Beseler 23ciii xl in a darkroom with low ceilings?

I’m looking at getting a new Beseler 23ciii xl enlarger. I have an ancient 23cii that fits into the space, but I’m worried the xl will be too tall. I mostly print 8x10, so I’m not too worried about needing the maximum 54” extension. However, what I’m confused about is how tall it is in “normal” mode. That is, would it be taller than a regular old 23c when making 8x10 prints? I can’t find any measurements on how tall the frame is, so I’d really appreciate if anyone has any insights on that. Thanks!

The XL allows larger prints, elevation magnification remains constant for each given lens. My standard height 23c allows me to make 16x20, the XL should get you to 20x24(or larger).

One must know what negative format and lens focal length to figure out enlarger height for an 8x10 print. I have a 23CIII XL, but long ago replaced its light source with a custom Heiland LED head, which is substantitally less tall than the standard Beseler cylinder. In my case. when making an 8x10 from a 35mm negative and 50mm lens, or from a 6x8 negative and 105mm lens, the top of the head doesn't go above (actually it's somewhat below) the top of the roughly 45-inch high column. Someone who has the same enlarger and still uses Beseler's light source would need to verify measurements in that configuration.

Welcome to Photrio.
I believe Sal Santamaura answered your question about how big the enlarger frame is, but if it were me, I'd reach out to Beseler themselves: https://www.beselerphoto.com/contact-us/

Sal Santamaura said:

One must know what negative format and lens focal length to figure out enlarger height for an 8x10 print. I have a 23CIII XL, but long ago replaced its light source with a custom Heiland LED head, which is substantitally less tall than the standard Beseler cylinder. In my case. when making an 8x10 from a 35mm negative and 50mm lens, or from a 6x8 negative and 105mm lens, the top of the head doesn't go above (actually it's somewhat below) the top of the roughly 45-inch high column. Someone who has the same enlarger and still uses Beseler's light source would need to verify measurements in that configuration.

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Sorry, you’re absolutely right — I should have mentioned the format and focal length. I mostly do 6x6 with an 80mm lens and 35mm negatives with a 50mm. Thanks, that’s good to know the frame is about 45in. I’m assuming that’s measuring from the baseboard to the top of the column? I’ve never had to raise my condenser head very high on my old 23c, so I’m hoping it’s about the same with the iii xl. although not sure how much different a VC head would be.

Honeybee23 said:

....good to know the frame is about 45in. I’m assuming that’s measuring from the baseboard to the top of the column?...

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Correct.

While I owned a Beseler 45V-XL, I set it up in a spare room (standard 8' ceiling) (Beseler spec said up to 66" tall, depending upon which head was mounted) by placing its baseboard on a rolling TV cabinet whose top surface was about 18" off the floor. Worked very well for me; tje cabinet provided space for a number of enlarger accessory items to be stored when not in use.
This is similar in concept to what I had, although it is not as low.

The Beseler 23CIII is mostly the same as the later versions of the 23CII, likewise for the longer column XL versions. I measured my 23CIIXL equipped with the Dual Dichro-S dichroic color head.

The baseboard is 30 mm thick. The top of the column to the top surface of the baseboard is 1040 mm.

With the lamphouse against the upper stops, the distance from the top of the lamphouse to the top of the baseboard is 1479 mm. Thus, the overall height including the thickness of the baseboard is 1509 mm.

In that position, the top of the negative stage to the top of the baseboard is 1078 mm.

Most paper easels are about 1” or 25 mm tall. With an easel in use, the maximum negative-to-image distance is about 1053 mm.

Depending on the dimensions of the lamphouse your machine has, it might have somewhat different dimensions as referenced from the top of the lamphouse.

Here’s the 23CIIIXL manual. It gives the dimensions on page 1. Magnifications and maximum print size with various formats and lenses are given on page 3.

https://125px.com/docs/manuals/darkroom/beseler/beseler_23ciiixl_manual.pdf