Which TIG torch for an Air Products vis-arc?

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I aqquired an old Air Products THFC300RJ welder.  I researched it and found that it is the same as a Miller 330 ABP.    As a stick welder it welds great but I would like to be able to use the tig feature as well.   Its set up for a water cooled torch.   Do I have to use a water cooled torch or could I use and air cooled unit?    I will just be a hobby welder.  What would be a good torch that would work on this unit?     I would like to spend as little as possible at first as I'm not sure if the high frequency works or not.I'm new to TIG so any help or advise is appreciated!
Reply:You can get a weldcraft air cooled torch for around $130.My vintage equipment 1957 Lincoln sa 2001980's Lincoln 225 AC1952 F-2 ford truck1957 F-250 ford truck
Reply:The Weldcraft WP17 air cooled torch is usually good to 150 amps or so, but for short runs will go to 200 amp. Thats whats on my Syncro 200. If I crank up the amps to do alum, the WP17 gets hot fast and I have to stop and wait for it to cool down.A few thoughts to keep in mind. The WP17 air cooled torch uses different collets, gas lenses, cups and collet bodies than the stanard WP20 water cooled torch. That means if you go later to water cooled, you need to buy different parts than you already bought as well as a new torch. There is a water cooled version that uses the same parts as the WP17 torch, but you loose the nice small size of the WP20. If your cooler works, I'd take a look at the WP20 up front and think about what you plan to use the torch for. If you plan on doing alum, I'd seriously suggest you get the water cooled torch if the cooler works. You will need it most likely. If all you plan to do is light steel and SS, you can get away with the WP17 air cooled torch most likely..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWThe Weldcraft WP17 air cooled torch is usually good to 150 amps or so, but for short runs will go to 200 amp. Thats whats on my Syncro 200. If I crank up the amps to do alum, the WP17 gets hot fast and I have to stop and wait for it to cool down.A few thoughts to keep in mind. The WP17 air cooled torch uses different collets, gas lenses, cups and collet bodies than the stanard WP20 water cooled torch. That means if you go later to water cooled, you need to buy different parts than you already bought as well as a new torch. There is a water cooled version that uses the same parts as the WP17 torch, but you loose the nice small size of the WP20. If your cooler works, I'd take a look at the WP20 up front and think about what you plan to use the torch for. If you plan on doing alum, I'd seriously suggest you get the water cooled torch if the cooler works. You will need it most likely. If all you plan to do is light steel and SS, you can get away with the WP17 air cooled torch most likely.
Reply:I'm not that familiar with that exact machine. Steve (7A749) could probably tell you more on exactly how that unit works on that machine. The basics in a general sense, is that water is simply pumped from a resivour thru the torch and then back to a radiator and fan that cools the liquid and returns it to the resivour for another round. They are not all that complicated. You MUST have liquid flow to a water cooled torch or it will melt the torch. Usually the cooler is tied into the machine, so that when you power up the machine, you also power up the cooler. On my Syncrowave 200 that uses a seperate cooler, the cooler plugs into a 110v socket on the front that energises when the machine gets turned on. If you have the cooler on as soon as you flip the on switch on the tig, the cooler starts pumping coolant.Exact details on how the cooler is set up might be found in Millers manual on the 330 A/BP on Miller site. If not PM Steve and he can probably help you figure it out from the shop manuals he's got. Others here can posibly walk you thru testing out the cooler even with out the torch. Most likely you'd need some sort of tubing to link the two ports and to be able to check if you had flow (clear tube comes to mind first). That or a bucket to just dump the fluid into and only run it for a quick test..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks DSW!     I downloaded the manual from the Miller website so I will have to study it more.  By the way, your signature speeks VOLUMES!
Reply:I read the manual and found the valve I was talking about is just an on/off valve designed to be used with city water from a faucet.   The water coming out of the torch should go to an appropriate drain.It said that if you use a different cooling system then you should not route it thru the valve.   My thought is to build my own closed loop system.   I could find a small radiator from a motorcycle and a pump from a washing machine or something simular and wire it to turn on when I start the tig.   I could probably use the circuit from the water valve switch on the welder.
Reply:There's been any number of DIY tig coolers posted here. One thing is to be sure to use antifreeze in the cooler if you live in areas where the shop may freeze. You probably want to think about some small hockey puck cooling fan for the raditor also. I have a small radiator and fan stashed for a later cooler build project awaiting a cheap pump. A washing machine pump may be a bit too big, IIRC several guys have listed pump suggestions in several of the DIY threads.I have seen some guys use the simple city water trick also. City water in some areas is fairly harsh with lots of minerals and other junk. If nothing else it can get you going while you build the cooler.Good luck and post build picts..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan