Elinchrom EL-500 - what you say?

What are these monoblocs like? I'm assuming they would be great, being one-time Elinchrom flagship model, but thought I'd ask. I have a chance to pick one up for much less than a song (right place, right time ). The decision has been made, my mate is practically giving it away, I'm just wondering how people like them (only three-stop range is something that worries me a bit, but they should work great with a Tronix Explorer XT).

So - what are they like?

I have a few. They are very solid (metal construction) and reliable - some of mine are 20+ years old and still working. They have no cooling fan but I've never seen one overheat.

You'll probably find that it will have slightly dropped in output over time making it more like a 400ws strobe by today's standards. The three-stop range is limiting in the studio, as is the lack of precise power adjustments, but outdoors you should find it quick & simple to work with and you won't want to be reducing the power much anyway.

That's exactly what I was thinking - outside it will be a blessing to have an analogue strobe, get many more flashes out of the battery pack. Now I have to see if he'll really give it away for a song... ring him first thing in the morning.