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Omega DII smells faintly of burning

Austin_Jessup

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May 15, 2016
Messages
62
Location
Northern MI
Format
Multi Format
Hi everyone,

I'm very excited as I just got my first enlarger from another APUG user locally. I'm not very familiar with enlarger regularities and have only used much newer models in a community darkroom, but is it normal for a condensor head to smell a little like burning? The enlarger is so old that I want to believe it's normal but I can only imagine some other users have direct experience with a DII. Can anyone tell me if this is normal?
 
It could be dust. Open it up where to light source is and clean or vacuum it to clean out other dust.
 
Dust the bulb, too. I'm not big on vacuum cleaners in the darkroom, take the enlarger out of the darkroom and give it a good going over. I also use a small paintbrush 1-2 inch to encourage the dust out of the nooks and crannies, then let every thing settle put it back together and test again.
 
I never "dust" my enlarger with brushes. I do however wipe it down with a damp cloth so the dust is captured and not just redeposited.
 
While open for cleaning, take a careful look at the bulb socket and wiring. And make sure the wattage of the bulb is not too high.
 
Rick A said:
I never "dust" my enlarger with brushes. I do however wipe it down with a damp cloth so the dust is captured and not just redeposited.
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I don't either, I run the vacuum (HEPA) while I run the brush into nooks and crannies that the vacuum brush will not fit, and I take the enlarger out of the darkroom, the last enlarger I bought got that treatment before I put it in the darkroom..
 
I'd inspect and replace the cord and socket on any electrical device from the 1950s/1960s.
 
Phenolic resin (Bakelite) lamp fittings typically smell when heated up. I tend to substitute them with porcelain ones where possible.
 
ic-racer said:
I'd inspect and replace the cord and socket on any electrical device from the 1950s/1960s.
Click to expand...
That one works with the D2 and later lamp houses but does not work on some early lamp houses which need a metal fitting that screws in to the top of the lamp house.
 
Thanks a lot to everyone who's responding. Tonight I finally have time to address this so I'll probably be back with more questions. I'm not very savvy with electrical components but I may give it a shot if I find it's possible to replace the lamp fittings.
 
I finally had a chance to look at the bulb socket and it's got some brown burnt looking stuff on the contacts. The bulb is a 150 watt. I've seen that replacement bulbs for these come in both 75w and 150w so I don't know how to tell which is appropriate for this socket.

I wiped everything down and will let the enlarger sit until tomorrow most likely before trying again. Does anyone know if these burnt spots are something I can clean or do I need to replace the socket?

If anyone has experience with different versions of lamp houses for these DII, I have the "color head" version that has a filter door above the condensor.

Thanks again to all of you for your help!

 
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Are the brown spots burning or rust/corrosion? If the wire is in good shape you might get away with using a good wire brush on it. U plug it!!!

My socket is a standard lap socket that screws in the top - standard lamp socket available at any he store, and easy to replace with minimal expertise.

I apparently don't have color head version as there is no filter drawer above the condenser. Also I use 75w bulbs only.
 
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