UV light longevity

[alemone]

My ultralife 40w sterilizer's light burnt out twice after using it somewhere between 500-1000h total each time. This is not supposed to be a throw-away sterilizer. What is the average life expectancy of a UV lamp?
Is anybody aware of any generic replacement bulbs? I can't keep getting replacements for $60 every 2-3 months.

 

[Dmoody]

My ultralife 40w sterilizer's light burnt out twice after using it somewhere between 500-1000h total each time. This is not supposed to be a throw-away sterilizer. What is the average life expectancy of a UV lamp?

Is anybody aware of any generic replacement bulbs? I can't keep getting replacements for $60 every 2-3 months.

Is the unit defective in any way. Most brands recommend a bulb change once a year but they can usually last longer than a year.


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[alemone]

Not that I know of. After the first failure, it was inspected by the distributor.

 

[Dmorty217]

The bulbs should last a year before needing replaced.

 

[alemone]

After disassembling the unit, it became apparent that it had leaked and fried the whole electrical compartment.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Take it back to the distributor.

 

[Dmoody]

After disassembling the unit, it became apparent that it had leaked and fried the whole electrical compartment.

I figured there had to be something going on glad you figured it out


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[alemone]

Take it back to the distributor.

Unfortunately, they are ignoring my emails. I poured $300 into this. Lesson learnt.

 

[slief]

After disassembling the unit, it became apparent that it had leaked and fried the whole electrical compartment.

The old adage, you get what you pay for comes to mind. Hopefully the distributor or dealer or manufacturer will stand behind the product because that could have been catastrophic.

Having run and installed countless AquaUV's for over a decade, I've never had one that leaked and the bulbs have always lasted over a year. I make it a point to replace my bulbs on an annual basis.

 

[alemone]

The old adage, you get what you pay for comes to mind. Hopefully the distributor or dealer or manufacturer will stand behind the product because that could have been catastrophic.

Having run and installed countless AquaUV's for over a decade, I've never had one that leaked and the bulbs have always lasted over a year. I make it a point to replace my bulbs on an annual basis.

You are right but I didn't believe I was buying a cheap product.

 

[slief]

You are right but I didn't believe I was buying a cheap product.

A 40 watt UV sterilizer that retails for around $210 is a cheap UV relatively speaking. Yea, there are cheaper ones but there are also others that are much better made and come at a price. Looking at the reviews on Marine Depot's website where 3 out of 10 reviews where not good is a bit concerning and if you read some of the other reviews where it's noted that you need to use teflon tape to seal the unit, that is a big concern. The AquaUV's use a big bullet shaped rubber seal that insure the crystal sleeve is sealed and will never leak. There is no need for Teflon tape to seal the units. The ballasts on the AquaUV's are very solid and well designed also where is another complaint about the Ultralife units along with very poor bulb longevity which is likely due in part to cheap bulbs and a poorly design ballast.

 

[alemone]

A 40 watt UV sterilizer that retails for around $210 is a cheap UV relatively speaking. Yea, there are cheaper ones but there are also others that are much better made and come at a price. Looking at the reviews on Marine Depot's website where 3 out of 10 reviews where not good is a bit concerning and if you read some of the other reviews where it's noted that you need to use teflon tape to seal the unit, that is a big concern. The AquaUV's use a big bullet shaped rubber seal that insure the crystal sleeve is sealed and will never leak. There is no need for Teflon tape to seal the units. The ballasts on the AquaUV's are very solid and well designed also where is another complaint about the Ultralife units along with very poor bulb longevity which is likely due in part to cheap bulbs and a poorly design ballast.

I just have always been baffled by the price of these relatively simple devices.


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[Joe0813]

I replaced my bulb once a year

 

[slief]

I just have always been baffled by the price of these relatively simple devices.


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Well, you have a bulb. The good bulbs aren't cheap and there is a big difference between a quality bulb and a cheap one. Not only in terms of longevity but also wavelength and the degradation over time. Good quality bulbs like those from AquaUV will hold their wavelength much longer and thus remain more effective over the course of time. You have a crystal sleeve in most of them and not all crystal sleeves are created equal. Then you have the ballast and again, you have cheap ballasts and good quality ones and the quality of the ballast not only means the ballast will last longer but it also impacts the bulb life. Then there is the body, seals, fittings etc. You have already seen the effects of a poorly design unit with poor quality sealing methods. Danger Will Robinson.

Manufacturers need to make money as does the distribution channel. All of which is reflected in the retail price. Now considering you have a 180 gallon display, you could have gone with a 25w AquaUV Classic and that unit woudn't have costed much more than the one you got. The AquaUV would have been more effective compared to your 40w one, would have handled greater flow and most importantly would have had MUCH longer bulb life. Further, it would NOT have leaked like that and put you in a spot that could have caused a fire and bodily harm to you and your family.

 

[alemone]

I did some research. I expected to get a reasonable-quality product. Not necessarily the best but not the cheapest no-name sterilizer either. Maybe I was unlucky. The silence of CS, however, has been disappointing.

 

[alemone]

Any other reasonable choices besides AquaUV?

 

[WVfishguy]

Like Slief, I also used Aqua Ultraviolet UV's for many years. I believe many people who do this for a living use them.

They can be tricky when it comes to putting in the UV - you have to do it just right or you'll break the glass sleeve. I used to go to hobbyist's homes and show them how to do it.

 

[alemone]

Just out of curiosity, anybody has any experience with Jebao Koi pond sterilizers- link. Reviews look pretty good.

 

[slief]

Just out of curiosity, anybody has any experience with Jebao Koi pond sterilizers- link. Reviews look pretty good.

They are garbage and the title (pond sterilizer) says it all. We don't have green water. We have marine aquariums and for UV to be beneficial beyond just an improvement in water clarity, a quality UV sterilizer is needed and there is nothing about that unit that is quality. And those who do or have run them most certainly have never run a high quality sterilizer to even be able to quantify the differences. If you are going to run a UV, spend the extra money upfront as it will save you in the long run and also provide infinitely better results. My AquaUV has a 100 point impact on my ORP. That is a huge different in water quality and ultimately has a greater impact that ozone did on my system. A quality, properly sized and properly setup UV does so much more than just improve water clarity but if you buy a cheap unit with lousy bulbs and lousy ballasts coupled with a poor design, the benefits will be negligible and you will spend more in the long run replacing bulbs and ballasts assuming the UV doesn't have a catastrophic failure. Don't waste you money on one of those!

 

[Timfish]

+1 What works for a green water in a pond is no where close to what's needed to deal with parasites in a reef system.