UVC bulb burning out in less than a month?

[Fat Homer]

Okay, so i'm guessing i may have a problem with my UV filter itself, but just thought i would ask what are some common reasons for a UVC bulb to burn out more quickly than it normally should?

incase it matters for any reason... i'm running a Velda 36watt UV filter...

 

[Fat Homer]

Since no one seems to be replying, i just thought i would ask one more question, does every one just leave their UV filters on when there is no water flowing through it or do you turn it off when your doing things such as water changes / filter cleaning...

 

[tcarswell]

I turn mine off personally when there is no water going through it. Seems like a good idea to me. As far as it burning out early have you taken the unit apart yet ? Any leaky gaskets or condensation issues in the housing ??
Another shot in the dark im sure you know by now im new to diagnosing UV problems but maybe the bulb is good and the ballast took a dump perhaps ? An electronic tester may help.

 

[Fat Homer]

^ Thanks for the input... when i changed the bulb i checked the connection between the inside housing to the bulb and didn't see any problems, it all fit well and wasn't lose... although now that i think about it, there was the smallest amount of condensation inside the housing if i remember correctly? i must check it again tmr to see if there is any...

So could that be the culprit to the problem? and what would that mean? that the seal to the inside housing is most likely faulty? any way, i guess when i tear my UV filter apart again tmr i should double check that the seals are as tight as possible...

Again, thanks for the advice

 

[tcarswell]

np , like I said I am relatively new to diagnosing UV problems. But since no one else said anything I thought id take a shot. I would check the gaskets to make sure there is no leakage and clean out the quartz sleeve to make sure the condensation does not return. Water around ballasts and electronics is a bad thing

Best of luck.

One quick question what kind of water GPH are you running through the unit ? Excessive water pressure causes all kinds of issues on UV units. My best results come from 10 gph per watt so 180 gph would be ideal in my experience to ensure enough contact time to kill parasites , protozoans, ick ,bacteria and suspended algae. (NC_Nutcase told me about the 10 gph per watt he has ample experience with UV)

Im running 180 gph through my 18 watt turbo twists with great results. Just thought id add that.

 

[Fat Homer]

My filter is running at 1500 LPH not GPH... since not sure what the conversion is... so i'm guessing its running at about 100GPH or around there...

 

[yzf450motoxrider]

its around 350gph

 

[tcarswell]

Sounds to me like he is spot on the right flow rate then.

 

[Steel1978]

You always want to turn your UV off when there is no flow thru it and the bulbs will burn out fast like that if you touch the bulb when changing it. The oils from your skin cause hot spots if you do touch the bulb your need to clean it with rubbing alcohol

 

[Fat Homer]

Thanks for all the info... definitely appreciate it... as for the the oils from fingers touching the bulb, i did make sure to wear cotton gloves when changing the bulb to prevent that from happening although i must admit, i didn't wipe it down with alcohol is that a bad thing?

Any way, when i checked the UV yesterday there was no condensation that i could notice, so will check that again in a few days to make sure thats still the case so i can rule that out of the problem...