wattage

[Martin Kapostas]

Hello,

God gives me an 5x7 condenser enlarger. Its an old one. I am missing bulb from i t. The sticker says:

MAX 250V MAX 500W

What wattage use you or recommend ?

Thanks a lot.

Martin

[Ken Burns]

Martin:

Is the plug on the wire the type for a 110V outlet, or the type for a 220V outlet?

[neil poulsen]

I'm not an electrician, but assuming that you're using a 120 volt circuit, I would not want to go over 250 watts.

At 250 volts for 500 watts, you are running a 2 amp current. It's the current about which you need to be concerned in protecting the wiring, which is why fuses and circuit breakers are rated by the number of amps that they allow. So, if you halve the voltage, I think you would need to halve the wattage to stay within your limit on current. (Wattage = Voltage X Current.)