DIY UV filter?

[iceburger]

i had an idea, i was looking around in my closet the other day and i came across two blacklight fixtures with the lights, well i started thinking and i thought and thought...could i construct a UV filter out of these? my thoughts were to have a large PVC pipe and reflectorize the inside with aluminum foil or somthing of the sort and place the two BlackLight fixtures inside it and run 1" clear tubing through the middle of the PVC...do you guys think this would work...i currently have no use for a UV filter and i just thought if this could work, it'll save some money for those who need one ?....just a thought

 

[iceburger]

^^^BUMP^^^

 

[melbournefl]

Well Ice, back in the dark ages (mid-70's) I helped my LFS in San Diego build DIY UV units so the quick answer is yes it can be done. Now the problems ... first the water has to make contact with the UV bulb itself which means you have to somehow encase the bulbs in some form of compression fitting (available, not cheap) now you have to figure out contact times and flow rates through the unit, again, this information is available out there but you'd have to find it, trial and error probably won't work unless you're a microbiologist and have the necessary equipment for water analysis. The problems go on but I think you get the point, it's generally cheaper to just buy one these days.
Just my .02,
Paul

 

[conundrum]

That should almost work. Comercial sterilizers use borosilicate glass or quartz tube to isolate the water from the bulb. Quartz blocks less UV than glass, unsure about plastic, wouldn't expect it to fare well. Exposure should be at least 5 sec and distance from bulb is a large factor, keep it within 2 inch. In reality, it would probably require a glass tube wrap like in chem lab cooling coils, like this, (can't get the link to work, go to lab equip/condensors/graham)
https://www3.carolina.com/onlinecata...me&button=home
mounted parallel to the bulb and mounted in a mirrored box to bring it up to a practical working level, eh... it could work... hey, is there a patent on this...
"If you think doubling your efforts can compensate for lack of skill, there is no end to what you can't do."