UV C Light Source

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Does anyone know where one can get a UV-C lamp at a reasonable cost from a reputable supplier?

I'm investigating the use of one to help treating all my optics (EP's, Scopes, Camera Lenses, etc...) to ensure no mould is growing....

All my kit is stored in well ventilated area of the house; desiccant sachet's in all the boxes, etc.. but, humidity & mould are an enduring problem living in the tropics.

I have looked online but, all I can seem to find is commercial setups.

I'm well aware of the dangers & precautions required with UV-C light, basically I just want a lamp with a UV-C globe that I can setup in a separate room & treat my optics every few months or so, especially after the wet season.

Thanks

[RB (Andrew)]

Carlton this is what I do.
Bought a pair of UV tubes from Jaycar and put them in a dual fluro holder setup from the hardware.
https://www.jaycar.com.au/40-watt-bl...-tube/p/SL3152

I expose all my optics to UV regularly to stop fungus growth.

RB

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Are they UV-C though Andrew?

I thought one had to use UV-C to kill/prevent mould growth?

Is that not the case, will regular UV black light do the job?

Cheers

Carlton

Originally Posted by RB

Carlton this is what I do.
Bought a pair of UV tubes from Jaycar and put them in a dual fluro holder setup from the hardware.
https://www.jaycar.com.au/40-watt-bl...-tube/p/SL3152

I expose all my optics to UV regularly to stop fungus growth.

RB

[bojan]

Exposure to direct sunlight could do the trick...

[raymo]

I don't remember whether UV-C is at the lower or upper end of the UV
frequency range,[ I suspect upper because it is much more dangerous than lower] but collectors of the stamps of many countries use UV
lamps of both varieties to detect watermarks. The lamps are fluoros,
and from memory are about $25-35 on ebay under philatelic accessories
if I remember correctly. They are battery powered, but could easily be converted
to run off a 6v power supply from the mains.
raymo

[Outcast (Carlton)]

UV-C is at the 'harmful' end of the spectrum.. looking at it's wavelength, I think that accords with the higher end of the UV freq range.. shorter wavelength = higher frequency.

Ultraviolet C UVC 100–280Nm

From what I'm reading, this is the specific form of UV light that is effective against mould... not sure if the philatelic lights are what I'm after...

What I've read suggests I'm after a 'Germicidal UV light'.. but, thus far I can only find commercial suppliers of globes & my electrical knowledge is not good enough to figure out if I can fit one of those globes / tubes into a standard fluoro holder...

Cheers

[raymo]

As far as killing mould goes, the philatelic upper range UV lamps would do
the job, dangerous to look at the reflection of one, let alone the lamp itself.
As for practical reasons, I wouldn't know.
raymo

[Outcast (Carlton)]

No worries Raymo,

Thanks for that, I'll take a close look at those lamps, perhaps they are capable of more than I appreciated.

Cheers

Originally Posted by raymo

As far as killing mould goes, the philatelic upper range UV lamps would do
the job, dangerous to look at the reflection of one, let alone the lamp itself.
As for practical reasons, I wouldn't know.
raymo

[Ukastronomer (Jeremy)]

Originally Posted by Outcast

Does anyone know where one can get a UV-C lamp at a reasonable cost from a reputable supplier?

I'm investigating the use of one to help treating all my optics (EP's, Scopes, Camera Lenses, etc...) to ensure no mould is growing....

All my kit is stored in well ventilated area of the house; desiccant sachet's in all the boxes, etc.. but, humidity & mould are an enduring problem living in the tropics.

I have looked online but, all I can seem to find is commercial setups.

I'm well aware of the dangers & precautions required with UV-C light, basically I just want a lamp with a UV-C globe that I can setup in a separate room & treat my optics every few months or so, especially after the wet season.

Thanks

Just remember a UV lamp is useless if things like camera lenses have UV coatings the light wont work because it obviously won't penetrate the UV coatings

DON'T leave gear in closed cupboards, let air circulate none of my gear gets stored with caps on


.

[bojan]

Another possibility is to use mercury lamp (like ones used for street illumination).
You just need to break the outer shell (with fluorescent material) and extract the inner tube.
I was using such prepared lamps for EPROM erasure and as exposure lamp when making my own PCB's

[xelasnave]

So will jaycar tubes work. I have a room that gets mold and I wonder of they could fix yhat problem.
Alex

[luka]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

So will jaycar tubes work. I have a room that gets mold and I wonder of they could fix yhat problem.
Alex

Not likely. The description says "For live music, discos, night clubs, and great for parties.", i.e. they are UV-A and not UV-C.

[bojan]

Also, for disinfection of larger volumes, power is not sufficient. I imagine you may need ~1kW for that.

[Huey (Michael)]

What about the UV sterilizers that people use in fish tanks? They plug straight into mains power and can probably be used without water (although I'm not sure). I know they definitely keep fish tanks algae free.

Huey

[ChrisV (Chris)]

At my work biosafety cabinets have uvc light to kill bugs. BUT it only supposedly works if it hits then directly, not through anything. Plus the guidelines say (I think) that it is not enough alone. There are problems of bug contamination if it is the only thing used.

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Thanks Gentlemen,

there is a lot of technical information out there & then a tremendous amount of opinion to go along with it & it is quite difficult to figure out whether it's worth the investment or not.

All of my gear is stowed inside the house, things in sealed, airtight boxes are loaded with dessicant satchels which I change out reasonably regularly. Leaving anything in a closed cupboard up here is a big no - no, including clothes & shoes, things just grow mould.. we have our main wardrobes designed with louvred doors to keep air circulating & our fans on moving air almost 24/7...

A photographer friend of mine put me onto the UV-C idea, he uses it & swears by it but, he got his setup from a mate who has food hygiene industry contacts but, isn't in Cairns anymore... he also mentioned the removal of UV filters too...

I'm meticulous in letting my gear dry out after a nights viewing, everything has caps removed, turned to allow moisture to run off, the dew up here is beyond crazy, especially in our wet season...

I might just try putting things out in the sun (when the dry season gets here, eventually)... Thus far, apart from the inside of my SCT corrector plate (which I have now cleaned) I have managed to avoid mould (as far as I know but, I'm paranoid about it) so want to embark upon a proven prevention method rather than scrambling to try & clean things when it's noticed because, it's almost impossible to get it all once it's there...

You guys have given me a few promising leads that I have investigated a little more fully & on a cost basis, the philatelic lights look like they might do the trick with some small modification.. so, if I end up going that route the plan is to then attach one to an extension lead in a separate room so, I can set it up over a couple of eyepieces or a scope, walk out of the room & then turn it on, thus avoiding the dangers of UV-C light...

Not sure just yet.. bit more reading to do before I commit

Cheers

Originally Posted by Ukastronomer

Just remember a UV lamp is useless if things like camera lenses have UV coatings the light wont work because it obviously won't penetrate the UV coatings

DON'T leave gear in closed cupboards, let air circulate none of my gear gets stored with caps on


.

Originally Posted by bojan

Another possibility is to use mercury lamp (like ones used for street illumination).
You just need to break the outer shell (with fluorescent material) and extract the inner tube.
I was using such prepared lamps for EPROM erasure and as exposure lamp when making my own PCB's

Originally Posted by Huey

What about the UV sterilizers that people use in fish tanks? They plug straight into mains power and can probably be used without water (although I'm not sure). I know they definitely keep fish tanks algae free.

Huey

Originally Posted by ChrisV

At my work biosafety cabinets have uvc light to kill bugs. BUT it only supposedly works if it hits then directly, not through anything. Plus the guidelines say (I think) that it is not enough alone. There are problems of bug contamination if it is the only thing used.

[sil (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Outcast

Are they UV-C though Andrew?

I thought one had to use UV-C to kill/prevent mould growth?

Is that not the case, will regular UV black light do the job?

Cheers

Carlton

correct they are not uvc they are blue light and some uva end of spectrum (longwave uv), likewise all those torches on ebay. if you can find an old incandescent blacklight bulb they do tons of uvc, give you skin cancer, hurt your eyes etc, thats the right stuff. sure tons of people use the other sorts but then people stick crystals up their bums to cure cancer too apparently. using and doing the job are two vastly different things.

[sil (Steve)]

there is so much misinformation around UV especially cleaning products. how to prove your lenses are going to sprout green if you dont buy one? or that your existing care practices are fine? you wont buy two identical lenses to test over then next decade will you? no, nor will anyone else, so the marketers say whatever they want knowing you can't prove them wrong or even try. uv is not uv, uv c is not uvc either. its all ranges centered at a value, like a bell curve. UV light is invisible, it NOT BLUE or purple and the shorter wavelength end in strong amounts like emitted by the sun causes damage so you get sunburnt on cloudy days. the longwave end it up near 400nm where visible blue is part of the spectra and a small amount of uva which is enough to excite the ink in a fluro marker. but at the shortwave end down near 260nm is the dangerous high energy UVC. Its difficult to make emitters, thus genuine lamps are expensive, plus the associated health risks. security features in use often are tuned to a specific wavelength and have reader units filtered to those wavelengths. Often there are multiple security features and only one show up under the typical uv lamps consumers find, the second or third features remain invisible until the shorter wavelengths become present. its a simple method to check something and also make forgery so much more difficult as some ingredients in the inks is controlled and if the forger manages multiple inks they must be tuned to the reader devices that expect a certain strength reaction at several specific wavelengths.

there are some affordable cleaning/hygiene lamps that you can find though that may help prevent mould (but you wont know if you dont buy two lenses and usely use the lamp on one and your regular method on the other plus have a way to measure mould growth and count). some actually state this wavelengths and usually it'll be 365nm at the lowest, you need something peaking at around 265nm. many people maintain humity control is the key factor anyway. from the professions of stamps collecting/investing, book preservation, wines etc which are all at risk of ruin by mould and temperature/humidity factors to more of a degree than whatever rubbish camera gear consumers can buy. the answer universally is a wine fridge, it maintains a safe constant temp/humidity level to deter growth of micro-organisms. but if you want to insist a uv lamp is the answer than go for it, let us know your method and findings to back it up against the existing evidence.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Most enlightening, Steve. I have had some concerns about the "Ebay" stuff, and my suspicions were not misplaced.

In some instances, it isn't about preventing mould, but killing what is there already. And in many instances it is about killing the mould before opening up scopes and stuff to clean them. It's to attempt to control the spread of the spores before opening up the gear. Then I would have thought a decent UVC source would/could be beneficial (?).

Alex.

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Thanks Steve,

You are quite correct; it's a bit of a minefield out there when it comes to information & more importantly, the veracity of that information.

What got me going on this thought path was the apparent appearance of mould blooms on the inside of my SCT corrector plate.

I have subsequently opened the scope & cleaned the offending area. To be honest, I still don't know if they were in fact mould blooms but, not really sure what else they could have been.

I'm keeping a close eye on my gear; I haven't decided yet whether to try the UVC path. I by that, I do indeed mean the low frequency, sub 265nm wavelength source.

Having done quite a bit of research, I'm not yet totally convinced either & as you state, the specialised units are not cheap. To reassure you, I am very aware of the dangers of this stuff; if I do decide to go this route, I will be organising in a way that sees me set everything up then, leave the room, shut the door & turn on the source from outside the room.

Thanks for your info, it is good to get information that is reliable & not motivated by marketing.

I might just try exposing my gear to sunlight (when we get some)... costs nothing to try...

Cheers

Originally Posted by sil

there is so much misinformation around UV especially cleaning products. how to prove your lenses are going to sprout green if you dont buy one? or that your existing care practices are fine? you wont buy two identical lenses to test over then next decade will you? no, nor will anyone else, so the marketers say whatever they want knowing you can't prove them wrong or even try. uv is not uv, uv c is not uvc either. its all ranges centered at a value, like a bell curve. UV light is invisible, it NOT BLUE or purple and the shorter wavelength end in strong amounts like emitted by the sun causes damage so you get sunburnt on cloudy days. the longwave end it up near 400nm where visible blue is part of the spectra and a small amount of uva which is enough to excite the ink in a fluro marker. but at the shortwave end down near 260nm is the dangerous high energy UVC. Its difficult to make emitters, thus genuine lamps are expensive, plus the associated health risks. security features in use often are tuned to a specific wavelength and have reader units filtered to those wavelengths. Often there are multiple security features and only one show up under the typical uv lamps consumers find, the second or third features remain invisible until the shorter wavelengths become present. its a simple method to check something and also make forgery so much more difficult as some ingredients in the inks is controlled and if the forger manages multiple inks they must be tuned to the reader devices that expect a certain strength reaction at several specific wavelengths.

there are some affordable cleaning/hygiene lamps that you can find though that may help prevent mould (but you wont know if you dont buy two lenses and usely use the lamp on one and your regular method on the other plus have a way to measure mould growth and count). some actually state this wavelengths and usually it'll be 365nm at the lowest, you need something peaking at around 265nm. many people maintain humity control is the key factor anyway. from the professions of stamps collecting/investing, book preservation, wines etc which are all at risk of ruin by mould and temperature/humidity factors to more of a degree than whatever rubbish camera gear consumers can buy. the answer universally is a wine fridge, it maintains a safe constant temp/humidity level to deter growth of micro-organisms. but if you want to insist a uv lamp is the answer than go for it, let us know your method and findings to back it up against the existing evidence.

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Most enlightening, Steve. I have had some concerns about the "Ebay" stuff, and my suspicions were not misplaced.

In some instances, it isn't about preventing mould, but killing what is there already. And in many instances it is about killing the mould before opening up scopes and stuff to clean them. It's to attempt to control the spread of the spores before opening up the gear. Then I would have thought a decent UVC source would/could be beneficial (?).

Alex.

That's exactly why I am exploring this Alex, humidity is such an issue up here in the tropics & it's just not practical (I simply don't have the space) for me to invest in a dry cupboard or wine fridge sufficiently big enough for my gear.

I know mould is a big potential problem up here; I'm meticulous about letting my gear dry out before caps go on (usually 24 hours drying after a session) & dessicant throughout all my storage boxes. Not a guarantee though as I think I found with my SCT; even changing EPs allows small amounts of moisture inside, especially when our night time humidity can be up in the 90% range.

Trouble is trying to sort out the facts from fiction & marketing spin... Oh, & ebay, was never going to be my source...

Cheers