Hobart Airforce 500534 250ci Light Weight Plasma Cutter with Air Compressor

by Hobart

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Airforce 250ci uses an electrical arc and compressed air to cut steel, Aluminum and other conductive metals. Designed to cut up to 1/4-inch Steel by using a standard household current. A built-in air compressor and lightweight inverter power supply make this Plasma Cutter the most convenient, totally portable cutting system available. The Air force 250ci excels at cutting sheet metal and 1/8 in mild steel. Weight of Machine is 27-pounds.

Product Description

Designed to cut up to 1/4" mild steel and powered by standard 115 VAC, the AirForce™ 250ci Plasma Cutter has a built-in air compressor and lightweight inverter power supply, making it the most convenient, totally portable cutting system available.Cuts faster than oxy/fuel. Cuts any conductive metal. 16.5 ft. (5m) torch &work clamp leads

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 31.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000R8UN6G
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,565 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #47 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Power Tools > Welding Tools > Welders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hobart has another winner., March 30, 2009

By 

D. Broncheau (Spokane WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hobart Airforce 500534 250ci Light Weight Plasma Cutter with Air Compressor (Tools & Home Improvement)

Perfect little machine for the home hobbiest. I bought this machine for sheet metal work and the ocassional 1/4" chunk. Cuts like butter through thin steel, takes a little more time on the 1/4" stuff. But its alot cheaper to operate on sheet metal and mild steel than oxy-acetylene. Best feature of this unit is not having to adjust a single thing, no air pressure, no amperage adjustment. Just pull the trigger and cut away.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amateur Car Restorer, March 28, 2010

By 

Brian R (Reading, Pa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hobart Airforce 500534 250ci Light Weight Plasma Cutter with Air Compressor (Tools & Home Improvement)

I bought this Plasma cutter for cutting sheet metal and various Rusty parts off my 76 Trans Am and I must say for the size of this little box and the cost, I'm very impressed. The unit is like they say plug in and play. I found it very easy to fit into my Hobart upright cart along with my Hobart Handler 140 (also an awesome welder) so if you're concerned about size, don't be, it's about the size of 2 six packs. Key features I like about it are that I don't need to use my air compressor on it, it has one built in. This way I don't have to adjust the regulator or any. Also, it only throws sparks about 1-2ft, I've heard horror stories of Plasma cutters throwing sparks for 4-6ft. I'm working in a small one car garage and I don't like having to worry about fires and such when working. Now as for cutting depth. The book states it can do 1/4in thick steel. I believe if you have perfect conditions it can do this with a pass or two. I have found in my own experience that it will at least cut 1/8th to 3/16th. (I had to cut off my rear frame off my car and it worked great.) And as for 20-22gauge steel, it'll cut through that like butter.

Now the cons, he ground cable isn't very flexible. It seems almost as if it were solid wire instead of stranded. I'm comparing this to my welder's ground cable and it is much more flexible. Another con is that I'm not very good at it so it keeps turning on and off and when it turns off you have to wait for the compressor to refill (3-5sec) before you can start again. Not a huge con but annoying if impatience is a character trait. It does however run rather quiet, I can talk over the sound of the compressor. Other than that I can't really thing of other draw backs. They do come with a 3 year warranty from Hobart, I called hobart up and I talked to one of their repair technitions and he said he barely ever gets plasma cutters in, they mostly get welders that have been on the job site for 10-15 years. So I do agree that hobart is an AWESOME BRAND. So I my point with that is don't be afraid to purchase one used for a couple bucks less. It's worth it! I guess that about wraps it up.

Final Notes: I would recommend this to a friend for medium to light duty cutting. I would not recommend this to a daily use shop. I would suggest a size a bigger than this.

Biggest Con: Ground Cable flexibility
Biggest Pro: Aircompressor built in and uses 115v 20amp circuit.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Low Power - Useless Piece of Junk, July 18, 2009

By 

Tim Daycounter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hobart Airforce 500534 250ci Light Weight Plasma Cutter with Air Compressor (Tools & Home Improvement)

I was greatly disapointed with this. I had difficulty cutting even 14 gauge steel. I had to go extreemly slow, and got a very sloppy cut, because the power was so slow. It came with a extreemly cheap tip guide, made of a piece of bended wire. This kept rotating as it passed along my straight edge, causing further frustration. [...] I guess you just expect more.

I wouldn't recommend buying this to any person, for any application.