Looking at some kit - need advice

Howdy,

I have found a local sale on the big auction site, that includes a fijimoto enlarger and from the pictures a Jobo system.



I am most interested in the Jobo, but am not 100% sure what to look for with them. From the picture, can anyone tell me what model it is? Can anyone also tell me what I should be testing to ensure that it works?

Cheers

It looks like a CPE
I'd test the water bath, and the motor making sure that both speeds work
To test the water bath, put enough water in to cover the heating element well. Switch it on and set the temp to some convenient setting. Give it a while to get warm and measure the temp with a known good thermometer. It should be close to what's marked on the knob. It may not be perfectly even in different places, so measure near the unit's temperature probe. Do not switch it on without water covering the element.
Put a tank or drum on the magnet and switch on the motor. It should reverse smoothly each revolution. Check both speeds.
Then put 300-500 ml of water in a drum and make sure it can turn the drum loaded.
That it's dusty is not a particular problem, but look for corrosion in the metal bits. You could open up the motor housing, but be careful otherwise you may own it before you're ready.
All the tanks and drums should have magnets on the bottom to link up the motor, if some are missing they may not be easy to find. Make sure the drums are reasonably clean, and free of any crystalized chems.
Look at the chemical bottles and see whether they are clean enough to use. You can still buy them new, but they are begining to get scarce. They aren't essential, but they are made to fit into the water bath, so the Jobo ones are nice to use. They are also well made.

Kaiser flasks of 1 L fit the Jobo machines according to the description of this item:

http://cgi.ebay.it/KAISER-BOTTIGLIA...5?pt=Studio_e_laboratorio&hash=item53e35f914b

Magnetic rings for Jobo drums can be easily found on the German eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.de/JOBO-Magnet-Tank...1381?pt=Fotolabor_Zubehör&hash=item4cf32e4935

Fabrizio

EDIT to add a useful bit of info. With my used Jobo CPP-2 I received 5 Jobo flasks with only 1 cap, and 1 chemistry flask which did not stick in position (it floated when the Jobo was filled with water).

I solved with 4 rubber sink plugs, external diameter 40 mm, and as far as the floating flask was concerned, I just push to its side a normal rubber sink plug, which blocks it in position perfectly.

Thanks for the advice guys. I am looking at the unit tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers

Quick question. If the motor doesn't spin, how hard and expensive is it to fix? Is it a direct drive motor, or is there some form of drive mechanism?

Cheers

That is I believe a CPE2 without lift, it would use magnets. The big drum in the background is the 2840 print drum, the bottom bit comes off and it can be used to develop 4x5” film.

The enlarger is a very good one; it has a reversible head and can be either a condenser or diffused enlarger. The base is a colour analyser and timer and other such stuff. Both were around new in the mid to late eighties, give or take.

The Jobo has the standard 4 bottles and 4 flask red holder; there is another one for E6 processing that takes 6 bottles, takes about 30 seconds to change.

The 2840 print drum looks like it’s sitting on a roller base that is a priceless piece of equipment, very, very useful for all sorts of processes.

If the electric motor dies, then you can repair by replacement, (Old Biker Pete) has done this to his CPE2, but often they are not repairable unless you are handy with electronic stuff, which I’m not.

The 1500 series of tanks are required for 135 and 120 film processing.

Mick.

Does the car battery drive the Jobo or the enlarger?

Cheers guys. I looked and threw caution to the wind and bought the lot. The Jobo certainly heated and maintained a very good heat, but alas the motor didn't spin. I know plenty who are handy with diodes, capacitors and soldering irons, so here's hoping..... But there was too much other stuff to give it up!

Maybe he was using the roller base because the Jobo motor died, then used the Jobo as a tempering unit.

Just a thought.

So, hoffy, what did you pay and what did you get?

OK, what was there
Fujimoto G70 enlarger, including all neg holders and instructions (from my research, not necessarily the easiest thing to find)
2x lenses, both Rodagon (50mm F2.8 and 80mm F4 (I think on the last one))
Jobo CPE2, reel and tank and the bigger print tank. All is there, except the motor doesn't spin
Developing tanks, including a few interesting AGFA tanks
Bulk loader and 35mm cartridges
Lots of old chemicals, most bin worthy, but I have yet to sort through them. I am curious though, as there are two Ilfochrome kits unopened....
Filters, focus scopes, easels, neg contact printers, roller base and a whole bunch of gear I haven't gone through yet.
All for $100 the lot. I have to admit I did um and ahh for a while, but decided to go for it and see what I can make of it.....either that or I am an impulse buyer!