Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello All,
I have ultra 600 and 1800's, the only issue I have is that the ultra 600 I dont know when it was manufactured, if it was before 1991. basically i need to replace the flash tubes and there are 2 types ones with banana clips and older ones without. How do I tell which one I have. Second is that it looks like i can screw in a ordinary light bulb in to it. Can I use any light bulb or is it specialized light bulb, I know that its normally takes a 250w bulb. looks like an ordinary household bulb. thanks again.

Standard Ultra modeling lamp is BBA 250W photoflood. You can use any household bulb or you can use WLX 250W quartz lamp with household base. Ultras are fan cooled though so you have to be careful with heat build up, Customer service can tell you when they were made and which style flashtube. They were made from 1986 to about 1998.

If you have the old tubes, you can pull them out and look at the ends of the legs. If it is a straight wire only, it is the pre-1991 style. If there is a piece of metal on the end, almost like a bullet shape, then it is post-1991 style. (there is an upgrade possible to the newer style, so a sale date may not tell the whole story if an older head was upgraded).