TimWelds]

The standoff on that type of torch is my biggest complaint as well, it's not as good for templates. I asked them and tried it without the standoff just dragging the nozzle. It worked fine for me, but from what I understand, the consumables will take a hit.

[@Imiancrook]

I’m gonna see about getting this working with the MPCNC lowrider

[@mdnky]

They're definitely hard to beat for the price, especially for light duty (portable) use or for a hobbyist. I picked up the smaller 45-amp (BTC-450) in January when Amazon had it on closeout ($138). At that price, I figured it was well worth the risk. They actually advertised it as non-HF on the Amazon page, but I'm 99% sure that was a typo (manual included says HF). Even so, still worth grabbing. So far, it's worked great. I'm not using it in a shop or anything, but I did use it to cut some 12mm plate when tearing apart an old Caroni mower deck for scrap. Ran surprisingly ok (short durations) on 120, but definitely was way more capable on 240. Both it and the little multi-process welder I have should run fine on a 6kW inverter generator. They'll definitely be handy to have on longer off-road trips.

[@hanleypc]

I might have to get one of these but i'll have to get a small air compressor first.

[@drummerman1206]

I wonder if you could cut straighter and easier if the metal piece around the torch were turned so that the flat side was up against your guide piece instead of the curved part.

[@melgross]

This seems nice. I like the sophisticated display. I also like that the did the power cord properly, which is that the 240 plug is on the machine and the adapter goes from that to 120. That makes the adapter safer and the 120 plug won’t have to deal with more amperage at 240. As it’s so inexpensive, I wonder how long g it will last. The low efficiency shows that shortcuts were made. If someone uses this occasionally, it should be fine. I do wonder about the warrantee. Will they stand behind the product, or is the paper it’s written on all the warrantee is worth?

[@TimWelds]

It's hard to say how it will hold up. As long as they aren't dead on arrival, it seems like metal dust contamination, temperature swings and physical damage are usually what kills the electronics. For occasional use in a home garage, I imagine it will hold up okay. I don't know if they even offer a warranty beyond the 30 day return, though.

[@melgross]

@@TimWelds that lack of warrantees is what concerns me with these, and cheaper machines. Often the web site, if there is one, says to send it back to the manufacturer for warrantee service. Sure, ok.

[@Dr.CandanEsin]

I am eager to watch your upcoming videos because there are plenty of details you've thought could be useful before the presentation. Your tidy shop is very appealing, and I assume it is mainly for presentations. For your own protection it may be useful to cover the ceiling and walls with some sound absorbing material. While chips off sounds could be irritating for your hearing in long term. Excuse me for my over the line suggestion, but you are unbelievably valuable to us (my selfish gene spoke😒.)

[@jeffkohler21]

Their welder is awesome but the mig lead on it us super short. They have a new one they're working on coming out in a few months.

[@tinkering123]

Great review. Men n boys price of toys

[@MatthesGardens]

Did you try the 4T setting for the expanded metal?

[@squatch2461]

Thanks for this. Can you suggest compressor spec's to go with this for home shop 110V use, max. 1/4" plate? Most of the time would be with thinner material, . Thanks

[@TimWelds]

Bigger is generally better, but at a minimum I'd look for one with a 4 CFM pump and 10 gallon tank for intermittent use. I had a Fortress with those specs from Harbor Freight that I used for small cuts with my plasma and it worked. You might have to wait for it to catch up from time to time, though.

[@squatch2461]

@@TimWelds Thanks for the reply and info. Really appreciate what you do for us via your channel. 🍻

[@robertbrockman5029]

That is the same model I picked up about a month ago. The manual recommends 6.0 cf/m. I can get about 16” of cutting in 3/16” steel with a 3.7 scfm @ 90 psi / 8 gallon compressor before I outrun my air supply… and the machine will auto shut down if you run low on air. So you can run it on something smaller, but it starts to hinder you. But I’m doing hobby stuff. So it’s more than adequate if you need something light duty and cheap. This is definitely not a machine for serious work.

[@squatch2461]

@@robertbrockman5029 Cool, Thanks. Def. shady tree level only over here

[@donaldhalls2189]

What's happening with your new videos, been a while, all the best to you and your loved ones

[@TimWelds]

Thanks for asking, I appreciate it! I have a lot of videos planned and I'm fitting them in as I can between other work. All the best to you as well.

[@MakeAndFixItYourSelfProjects]

Let’s talk about that beautiful welding table 😍

[@TimWelds]

It's awesome! Siegmund system 16.

[@HH-cw1tl]

Hi Tim, is your table grounded

[@jasonburton4212]

Would increasing the pilot arc time help with cutting the expanded metal?

[@TimWelds]

I tried that and it didn't make any difference for me. It seemed like after the arc had transferred to the base metal, the pilot arc had to reinitiate no matter what the pilot arc time was set to.

[@meseahunt]

what type of air comp were u using? what psi on the air comp were u using?? did u order consumables for it, were they readily avail???

[@TimWelds]

I have a California air tools CAT-20040C, which is more than you would need for home use. I have the shop air at 90 psi, then the regulator on the machine drops it to about 50. It came with consumables and replacements are all over Amazon.

[@vettriveld5269]

How to control the welding electrodes stub length below 50mm Please Tell me

[@TimWelds]

I'm not completely sure what you mean; wouldn't you just keep welding until you're getting really close to the electrode holder?

[@jackdawg4579]

I think it did a mighty job for such a cheap machine.

[@TimWelds]

I agree, for what it is, it worked good.

[@njorogerufus7676]

Hey tim..am about to purchase a AC welding machine but i cant make sense of the specifications written ✍️ on it..i have taken a photo of it was hoping you can help .

[@TimWelds]

Send me an email at the address in my bio and I'll see if I can help.

[@blank_URL]

I'm new to this.does plasma cutter only need air from regular compressure?

[@TimWelds]

Yes, it just has to have sufficient capacity which depends on the specific plasma cutter, usually about 5-6 CFM at 90 psi.

[@dpatt6175]

How thick can you cut on a 15 amp breaker?

[@TimWelds]

I can't say for sure, but my guess is that it would work on 1/8" material for intermittent use. Given the high amp draw I saw, it may still overload the circuit on a lower amperage setting.

[@kenspaceman3938]

Will it work good with a 16A braker/fuse and 220V? How noisy is plasma cutting?

[@manyhammers5944]

16A at 220 is more than enough. Compressor noise and just the normal blowing sound. I have had my Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 35 for 20 years now. Pay attention to CFM required.

[@OldGuy70s]

I got the same crap ground clamp with a $700 welder...

[@TimWelds]

Ain't that just how things are going.

[@bryanthornton6787]

I can't help but wonder how many amps it actually puts out. If I measured correctly, my 65 amp version outputs 50 amps max. Mine also pulls 38-40 amps from the wall on 220v. Yeah, it's a cheap machine but no more than I'm going to use it there is no way I could justify the price of a higher end unit.

[@TimWelds]

I should have tested that when I had it hooked up. I've checked some cheap stick welders before and they fell quite a bit short of the mark.

[@dpatt6175]

Tim how come i never hear your compressor kick on?

[@josephnovotnak]

I could hear it

[@TimWelds]

It's a pretty quiet one as far as compressors go, but it was running.

[@nelsonglass6]

For a shade tree welder this seem doable

[@gourdbox]

I got 220 in my garage - are 220 extension cords a thing since this has a short cable?

[@PeterGrace2013]

Yep, I have an extension cord for my welder since i only have one plug rated for its amperage. Look for RV shore power extension cords, they're usually high amperage and 240v leads.

[@waylandgammill625]

Yes

[@JCWren]

I bought a Yeswelder 20ft 8 AWG cord on the jungle website for $70, and I use it with a 70A plasma cutter on a CNC table. The longest continuous cut I've done is probably around 8 minutes, cutting 1/4" plate. It never even got warm.

[@TimWelds]

There are a ton of them on Amazon when you search Welder extension cord.

[@brag0001]

Of course they are. All of Europe is 220 and I got a few 50m cords (roughly 164 feet) which are rated for 16A. You can even get them for 380V 32A, which I have in my garage for power hungry tools ...

[@321ooo123]

How come it's an "HF start", when there is clearly a pilot arc?

[@brag0001]

Cheap? I bought mine at LIDL for 70€ in February 😂 That should translate more or less 1:1 into $ and includes two years warranty, as this is the minimum by law in Germany.

[@TimWelds]

That's a great deal!

[@brag0001]

@@TimWelds It is. And to be honest, that's not the sticker price. Regular price is around 170€ right now on their website (PPS 40 B3). But they ran a sale this February where I just had to buy it. I didn't even own a compressor at the time. Took me another month to get a good deal for one 😅 But it really opened a whole new world of metal working for me as a hobbyist. Btw.: Even their "Professional" device called "PPSK 40 A2" is only 199€. LIDL has been offering some really cheap tools with acceptable quality under the Parkside brand in Germany these last years. Their competition has brought prices of other vendors down a lot as well.

[@brianschrand9211]

I don't see the need to pay for a high end unit unless you're a professional that uses them every day. Hobbyists or guys like myself that will use a tool like this maybe once a month the low end units are more than sufficient.

[@COLLAR01]

40 amps 120, melting wires in your walls, in no way should this be used that way

[@TimWelds]

I agree. I was surprised when it blew the breaker. After that happened, I thought it was important to measure the draw and share that info in the video so people know what they're getting. To their credit, it's disclosed in the manual, but I didn't look closely at those specs ahead of time. It has the 15 amp style plug so I just plugged it in.

[@COLLAR01]

@@TimWelds I do think i need one of those though lol