Am I expecting too much?

[Stout]

You are cutting these pieces in a clockwise direction right?

Water or contamination is also suspect. Put a piece of paper towel under the torch and turn on the air flow. See if the paper towel absorbs anything.

[GPM870]

Yes I am cutting in a clockwise direction, I always have to double check to make sure of that. Machinist by day, I cut in a counterclockwise direction (tool rotating clockwise) so plasma feed direction is always "backwards" to me.
I had the curage (or stupidity) to cut some more parts out of aluminum on Saturday. Checked and rechecked all my settings and brand new consumables again right out of the package. I dropped the water level down to about 2" below the plate and started cutting. It went better than last time but after 18 parts (54 pierces and 324 inches) the consumables were shot! I only lost two parts that were so bad I had to scrap them. I think I am done working with aluminum for a long time. Here is a picture of some of the parts.
Thanks to everyone here at Plasmaspider for all your assistance and knowledge. I can't think of anywhere else were a person can go to learn so much from so many people. I just hope I can return the favor some day.
Gerry