Free 'Bowens' Monolites from 1980's

[pentaxpete]

I had a phone call from a Bloke who said he was going to the Dump with some flash gear but if I got there in time it was mine, so i rushed there and he loaded a huge heavy case into my car. It contained 4 British 'BOWENS Monolites' ffrom the 1980's era with stands, umbrellas, small reflectors, lot of slave cells, spare modelling lamp bulbs, mains cables and a 'black cloth' which turned out to be teh best quality 'Changing Bag' ! Two heads will charge up but will not fire a flash -- maybe the 'Trip Circuit' is gone ? I have used a 200W Monoloite and a 400W Monolite head though -- there were no camera Synch Cables included but I have one on my original 400W Monolite.
BOWENS Studio Flash Gear by Peter Elgar, on Flickr

 

[MattKing]

Peter:
That lighter coloured monolite is at least as old as the 1970s - I have a pair of 100W versions of those (part of a location kit) that I received in the late 1970s as a settlement for some unpaid wages.
And even then, they were clearly used.
Still work fine, and still using the original flash tubes!

 

[gordrob]

One problem with these Bowen Monolite units from the 1980s is that the capacitors can lose their formatting and can damage the unit when it is turned on.
The attached link explains how one should go about reformatting the capacitors when the units have not been used for a long period of time. The author, Hans P. Strobl, worked for Bowens and offers advice on the process.
The part that deals with the reformatting of the capacitors is about a third if the way through the thread dated Nov 29, 2004. I have four of the Bowens Monolites and have not had any problems with them but have followed the reformatting procedure just to be on the safe side of things.

https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/will-advise-on-bowens-monolite-monoblocs.131350/

Gord

 

[AgX]

There are various suggestions to format a capacitor, partially contradictory, likely the best involve desoldering them and hanging them on a special powr supply. But we must keep in mind that electrolytic capacitators age, and that is confirmed by condensator manufacturers. So substituting them with apt new ones should be a solution to think of.

 

[pentaxpete]

I had a look at that Mr Strobl's technique -- I found it 'confusing' as MY ONES are the opposite way round -- my Sliver Grey Monolite 200 has NO 'Slow Charge' BUT the Black series E HAVE the 'Slow Charge' so I was not sure what to do ! Two of them work but two of them will charge up but NOT FLASH -- I press the Test Button and NO Flash.

 

[pentaxpete]

The 2 that do not 'flash' have now been taken to the Council Tip and dumped. I kept the 2 that DO work -- I had no trouble with them firing even without 'Formatting the Capacitors' as in that 'Link' .

 

[darkroommike]

For future reference I recommend saving or passing on old Bowens/Bogen units, they are the only source of repair parts for the older units.