Lorch V24 tig ac/dc some questions

[tobtig]

Hi all,

I have an opportunity to buy this Tig welder, Lorch V24. It's an ac/dc tig with watercooling.
There's not a lot of user info to find about it. Does anybody here have any experience with this specific machine?
The owner claims the watercooling function was turned off since he has it. Is there an easy way to check if it still works? Other than buying cooling fluid.
The machine is 13-14 years old. However it hasn't been used since 2012. Is that a good or bad thing? Are there any things that could go bad and I should pay special attention to?
I realise this is a HUGE machine, probably overqualified for the use I intend to do (furniture, also a lot of aluminium). Does this machine also work well on thin (aluminium) sections?

Btw, asking price is 2500€.

Thanks in advance.

 

[500e]

Welcome The Lorch expert will be along soon

 

[pedrobedro]

Had to have a look at this and google says it's good for 3 to 240 amps and is user friendly so should be a brilliant machine for all your needs if it works as it should. Try it out and if the price is right grab it before someone else does.

 

[Brad93]

In the background menu you can switch the cooler on and off.

 

[Brad93]

They’re great machines. Get the Serial Number, then @matt1978 can date the machine for you.

 

[tobtig]

In the background menu you can switch the cooler on and off.

Thanks. Yes, I already read about this in a manual I found online. Also which errror message I can expect if there's no coolant in it.
I just think it's strange he has this machine but didn't make use of the watercooling. Said it wasn't necessary for the work thry did.

 

[500e]

I understand you can soom fry a water cooled torch if no circulation

 

[123hotchef]

I understand you can soom fry a water cooled torch if no circulation

ask @Hood

 

[matt1978]

send me your email and serial number by PM. I’ll forward you a user guide and tell you the age

 

[matt1978]

The pump May of ceased of it wasn’t used for so long. At the front of the pump is a slot to place a screw driver, you can manually turn the pump to get it moving again. Would be important to top up with some Lorch coolant as it also contains a lubricant for the pump

 

[tobtig]

The pump May of ceased of it wasn’t used for so long. At the front of the pump is a slot to place a screw driver, you can manually turn the pump to get it moving again. Would be important to top up with some Lorch coolant as it also contains a lubricant for the pump

Thank you for the feedback.
On pictures I can't see the slot you mention (the pump is in the same enclosure as the rest of the unit). And do you mean turning the pump back and forth or continuously in same direction?
For the fluid, any idea how much is needed? Saw that you can get Lorch L33 in 1, 5 (or 25) liters.

Do you think this is the only issue I might encounter with the long period not being used?
Or are there any other (not-cooling) things I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[matt1978]

It’s through the Louvre on the front of the machine.

electronically wise they are built like a tank so shouldn’t be any major issues from not using it, prob best to give it a blowout and check over he connections.

I can put you in touch the right Lorch people in Belgium who can assist with the coolant.

Once you have some I’d bleed the system using the blue and red hose off the torch

 

[tobtig]

Once you have some I’d bleed the system using the blue and red hose off the torch

Could you elaborate?
Disconnecting red and blue hose. Does it then empty by itself, or will I need to turn on the pump or pump manually?
Nice to hear it's a tank. I like BIFL stuff.
Btw, do you think the price is correct? No idea what the going rate is. Only saw one other, auctioned for just under 2000€.

 

[matt1978]

Keep the Blue hose connected and the red hose disconnected, turn on the cooler in the sub menu and siphon the old coolant out then replace.

€2000 for a 12 year old machine seems a bit heavy to me, but I guess it’s dependant on the amount of hours welded. You can see that in the sub menu too:

what’s nice (depending on serial number) you could take it to a friendly lorch service centre and ask them to up date the firmware which would give you a Pulse Freq up to 20kHz as opposed to the standard 2kHz which was on the old software

 

[tobtig]

Thanks a lot.

 

[tobtig]

Small update.
Had the seller on the phone. Said he bought a machine above his needs. Hence he never came to needing the water cooling. The torch with cooling tubes is unused, still new in a box. It was always used with another torch.
Apparently it was used very little. Found where i can check the Operating Hours Counter. However, I have no idea what is good or how much hours mean it's been used a lot? Suppose it's like milage with a car. What is very good, acceptable or too much mileage for a (Lorch) welder?
In the manual I noticed there's a water pump test. Probably a silly question but can i do this test without any cooling fluid inside?

 

[Munkul]

The operating hours doesn't tell you very much - it might have been used 10000 hours at 50 amps, or 100 hours at 240 amps full whack, which would be a lot harder on it.
Bear in mind that the original owner presumably bought it with a lot of work in mind, since it's a very expensive machine to buy just to sit around.
I wouldn't think too much about it it's designed to work hard. As long as its maintained well

 

[Brad93]

I wouldn’t worry about the hours Too much, I’d judge the condition of the casing and any dust inside the machine. Is the workshop damp or is it dry and insulated.

I’d also consider the age of the machine and price versus purchasing a new machine with a warranty.

I can’t speak for European prices but a machine like a V24 would be in the region of £4000-5000 plus the water cooler plus the cost of your water cooled torch.

 

[Brad93]

If you can pick the machine up for £2500 and it’s clean and been maintained, then you’ve probably got a good machine. If they want £3500 I’d be looking at a new machine.

They’re a lot of money for a 250A machine but they are the top of the range, absolute workhorses.

Have you got work lined up for the machine?

 

[matt1978]

The cooling test just turns the pump on and will display the flow rate in l/min.

it needs coolant and for the torch to be connected or a loop to allow the flow