Jobo CPA-2 Lift question

[SusanK]

I just ordered and received a Jobo Lift from Calumet for my CPA-2 processor. My current lift has been leaking chemicals. Upon opening the box, I noticed that the rectangular bellows that sit on the top of the lift to be bulging outward. Granted, the lift is positioned half-way up in the box. Unfortunately, the bellows are retaining this shape and therefore, binding & bunching up so as not to allow the lift to rise completely (Unless I press it down with my hand).

To those who've ordered replacement lifts, have you noticed the same bunching of the bellows ? How did you fix it ? Or should I call Calumet and ask them to exchange for another ?

For almost $300, one would think these things would be better made.

Thanks,
SusanK

 

[jp80874]

Susan,

I had to replace mine a couple of years ago. The old Jobo techs in Ann Arbor told me not to worry upon installation if the bellows didn't fit perfectly in place. It was just for decoration, to make the unit look good. That takes care of the functionality. On the other hand for $300 I would want mine to be beautiful. I would complain and request a fix. What have you got to lose?

John Powers

 

[SusanK]

Susan,

I had to replace mine a couple of years ago. The old Jobo techs in Ann Arbor told me not to worry upon installation if the bellows didn't fit perfectly in place. It was just for decoration, to make the unit look good. That takes care of the functionality. On the other hand for $300 I would want mine to be beautiful. I would complain and request a fix. What have you got to lose?

John Powers

John,

Since I posted yesterday, I pulled the bellows off of glue at the top of the lift, bent it in the opposite direction and let it sit overnight. That has molded the rubber to sit in the lift housing correctly. Now all I have to do is tack it back on at the top of the lift. No problem there.

New problem.... I've mounted the lift but, the old "drive pinion" rubs against the new lift, thus making an awful clacking sound. A new "drive pinion" was included with the lift however, it doesn't fit the drive shaft. Upon closer inspection of the old and new drive pinions.... the center of the original pinion (where it mounts onto the drive shaft) is cylinder shaped thus allowing it to fully seat on the shaft.... the center of the new pinion, is cone shaped thus, I'm unable to push it onto the drive shaft far enough to thread the screw, nor for the pin to catch and reverse the direction of rotation. Does that make sense ????

I see in the literature where it says, 'If the enclosed pinion cannoth be fixed on the motor shaft of the unit, order the drive pinion (95-523) from Jobo or your dealer.' I searched Calumet's site for the pinion and can't find it listed. And, of course, Calumet is closed on Saturdays. Oiy, what a pain in the rump.

Did you have this issue w/ your new lift ???

Thanks,
SusanK

 

[jp80874]

Susan.

No there were no problems when I installed it and got it running.

I had owned the Jobo about six months. I bought it on eBay to do 35mm and 120mm. After six months I started doing 4x5 in an Expert tank that I had just bought. The used Jobo wouldn't handle the Expert tank and its added weight of tank and developer. When I called Jobo service all I could tell them was that it wouldn't drive the Expert tank. They asked some questions and sent a new lift for a fee. I didn't know enough then to know if they were avoiding the problem you describe by determining what I had and needed. Unfortunately as you probably know those guys lost their jobs in the change over. I haven’t had to call Omega who I believe took over the service. I did read something earlier here that led to me to believe that they were just beginning to figure things out.

John Powers

 

[John Koehrer]

You're gonna love this one.
The tapered pinion is for newer motors. The old motors had a straight shaft and depending on SN may not survive driving the larger drums.
When I had a problem several years ago with a 3006 I was told by the guys in Ann Arbor it required a new motor and new circuit boards to convert it. The major clue was whether the SN was above 10,000 or not. Mine was not & so tossed it & shopped around for a new, used one at less than 1/2 the $$$ of upgrading.

 

[Photo Engineer]

There are 2 models of the Jobo processor. The smaller will not handle the Expert tanks at all, and the larger one comes in two series. One series with serial numbers within a certain range will not handle Epxert drums as is. It needs a more powerful motor and a heavier lift. The series with the higher range are Expert capable.

They sell two lifts for the larger model. One is with a light lift lever and gear and the other is with a heavy lever and cam. You can stall the motor or break the lever if you have the wrong combination with the Expert drum.

Unfortunately, this information along with #s probably vanished along with the old Jobo site (AFAIK), but might be on a mirror site.

I limp along with the old series by using a bit of a hand start when starting rotation of the Expert drums, and by using my right hand to lift the drum as I lift the lever with my left hand. This has prevented any breakage. It does creak a bit. (Or maybe that is my old body doing the creaking, IDK)

If you are short of water in the bath, it puts a bigger strain on the motor, but if you overdo it, the tank will float off level and may ruin your pictures. Pushing down on the drum with your right hand, at the very right edge of the drum will tell you if the water bath is too full of water, as the drum will bob up and down when full of processing solution. It may bob without problem when empty, as this is not an indication of too much water in the water bath.

PE

 

[Photo Engineer]

Well, you see, someone always has a right answer. I could not remember those serial numbers, but the entire story is told on the former Jobo web site. I never upgraded for the same reason. $$$$$.

PE

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...The major clue was whether the SN was above 10,000 or not...

The real magic number for "latest and greatest" is 22,000. Here's the page with all details:

Dead Link Removed

 

[SusanK]

Update: I talked to Calumet today... they don't stock the "old" drive cog. So, they gave me the 800 number for Omega. Talked to "Greg" at Omega... they can special order the "old" drive cog for me. $33 + $15 shipping/handling !!! OR... "Greg" said I could have Calumet special order it for me and probably get it cheaper... either way, it's a 90 wait on back order. So, I call Calumet back and am having them special order it. "Norman" at Calumet said he should be able to get for me 20% cheaper than Omega's cost and half the shipping charge. Still a 90 day wait though.

This is so frustrating that, if I had $1700, I'd just buy a new CPA-2. Then, "Norman" informed me that the CPA-2's have been discontinued. At that point all I could say was, "Well of course they have."

So, I'll pay $40-50 and wait for 90 days for a drive cog that I feel should be included with the $300 lift. This just sucks.

SusanK

 

[Changeling1]

Update: I talked to Calumet today... they don't stock the "old" drive cog. So, they gave me the 800 number for Omega. Talked to "Greg" at Omega... they can special order the "old" drive cog for me. $33 + $15 shipping/handling !!! OR... "Greg" said I could have Calumet special order it for me and probably get it cheaper... either way, it's a 90 wait on back order. So, I call Calumet back and am having them special order it. "Norman" at Calumet said he should be able to get for me 20% cheaper than Omega's cost and half the shipping charge. Still a 90 day wait though.

This is so frustrating that, if I had $1700, I'd just buy a new CPA-2. Then, "Norman" informed me that the CPA-2's have been discontinued. At that point all I could say was, "Well of course they have."

So, I'll pay $40-50 and wait for 90 days for a drive cog that I feel should be included with the $300 lift. This just sucks.

SusanK

I feel your pain! The above steps should work as long as you don't use the "Expert Drums". To upgrade an older CPA-2 so that it can use the Experts is about $620.00. Since the CPA-2s aren't being made anymore, that might be a good deal. When using that lift, you should always "help" the lift by picking up the tank with your free hand so as to lessen the load on the lift. Are you sure the old lift couldn't be fixed, it may have some value as a "fixer-upper"? Let me know! BTW- do you know your machine's serial #?

 

[Changeling1]

Update: I talked to Calumet today... they don't stock the "old" drive cog. So, they gave me the 800 number for Omega. Talked to "Greg" at Omega... they can special order the "old" drive cog for me. $33 + $15 shipping/handling !!! OR... "Greg" said I could have Calumet special order it for me and probably get it cheaper... either way, it's a 90 wait on back order. So, I call Calumet back and am having them special order it. "Norman" at Calumet said he should be able to get for me 20% cheaper than Omega's cost and half the shipping charge. Still a 90 day wait though.

This is so frustrating that, if I had $1700, I'd just buy a new CPA-2. Then, "Norman" informed me that the CPA-2's have been discontinued. At that point all I could say was, "Well of course they have."

So, I'll pay $40-50 and wait for 90 days for a drive cog that I feel should be included with the $300 lift. This just sucks.

SusanK

I feel your pain! The above steps should work as long as you don't use the "Expert Drums". To upgrade an older CPA-2 so that it can use the Experts is about $620.00. Since the CPA-2s aren't being made anymore, that might be a good deal. When using that lift, you should always "help" the lift by picking up the tank with your free hand so as to lessen the load on the lift. Are you sure the old lift couldn't be fixed, it may have some value as a "fixer-upper"? Let me know! BTW- do you know your machine's serial #? I have just purchased a "new old stock" CPA-2 with a 2nd revised motor- I can't used my Expert Drums on it without the $600.00 plus upgrade.

 

[SusanK]

I feel your pain! The above steps should work as long as you don't use the "Expert Drums". To upgrade an older CPA-2 so that it can use the Experts is about $620.00. Since the CPA-2s aren't being made anymore, that might be a good deal. When using that lift, you should always "help" the lift by picking up the tank with your free hand so as to lessen the load on the lift. Are you sure the old lift couldn't be fixed, it may have some
value as a "fixer-upper"? Let me know! BTW- do you know your machine's serial #? I have just purchased a "new old stock" CPA-2 with a 2nd revised motor- I can't used my Expert Drums on it without the $600.00 plus upgrade.

The CPA-2 that I received "used" has a 12,300-something serial number on it. If I remember correctly, that means it has the first upgrade. It may not have been "made to use w/ expert drums" but, I can say for a fact that the gentleman who left it to me when he died, shot 90% 4x5 and processed them on on this machine w/ an expert drum. He lived/ate/breathed 4x5 !

Prior to subcoming to cancer he told me that he'd considered selling his photographic equipment and donating the money to charity (he had no family) but, would rather give it to someone he knew would use it. This is how I came to have the CPA-2, Bessler MXT enlarger w/ an oriental vc head, Wista 4x5 field camera, and Mamiya 7 w/ a 65mm lens. When he told me about this, all I could say was, "I've spent a total of seven years in college and I don't know the words to express my gratitude." He was an amazing man.

Has anyone hear ever heard of Cal Rayburn from Iowa ? He was a friend of Carl Rumme, who is Allen Rumme's father. I have one of Allen's prints.... "Butte - Big Bend National Park". (number 3)

http://www.allenrumme.com/cart/lrg....1&p=0&z=Butte+-+Big+Bend+National+Park&stat=0

That was something else that Cal wanted me to have. I should email Allen and let him know that I have one of his prints hanging in my home.

Anyway, Cal informed me about assisting the lift w/ my free hand when using the expert drum. He most likely put hundreds (if not thousands) of 4x5 sheets through that processor. By the time it came to me, it would leak 150ml of the 500ml that I'd use to process 120 film. I can't remember how much the expert drum leaked. Any amount of which is bad when you're processing w/ PMK, or any kind of pyro. I've gotten that stuff on my skin more than once before I started wearing kitchen gloves... the chemistry leaked into the trough and came in contact w/ the outside of the tank. It amazes me that 15ml of PMK in 4 gallons of water can touch your hand for a few seconds and leave such an annoying metalic taste in your mouth !!!

So, I asked a friend and fellow Jobo user to take my tanks and put them on his processor to see if they leaked. Unfortunately, they didn't leak on his machine. So, it's the lift that's bad. I've shown the lift to the same friend. He's very tech savvy and even he said, 'it's shot, trash it and get a new one.'

My decision, since I want to continue shooting/processing my own film for as long as film is available, has been to purchase a new CPP-2 and put the new lift on that. I have now taken my place in line, so to speak, w/ Calumet as all CPP-2's are on back order.

Patiently awaiting it's arrival....

 

[Changeling1]

Susan- I'm glad to hear your friend used the expert drums with his/your CPA-2. The Jobo wording is a bit ambiguous about the absolute need to have the newest motor to use the Expert drums. I suppose some users are much harder on their equipment than others, etc. I know a lot of people don't even bother to level the processor drums properly which puts a major ammount of stress on the rotor motor and lift. My CPA-2 is the second rev. 2 bearing motor also and has never been used. I would have to get the adapter to put my lift on it also.



You might try Freestyle for a CPP-2 if you don't want a long wait. They did have a couple of them recently.

The story of your kind friend is very touching and inspiring. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[jp80874]

Susan,

Throw out the kitchen gloves. They don't protect you. Get some Nitrile gloves. That taste from the Pyro is very bad for you. I could start a big arguement here if I said you are giving yourself a big cancer risk. There doesn't seem to be much arguement that you should use nitrile gloves rather than latex. Walmart and many good drug stores carry disposable single use nitrile gloves, 40 gloves for less than $5.00. Mail order or eBay are another source.

John Powers

 

[lee]

susan,

you can pm Allen here on Apug as he is a member here. I get messages from him on a regular basis. He has moved to just south of Albq, New Mexico when he retired last January.

lee\c