Tried a plasma cutter on 1-inch plate with a 20 amp breaker. Not my brightest move.

Was working on a job up in Gary last month, had to cut some 1-inch plate for a chute repair. My boss's plasma cutter was all I had, and the only outlet was a 20 amp breaker. Fired it up, got maybe 6 inches into the cut before it tripped. Reset it, tried again, tripped again. Spent 20 minutes messing with it before I just grabbed a torch. Learned real quick you can't run a 50 amp machine on a 20 amp circuit no matter how much you want it to work. Any of you guys run into this on job sites with iffy power?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.ryan26d ago

Man that six inches of cut sounds about right for a 20 amp breaker on a 50 amp machine. I did basically the same thing last spring on a job in Hammond. Had this older thermal dynamics plasma cutter, maybe a 2005 model, and I knew it needed more juice but I figured hey maybe it'll squeak by for a quick cut. Got about four inches into a half inch plate and the whole breaker box in that old warehouse started humming like it was gonna blow. Tripped it three times before I gave up and ran an extension cord to a 50 amp outlet in the next room. Its one of those lessons you only need to learn once but it sure is frustrating in the moment. Your boss definitely owes you a cold one for that one man.

kevin_roberts4126d ago

Holy crap man, 6 inches of cut on a 20 amp breaker is basically a miracle haha. I've had that same genius moment trying to run a 220v welder off a 110v outlet, got one bead down and the whole building went dark. A plasma cutter on a 20 amp circuit is like trying to run a semi truck on a lawnmower battery, it wants to work so bad but it just can't. Your boss probably owes you a beer for that 20 minute headache before you smartened up and grabbed the torch. Next time just bring a generator and skip the breaker roulette.