Where to get a replacement blub for a Beseler 8x10 MXT cold head lamp?

[VLB]

Hi,

I recently got a Beseler 8x10 MXT enlarger and was wondering if anyone knows where I would be able to get a replacement bulb for it. It's a florescent bulb 285mm x 290mm (see attachment). I did contact LCD Lighting and it seems that they don't have anything like it..however they can engineer one for me at a cost of around $1200. I would need to send them the actual head so their engineers could get the exact dimensions and they would produce a v54 tube, which I believe is what is currently produced for B&W enlargers. The advantage if they produce is that they would then have a template for particular type of blub resulting in subsequent orders costing much less. Any information or advice anyone can provide me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
VLB
61596

[Eric Woodbury]

If the one you have works, hang on to it and use it gingerly. Actually, I have never had to replace mine in 20 years or so. I've had different tubes, but never had to replace. I do hear horror stories about people breaking them. Contact Louise here:

Louise.Kessler@voltarc.com

and get on the list. Voltarc absorbed the old Aristo that made the original tube. They are still making tubes, but they have started with the smaller sizes and an working through the to the less popular models. They'll get to us soon. I'd expect a new tube to be $500, but that is only a guess. If Louise has some new info, please post here.

[VLB]

Louise is the one I dealt with at LCD lighting and she suggested I post here. My unit does work..I'm just looking for another in the event something happens to it. As I stated they are willing to engineer it at a cost of $1200 for the first one to create the spec template for it...the ones after would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 to $400.

VLB

[R Mann]

A little off your question, but the later Beseler 8x10 heads used off the shelf bulbs - I don't remember their number, but they were U shaped. I sold my head a while ago, but I recall paying about $20 each for them. Perhaps a retro fit would be fairly easy as you have the housing - tubes, sockets and ballast might be a lot less than a bulb.