A bulb is a bulb is a bulb?

[sienarot]

I was showing my dad some prints I had made in a darkroom class and he mentioned my uncle used to be into photography/printing many years ago and that all his gear was still at grandma's garage. I swung by this afternoon and lo and behold, it was all there and in perfect working condition. I now have a make-shift darkroom (sans the plumbing) downstairs!

Now, I have no idea how long this bulb is going to last, so I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a couple to keep on hand. Do enlargers use special bulbs? Or can I just go pick up any ol' hardware store bulb (with correct wattage, of course)?

The enlarger is an LPL 66-SII (100-240 watts) if it means anything.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Enlarger bulbs are more heavily frosted than ordinary bulbs, and the filament is in a uniform place. They also don't have printing on top of the bulb.

Enlargers often have a sticker or plate somewhere on the lamp housing with the bulb number (something like PH212 usually for an incandescent bulb).