[ Unusual Problem with a Hypertherm unit – low gas pressure ]

[CCorliss]

I work on Hypertherm plasma systems. In gas test it will display the output pressure for the torch length you have attached. A 20 ft lead should be be 66psi if I remember correctly. A 50 ft torch should be 70 psi. The regulator in the system is self adjusting to programmed values.

[adbuch]

I work on Hypertherm plasma systems. In gas test it will display the output pressure for the torch length you have attached. A 20 ft lead should be be 66psi if I remember correctly. A 50 ft torch should be 70 psi. The regulator in the system is self adjusting to programmed values.

Welcome aboard CC! That's some very useful information to know. Please tell us more about yourself, what table/cutter/software you are using, and any interesting projects you are working on or have completed. Do you work for Airgas or one of the other dealers?
Thanks for your input.
David

[Togata]

Thank you CCorliss,
Your answer goes in hand with what the other contributors had suspicions on.
I have a 20 ft lead, so this definitely make sense why I get only 66 psi.

[Togata]

Dear Community,

I am an owner of a Powermax 45 XP unit, It has been in use for 7 months only.

Recently, we have encountered a overheating problem in the unit, because the fan is overworked, we can hear a heavy sound due to the speed and airflow of the fan.
We can share a video, below you can find the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B_OEwO2_9TA?feature=share

This heavy sound was not normal, the unit was silent till now, I looked upon the service and operation manual and couldn't find a clue.

Could you please enlighten me on this subject?

[HypHyDef]

Dear Community,

I am an owner of a Powermax 45 XP unit, It has been in use for 7 months only.

Recently, we have encountered a overheating problem in the unit, because the fan is overworked, we can hear a heavy sound due to the speed and airflow of the fan.
We can share a video, below you can find the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B_OEwO2_9TA?feature=share

This heavy sound was not normal, the unit was silent till now, I looked upon the service and operation manual and couldn't find a clue.

Could you please enlighten me on this subject?

Hi Togata,
I've sent you a DM, please check that and get back to me. I think it would be important for you to contact our technical support team directly to ensure you get help as quickly as possible. I look forward to your reply.

[adbuch]

Dear Community,

I am an owner of a Powermax 45 XP unit, It has been in use for 7 months only.

Recently, we have encountered a overheating problem in the unit, because the fan is overworked, we can hear a heavy sound due to the speed and airflow of the fan.
We can share a video, below you can find the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B_OEwO2_9TA?feature=share

This heavy sound was not normal, the unit was silent till now, I looked upon the service and operation manual and couldn't find a clue.

Could you please enlighten me on this subject?

Maybe some debris caught in fan, or damaged bearings. I would take off he cover and have a look.
David

[SeanP]

A customer of mine has a XP45 he had to fit a new fan unit in his, the fan had detached from the motor, keep meaning to have a look at mine to check if it's ok
In the video it sounds same as my own XP45 though, as the weather warms up it does tend to run a bit more, compared to the old 45 a lot more!

[Togata]

Dear Community,

I am an owner of a Powermax 45 XP unit, It has been in use for 7 months only.

Recently, we have encountered a overheating problem in the unit, because the fan is overworked, we can hear a heavy sound due to the speed and airflow of the fan.
We can share a video, below you can find the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B_OEwO2_9TA?feature=share

This heavy sound was not normal, the unit was silent till now, I looked upon the service and operation manual and couldn't find a clue.

Could you please enlighten me on this subject?

Hi Togata,
I've sent you a DM, please check that and get back to me. I think it would be important for you to contact our technical support team directly to ensure you get help as quickly as possible. I look forward to your reply.

Dear HypHyDef,

The technical support doesn't reply to my emails, I already gave you my email, please put me in contact with someone.

Best regards,

[Togata]

Dear Community,

I am an owner of a Powermax 45 XP unit, It has been in use for 7 months only.

Recently, we have encountered a overheating problem in the unit, because the fan is overworked, we can hear a heavy sound due to the speed and airflow of the fan.
We can share a video, below you can find the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B_OEwO2_9TA?feature=share

This heavy sound was not normal, the unit was silent till now, I looked upon the service and operation manual and couldn't find a clue.

Could you please enlighten me on this subject?

Maybe some debris caught in fan, or damaged bearings. I would take off he cover and have a look.
David

I took a look at the cover, nothing is damaged, I found no debris inside the unit.
Also I only cut very small thickness galvanized sheet.

[Togata]

A customer of mine has a XP45 he had to fit a new fan unit in his, the fan had detached from the motor, keep meaning to have a look at mine to check if it's ok
In the video it sounds same as my own XP45 though, as the weather warms up it does tend to run a bit more, compared to the old 45 a lot more!

The fan is still intact, the fan is well installed and no debris to be signaled.

Could it come from a hardware overheating???! Or something else I can't see.

As a reminder I only cut 26GA galvanized sheet with finecut consumables.

[adbuch]

If your machine still cuts and the only problem is the fan noise, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. If the noise is really bugging you, then I would go ahead and order and install a new OEM replacement fan.
David

[Togata]

Dear David, what's worrying me is a possibility of a hardware/electronic board overheating which induce the high fan air flow. The noise isn't a problem.
I am worried that ignoring the noise could lead to a serious expensive fault on the 45XP unit.

[SeanP]

What temps is your workshop when it's starting running? on hot days I've seen mine start running even when not cutting.

[Togata]

I believe 77°F (25°C) ambient temperature in rare/worst cases. still didn't measure the temperature once the fan overheat.

[adbuch]

I don't remember where you said you are located. If possible, then take your cutter (or send it ) to an authorized Hypertherm dealer/repair facility for diagnosis and service/repair. I think this would be the best course of action.
David

[weldguy]

This topic is out of control, one thing after another all in the same topic, I can't keep up without going back and reading it all again! I will say your consumables look much better now It will be very difficult to get them burning much cleaner than that but it may get even better over time as the lines and torch lead clear out. As for the fan noise I wouldn't worry about it, worry about everything else, resolve all other issues, improve cut quality and speed where you can but don't worry about the fan.

[Togata]

Dear David,
I'm located in Morocco, My unit is still under warranty, unfortunately the local dealership doesn't want to get involved, because I didn't buy the unit from them, I bought it from outside the country as a part of a whole machine "plasma cutting table CNC".

I got so many great advices from this forum, like the fact that the 25 feet torch length is responsible for the 77 PSI output result from the pressure check. When I asked about it to the local dealership long time ago, they said they needed to repair the whole plasma cutting table including the CNC, which doesn't make sense after all.

This is why I keep posting here, sorry for bothering you guys.

Dear Weldguy, yes the topic took another turn, but I didn't forget about my consumables, right now there is still some little oil in the nozzle, I am waiting for the consumables to get worn, so that I could start a new compressed air compressor (this is a compressor in perfect state but he consumes too much energy) just to know if the excess oil comes from the oil that doesn't return well to the old compressor. This is my last suspicions around the consumables, before the filters are all good and set.

Now while waiting for the consumables to get worn out, so that I could insert new consumables with the new compressor.
I am having this issue with the fan, with a lot of noise.

Today, I did one sheet cut and the fan started making noise, not a lot, but just a little bit, I concluded there is no debris inside the fan, the problem could come from the electronic board overheating, but it is strange to meet such overheating while cutting 1 sheet only.

Here is the youtube link:

https://youtube.com/shorts/JXS_NDLRsQA?feature=share

I am maybe overthinking, but I just want to avoid a fault or a damage to the unit, and that's why I wanted to hear your opinions coming from your large experience using this units.

Best regards,

[HypHyDef]

Togata,
I've sent you another DM. I do not have the authority to assign you any technical support agent. If you are still concerned about fan noise you need to conatact our support team in your region. I believe you have talked to them before. However, I have to assume that without an error code or anything actually overheating and causing your system to stop cutting I'm not sure anyone will be able to help you. Maybe I have missed things in this long thread where you pointed to an error code, if I did please forgive and restate it again.

[Togata]

Dear HypHyDef,

I am a legit owner of an 45 XP unit, my warranty is still valid, I have fullproof of that.

However, once I contact the technical support agent through the website, I am assigned a european technician who immediately tell me to contact the local dealership. I am always assigned the same european technician due to my localisation, I can't reach anyone else.

Once I contact the local dealership, they don't want to get involved "under the warranty" because I didn't buy directly from them.

Which doesn't make sense, I bought a whole process unit "plasma cutting table cnc" with the Hypertherm unit as a part, the hypertherm unit has a reference bar where it is stated that is was bought legally from a manufacturer in china, and the unit is registered in Hypertherm database.

The manufacturer in China bought the unit from the Hypertherm dealership in China, who are supplied from Hypertherm headquarters from USA.

I can't see anything wrong from this. If I needed only the hypertherm unit I would have bought locally, but in my case I needed the specific cnc table plasma unit so I bought it from a manufacture in China.

Still I own the unit, so Why am I not getting the right to technical support?

When I contacted the local representative and the european technicians, they replied bad to me, stating that they don't want to reply to me anymore. Here is a link below to their reply.



I am sorry but due to the pandemic situation I can't afford getting my unit to China Hypertherm locals for a check.

I should be able to get support despite my localisation, But it is unfortunate that Hypertherm is badly represented in Morocco, they put their own profit interest before the customer rights.

Just for your information, the fact that I am making threads, on this forum or reddit or any other forum, was a last resort, because I couldn't reach someone who will hear my story, unfortunately I was cancelled down by the local representative in my country, due to their close relationship with the european department charged of taking care of owners of Hypertherm units in my country.

PS: I am so much thankfull for the treat and the patience that this stranger guys on this forum gave to me, even though I didn't buy the product from them. they invested their time to hear my problems and gave me advices, while I had no way to get any help from the technical support of the brand owners.

[Togata]

Togata,
I've sent you another DM. I do not have the authority to assign you any technical support agent. If you are still concerned about fan noise you need to conatact our support team in your region. I believe you have talked to them before. However, I have to assume that without an error code or anything actually overheating and causing your system to stop cutting I'm not sure anyone will be able to help you. Maybe I have missed things in this long thread where you pointed to an error code, if I did please forgive and restate it again.

Dear HypHyDef,

You heard my story, what am I supposed to do?

[HypHyDef]

Hi Togata,
it appears to me technical support has attempted to solve your issue and has concluded that there isn't any issue. As far as I can tell, and I might be wrong but I have not seen you mention any error codes or specifc cutting problems that haven't been sorted out by the guys on this forum. Hypertherm can't do anything for a problem that doesn't exist. I understand that you are feeling like something is wrong and you are trying to solve an issue before it happens. As others have said, if your plasma system is cutting fine don't worry about the noise the fan is making. If the unit is not shutting off while cutting then your system is not overheating. I will take your message that you sent me and forward that along. As a Hypertherm customer you are of course intitled to technical support while the system is under warranty and then some. You have spoken to technical support in Europe as well as here in the United States on multiple issues already so you are getting support. I'm sorry that you are not getting the answers you are looking for.