Thanks for sharing your experiences and troubleshooting steps so far. At the moment, it sounds like your abrasive flow may be experiencing difficulty. Especially since you have recently experienced a monster clog in the abrasive system.
With your observations of sometimes it will pierce/cut and other times it won’t, this is a sign that the abrasive flow-rate is dipping too low, affecting the cut. After a few moments, the flow-rate returns. A fluctuation in flow-rate can be difficult to troubleshoot. In order to test the abrasive flow-rate, you can follow the steps found here (Link)
Please measure the flow-rate and let us know what you find! If the specification is low (Ideal range being 130-150 g/min), I recommend cleaning the pinch valve solenoid due to the monster clog you experienced. This may help keep flow fluctuations to a minimal. Cleaning the pinch valve solenoid can be found here (Link)
Please let me know your abrasive flow rate, and if cleaning the valve has restored the flow more consistently!
When cutting without abrasive, please disconnect the abrasive hose from the cutting head. To be frank, I only plug the abrasive hose into the cutting head when I am ready to cut a material that requires abrasive. Leaving the hose disconnected from the cutting head will prevent any water/clogs forming in the hose.
P.S. A user has shared a custom made 3D printed abrasive hose holder, so the hose does not simply dangle in the tank during troubleshooting or cutting without abrasive. Check it out! (Link)
