DIY lamphouse cover

[xenskhe]

I've acquired a second enlarger. The lamphouse cover is missing and I want to fabricate one.

Is there a metal that dissipates heat more efficiently than other kinds?

 

[480sparky]

Copper.

 

[xenskhe]

Thanks!
That will work nicely. Drill some vents in it as well.

 

[xenskhe]

With additional alu fins maybe...
Aluminum vs. copper heat sink • /r/engineering

 

[jcdeboever]

Silver

 

[xenskhe]

Silver you say?

 

[jcdeboever]

Silver you say?

Just kidding. Copper and or aluminum is a good choice.

 

[Derrel]

Not really sure I would drill holes in the lamp housing cover...seems like that would just send out light into the darkroom, maybe causing minor fogging of paper under the enlarger on longer exposures? I dunno...

 

[xenskhe]

Yes, probably not a good idea actually.

 

[xenskhe]

Silver you say?

Just kidding. Copper and or aluminum is a good choice.

Lapis Lazuli could look good.

 

[xenskhe]

A simple solution to the problem in the end was to use adhesive aluminium tape (as used to temporarily patch car exhausts). This is working very well without any light leaks.

 

[compur]

I don't know what your lamphouse looks like but there is this stuff called Rosco Cinefoil. It's a black foil that comes in a roll and is used to wrap around or otherwise modify movie lights. It's made to be used with very hot lights used in film production so would be fine with an enlarger lamp.

 

[xenskhe]

I don't know what your lamphouse looks like but there is this stuff called Rosco Cinefoil. It's a black foil that comes in a roll and is used to wrap around or otherwise modify movie lights. It's made to be used with very hot lights used in film production so would be fine with an enlarger lamp.

Thanks for your suggestion Compur.
The lamp house is cup-shaped around the bulb and should have a fitted baffle on top. Situated inside a box casing with a cut away above the baffle. Rather than make a cover to place over the top of the case, I used the alu tape to cover the cut away. But light was still leaking from the rear (which is also open, and with a few mm gap between the top of the lamp house and the tape above). So I tried using the tape to substitute the baffle and this works well. Black cinefoil is a good idea - this alu tape reflects some small amount of light back into the chamber which is a good thing, and it's cheap; USD$1.50 for a 10m x 45mm roll. The bulb sits in a tube that can be raised or lowered by hand - seems to trap light ok.

 

[xenskhe]

..and I've put the cinefoil on my ebay watchlist, i think it might be useful for something else. Is it effective and pliable/manageable as black out material to be taped over an ambient light source (eg a small window) ?

 

[compur]

Yes, it's like kitchen foil but a little thicker.