Post pandemic stock dumping (cheap UVC lights)

I see a lot of these lights being sold on eBay, from local Chinese shipping warehouses at the moment. I guess that with the peak of the pandemic now over, they have a lot of stock left that they want rid of, or maybe they are just not a reliable product.

Either way, it's a cheap way to get a fairly powerful UVC germicidal tube to experiment with. Noting that you must avoid direct eye exposure to the UVC light, and also limit the duration of skin exposure, as the UVC can cause surface eye damage and skin irritation.

I got one to test and take to bits. The construction is very trashy inside, with a generic remote control module and the PCB out of a compact fluorescent lamp literally stuck inside with double sided foam tape.

The quoted rating of the light is 38W, but while the tube may resemble a 38W tube, it is being run at closer to 26W (including ballast losses). The tube puts out two dominant wavelengths at 254nm (germicidal) and 184nm which creates ozone at reasonably high levels.

The packaging of the product has been refined to a minimum, but still manages to protect the tube from shipping damage by having it in its own foam section. The light has a clip-in surround for the tube to provide support and physical protection to it, but it does also restrict the UVC light output in two directions. I left mine off.

The output of this unit is pretty high. It should be used with care to avoid the risk of photokeratitis, which is also called welder's eye and arc eye, and is basically mild sunburn on the surface of your eyes. It doesn't show up at the time of exposure, but will often result in waking up in the middle of the night feeling that you have sand in your eyes. How long it lasts depends on the exposure duration, but your eyes will usually recover fully in hours or days.

It's important to make everyone else in the vicinity aware that a UVC light is in use and evacuate the room to reduce UVC exposure to skin and eyes, and also reduce exposure to the high levels of ozone - a strong oxidising gas.

High output UVC light is used in hospitals to sterilise entire rooms. Sometimes with automated mobile units that move around the room to ensure complete coverage from all angles.

Some systems also have PIR detection to turn the lights off if a moving human or animal is in the room.

Many materials will block UVC light, including most ordinary spectacles and windows. I tested my normal glasses and they do block UVC.

It has been mentioned that some of these units are going pop when powered - probably the electronic lamp ballast. If that happens, open up a dispute on eBay and don't close it until you have a replacement or refund. Some sellers will try to dupe you into closing a dispute by saying they won't send a replacement or refund until it is closed. They are usually lying. They may also ask you to post an item back by recorded delivery to try and fob you off - but just ask for a reply paid label.
Once a dispute is closed it can't be opened again. So keep it open until the issue has been resolved.

If you keep the faulty one then it should be possible to graft in a new ballast if you can find an old CFL bulb to rob it from.


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