Ok, I was going to add a filter in my loop anyways, so it's not a problem, but we'll need an approximate size of the particulates.

If the particles are too small, they're going to have to be filtered in a dual loop configuration, because of the high flow restriction. Still not a problem, but an added headache.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I am not planning on installing a filter. If we start with a new system -or at least a recently cleaned one- the UV clarifier will prevent reproduction on the microorganisms that pass through it.

I want to state that any microorganisms that are clinging to the walls of the system will continue to thrive w/o chemicals. etc.

This is the achilles heel of this setup. But remember the growth rate of these colonies -we are going to neutralize any that pass through the system and should greatly slow their spread!

An aux. loop with the filter and mabye the clarifier is a really good idea...let's go with this.

I also want to know the size of any copper molecules that might diffuse into the system and their expected diffusion rate.

I have a friend who was a materials major...Tokamac...you out there? (His name refers to the fusion reactor -not a marijuana habit)

So it sounds like we've got to perfect the correct mixture of Coolant chemicals, and UV light.

I would assume air sprits lysol/pinesol enima will help get us started, then it's on to the magic concoction and UV sanitier/clarifier.

It's my dream that once I've got the loop closed (fill/bleed, no res), the system completely disinfected, pure distilled water, some mystical concoction of chemicals, and the UV sanitizer, I'll never have to flush my system again.

pipe dream?

I hope not.


H

nah, as long as you start with a relatively clean system, i dont see the need for a filter.
"UV neuters the microorganisms. It does not kill them. "
Not according to what i read.
It does indeed kill the microorganisms.
This
and this
are two sources among many that say so.
Google for UV sterilizers, you'll find tons of back up.
UV light KILLS microorganisms.
I dont know aobut that link that was posted, but its simply not true according to everything i read:
Pond Clear CLarifiers

No filter needed.

all you should have to do is clean your system, the pop in the UV sanitizer, then fill and go! Lamp life on these units is long, ont he order of 13 months for osme models i've seen.
And you should never have to flush again, because any bacteria is killed before it can create a huge colony.

Yeah Thanks Al. -I had a Brain Fart...We have shown several times that the UV light kills microorganisms. I have stated this several times here (including the opening post) and we have posted many links supporting this.

I fell victim to the same readings as Moriquendi -even to the point about the algae "clumping together and being caught in the filter" -I remembered reading that. That link is describing the action of a clarifier. If we add more energy -by irradiating the M/Os more often, for longer, etc. -then we kill them and we have a sterilizer. I need to be more careful...especially while at work...Appologies.

Uh-Oh here comes the Mutant Algae One of Althornin's links shows mutations at around 630 nm...I don't expect to investigate this yet...but it might be a good way to explain any failure to keep a clean system :rolleyes:

Ben -Here is something on Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) From the above link:

Examples:
Microcystis elebans, 2-6 µm
Spirulina subsalsa, 0.4-4 µm
Chroococcus limneticus, 6-12µm

where 1 µm = 10^-3 mm = 10^-6 m
These Guys are talking 25 µm Filtration...

Bacteria is similar in size, Viruses are an order of magnitude smaller. Then there is microflora?...I really need help here...

Does anyone actually know what biologicals are invading our systems?

If it was a fern -I wouldn't know...

i highly doubt mutation is a significant problem, as these units are osld for ocmmercial and home use - and with significantly lower daily doseages than we will give them...
If someone can find a mutation rate, i'll compute it up though!

ah yes - according to sources quoted earlier, UV light is effective against Virii, Bacteria, mycobacteria, and spores, (listed with specific rate constants) among other things. I think that takes care of most nasties we are gonna find.

right so we were talking about different things and btw the site i posted is a british site with prices in pounds not dollars sorry.

if 630nm causes mutations then all of us sitting next to our cool blue leds and ccfl's should be mutating coz 630nm is blue light:D

or is that just algee

Idris

Alright, I've decided to make the jump and go UV radiated ;)

However, even with those nifty internal wipers, I'm wondering if the UV Dyes or Anti-Freeze could stain the quartz sleeve. I would hate to lose some of the UV power thanks to one of the above additives.

Granted the UV dye I can live without, however I've got swifty blocks that are Aluminum top and with Copper bottom, I can't imagine they hold up too long without some sort of anti-corrosive..

Any thoughts on this? I know the UV quartz sleeves weren't engineered for anything other than nice clear water.

H

Althornin -Is it feasible to predict the percentage of water that really will travel through the UV light on a regular basis?

I am sure that some will not flow due to laminar effects in the tubing, reservoir turbulence, etc.

I guess that involves chaos math and other unnatural laws that are beyond my reach. But...figuring the laminar flow in the hoses is easy, water is not going to stagnate in the pump, water block flow depends on design, I don't know how to model radiator flow, so one real problem is water stagnation in the res. -another argument not to have one?

Sure, its possible some of the water will not flow through as often, but hell, i doubt any water really ust sits there and NEVER goes through, or this owuld be an issue in a pond/ aquarium tank.

I think you are worrying a little TOO much :)

Just curoius...

Updated Status
 

Well everything is on order, I've got a replacement for my worthless MCP300 on the way, plus I've got some additional John Guest fittings from usplastics.com. (Great Site!)

Lastly, the Tetratec UV 5 clarifier is on its way, should be building the new system a week from now.

I'll be sure to post photos and the results.


H

I am looking forward to any input you have about the unit and your results. My UV-5 is also on it's way... :) I am putting the new W/C system together as I speak. I am trying to set up my web page to post the many pictures that I have taken. I will link to it from here soon. It will take a while to post any temps. though b/c my motherboard is being RMA'd. :rolleyes: But that is getting off subject!

I've been running one of these: http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/sterilizers.html for my Aquatic Turtle tank, it has the Wiper, and a small semi-transparant piece to allow you to see if it is working. I have never changed the bulb and it has been running 24x7 for about 2-2.5 years now. Just thought some of you may want to know.

When I first got it I took it apart. It has a huge test tube looking glass cylinder, that keeps the bulb from getting wet.

The bulbs are supposed to last longer when left on -or more appropriately: Bulb life is shortened by frequent start / stops. That is what I have read anyway. Has the unit helped your situation? Or did you have a problem before you installed the sterilizer?

CoolROD-

Sorry to hear about your mobo, I love my Iwill Dual Xeon, but I hate constantly stripping down the system to switch out water blocks or tubing.

I'm really hoping this new system does the trick.

I plan on leaving my UV5 on all the time (5 watts shouldn't hurt too bad), plus giving my system a complete pinesol/lysol/water run for a couple of hours prior to the 24 hour pump/seals test.

I did just order everything today, so I would expect a week or so before everything comes in, then another couple days to get things hooked up properly.

I have to admit, it's rather fun setting the curve on this stuff.

H

I am testing my new Johnson pump now...I will post the results in BB2k's thread. I get paid once a month -so I only ordered my UV-5 today. I think I will divide about 1/2 of my flow through it. I have a Quad Typhoon Res. which has 4 ports. I want a 3/4 suction line for my pump and have no problem (I hope) tapping the res. for the 3/4 line. I am thinking about parallel flow through the UV-5 and the other half bypassing it. The barbs shipped with the res. are 1/2 hose to 1/4 NPT (4124-8-4) with an ID of only .3720" --> and an area of 0.1087 in^2.

A 1/2" hose has an area of 0.1963 in^2 , and a 3/4 hose has an area of 0.4418 in^2 .:D

Whoa, you've got me beat.

So tell me Cool..what do you use your machine for?

H

Well it started out as my dedicated game rig, but now my old computer (a 900 t'bird @ 10xx) is showing it's age...so I have installed nearly everything on the new one...CADs, Corel Draw, Dreamweaver, ... everything but M_Office. I have also gotten really spoiled by the bigger monitor, etc. Full towers fit under my desk and I like all of the room I can get -->I am 6', 260 lbs... I also wanted to keep the case portable so I can go to my buddies' LAN parties on the rare occasion...

This is WAY off subject. The thread has some good information and a lot of work by some others besides myself. I hate to clutter it with chit-chat. Please feel free to PM me -or email me- if you want to know anything else about my rig. I have a renewed interest in it and would love to talk about it. Any pics posted of yours? I am throwing together a web page to post mine right now -and learning Dreamweaver -I swear it was easier writing in a text editer...

Got my UV-5 Today! I have to say that this thing in big!:rolleyes: Consider this before you buy one:

Overall Length = 7.1/2"
The Cord and Strain Relief will add another 1.1/2" to the length with the cord bent 90 Deg.
The cap is 3" dia.
The Body is 2.37" dia.

The unit comes with nice 3/4" barbs and universal-cut-to-fit .355 / .486 / .637" barbs. Note that the sizes will not be tight on 3/8" and 1/2" hose. The barbs use a flanged sealing surface with a neoprene? :shrug: gasket.

The unit's cord has a "Wall Wart" which is an octagon 2.1/4" across the flats and 2.34" long. The UV-5 is made in the Netherlands and there are markings on it:

MCT Transformatoren GmbH
StSF 5-63-0499 U
Lamp 5W
120V 60 Hz 0,18A
(lambda symbol) 0,45
tw 105
Double Insulated

The bulb is a Philips PL-S 5W TUV UV-C Type.
(Anyone looking to build their own light)

Well Well Well

I too got my "ENORMOUS UV CLARIFIER"

I would swear this thing is twice the size it shows in the catalog.

Ahh well, I've got the sprinkler head mounted to the side of my case. So much for not making a statement.

Anyways, I've got my system on a preliminary test prior to the 24 hour run..

What do you think about a little pinesol in the system for an hour or so, would it hurt the quartz in the UV Clarifier?


H

I think you would be alright with that. I am going to be able to fit it in my case...it's huge! I will post a pic as soon as I get everything fitted. My motherboard will be back late next week. I would love to see your install...

I un-hooked it for the pinesol cleaning, it's a UV Clarifier for cripes sake! It should be self cleaning..:D

Now, as far as the case is concerned, I'm amazed you got your's inside the case. This thing is enormous. The sales woman from the supplier said it was " about an inch or so around"

:confused:

You mean the cord right!!

Regardless, I've found a spot for it and since I am taking the day off tomorrow, I'll go ahead and drill some holes in the side of the case to bolt it on.

I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow afternoon.

Only 40 more minutes to go on my pinesol cleaning.

Oh yeah, one last thing. For those of you like me with lots of Swiftech equipment, they use nifty John Guest connectors. So I swung over to usplastics.com (Thank you Bruce, from CoolTechnica) and got lots of replacement 1/2 OD connectors. So now my UV 5 Clarifier is 100% John Guest quick connects (plus they are 90' elbows so I can get the tubing with NO BENDS.

Also, for those of you following the story, Bruce hooked me up with a great pump, the Hydor L30 is...excellent, quiet, not hot, and easy to switch to John Guest.

Lot's to photograph tomorrow...


h

Hmmm... you didn't take it apart did you?
 

I was wondering how much of the unit was "guts" and how much is plastic housing, fittings, water jacket, and so forth.... I've had this notion for a way of dealing with it.

I'm planning to make my res out of a peice of 1.5" PVC pipe that will run from the top of my case nearly to the bottom. I know the UV light in these sanitizers shouldn't be looked at, so why not loose the extra plumbing and just stuff the 'guts' in the opaque PVC res that's already sitting there?

The question would be whether the thing would take up to much room in the res and obstruct the flow of water around it. I'm just guessing, but if I have an effective plumbing diameter of 5/8" through the system feeding the 1.5" diameter res, I probably wouldn't want to have the OD be much more than about an inch if I want to keep the bulb from being an obstruction. Also, does anyone know if standard white plumbing PVC is effected by UV? If so, it might be necessary to shield it in some way (Line the res w/ copper foil?)

As I recall previous discussions, the bulb was supposedly sealed inside a glass test-tube like item, with just a couple of power wires running to it. How big in length and diameter is the test-tube?

The second issue is the power supply - If the bulb is an incandescent, the wall wart is presumably a transformer to a lower voltage, but not sure what it would be... If the bulb is a flourescent type, the wart is presumably a ballast that steps UP the voltage... A third possibility is that the bulb needs 110V, and the wart is an isolation transformer to give extra electrical safety.

Has anyone looked up the bulb already to see what it needs for juice?

This next is pure speculation, but... Assuming the lamp is a flourescent that needs a ballast, presumably one could find a regular lamp that uses the same general type of bulb and gut it for the ballast. The test tube part might be harder, but I'm sure something could be found. Everything else could presumably be faked by use of a drilled rubber stopper and lots of plumbers goop...

ART

I think your res. idea is great. The cap, quartz liner, and active parts from this UV-5 could easily be adapted to your idea. The bulb measures:

I am pretty sure that PVC gets brittle in natural sunlight b/c of the UV it (sunlight) contains -we'll have to check into that.

The bulb is a compact fluorescent, I believe, and contains Mercury Vapor. It is a Hot Cathode type. Here is some more info:

Philips Part No. 046677-38186-3
Desc. Philips TUV PL-S 5
Watts: 5
UV-C Watts: .18 :( (That is what is on their web site) Althornin......
Nominal Bulb length: 4 in.
Useful Life Hours: 8000 --> Useful Life Listed @ 85% UV Maintenance
Philips Figure No. 16-S

The quartz tube is flanged at the top and is held in by the lid. I can give you dimensions on any of the parts. I plan to post them, or a link to them, soon. Let me know of any specifics you need.

If thats the actual output of the bulb in UVC power, then set efficiency to 1 and power to .18
it still gets almost 100% per day