Operating Costs

How much does it cost to operate the Glowforge, say for a 10 minute engrave plus cut file.

Meta-answer; It depends entirely on the power consumed which will depend on the design and the power output of the laser, which can vary considerably. I’d suggest you grab a kill-a-watt and measure the power consumption, then figure out what your electric company’s billing rate is and you should be able to calculate the energy cost.

Amazon has kill a watts for around $20. Useful device. I’ve used it to monitor power consumption on a bunch of different devices, but haven’t tried it on the GF yet.

https://amzn.to/2uy2caJ

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Your mileage will definitely vary, but operating my Basic costs <$2 per hour including tube wear (estimating 2000 hours lifetime and $500 replacement).

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Where did you get that the lifetime of the laser tube is 2000 hours?

Estimate provided by GF staff.

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thanks!