Meopta Opemus 4 Lamps

I was recently given a Meopta Opemus 4 enlarger, but unfortunately, its 150W photocrescenta light bulb blew.

Since I can't find these anywhere (anyone got one they are willing to sell?), I ordered a 75W bulb from RK Photographic. Unfortunately this blew as soon as I put it in (this may be down to the lamp holder on the enlarger), but Roy was kind enough to send a replacement. Unfortunately, this replacement did not survive the journey it had between the Royal Mail office and my house (I went and did some shopping after collecting it).

Roy did say that the 75W lamp would be fine as long as I do not use the enlarger's diffuser. Could this cause problems if I were to use a 75W bulb to do colour printing at some point?

Can anyone recoment some other kind of replacement bulb that is still avaliable and will do the job just as well as the 150W mentioned above? I am willing to try and install a new bulb holder to try and make a replacement bulb fit if necessary.

Thanks
Steve

I may be wrong, but doesn't the Opemus 4 use standard E27 opal lamps?
If so they are still available from www.photax.se (in Sweden which might be a problem if you are not in Sweden).
According to their catalogue the price is roughly $18 per lamp (150W, VAT included). But they should be available from other sources as well.

That is, if the problem is to find an E27 opal lamp (Opemus 4 was my first enlarger and it was a very long time ago).

Fotoimpex in Germany offers as well 75W as 150W seemingly in 230V.

There appears to be also a 75w quartz-halogen replacement available too - it looks the same(-ish) on the outside. I'll try to rediscover where I saw that link . . .

. . . I think it was on the Paterson UK site, where they sell Meopta enlargers under their own brand. That probably means the lamps are available elsewhere too, to replace Photocrescenta style bulbs.

Thanks to a kind member of these forums, I purchased a couple of 150W bulbs. That should keep me going for a while.

I would prefer to buy from within the UK if possible, though I could look into getting bulbs from abroad.

I have seen the 75W bulbs on the Paterson site, but I think something like 150W would probably be better.

Can heat cause problems for these bulbs? The lamphouse of this enlarger is getting extremely hot just by having it switched on for a couple of minutes. I know times like that are not necessary when exposing paper, but I need a reasonable amount of time to a) admire the image prior to making a print and b) to get the focussing and size correct.

Obviously the bulb will get very hot, but unfortunately the case with electrical/electronic things is that heat is their worst enemy, despite them producing lots of it.

Thanks
Stephen Coates

For information purposes:

Have fitted an 'EarthLED EvoLux S' in my Meopta Opemus, 4Black/White edition.
This as an alternative to the E27 incandescent light bulb.

Light Output Comparable to a 100 Watt Incandescent, built-in cooling and free of printing etc. on the 'bulb'.

$ 47.99 USD at the moment for this LED light.

Dead Link Removed

Friendly regards

Try Firstcall photographic at http://firstcall-photographic.co.ukthey were listing 150 watt enlarger bulbs, also try silverprint athttp://silverprint.co.ukas I believe they also list them.
Richard

There could be an electrical problem , over heated cable , rusted connections at your enlarger if it blows your lamps. It can be a good idea to replace all these old cables before lamps arrives to you. It might be 20 years old or more and 150 watt heats the cables too much. And Soviet era products are not famous to work for these conditions if I am not wrong.