Question UV Sterilizer

[Herb Fla]

Has anyone had the plastic inside of their uv strelizer start to break down?
If you rub your hand on the inside of it black comes off on your fingers, and it smells like burnt plastic.
This can't be good! I by-passed it.
I have had it on my system for a few years not sure about it.
Never ran it dry and have good flow.
Now Im worried Im going to have problems not running it.

[tgray3]

Never ran into that. Quartz sleeve may be cracked and the the UV is degrading the plastic housing. Just a guess though.

[vamaro]

+1 tgray 3

[Fishbulb2]

Hmmm. Quartz is used in UV sterilizers specifically because it does allow UV light to pass through. If the quartz sleeve blocked UV light, it'd be pretty useless. My guess is the quartz sleeve is not the problem. Tell us more about the unit (brand, wattage).

[Herb Fla]

It is a JEBO and it is a 36 watt. I bought it from my LFS. It has a glass sleave but it is not cracked or it would let water get to the bulb.

[tgray3]

I haven't used the Jebo sterilizer but i have heard mixed results about their lighting fixtures (shorts & fires) If my research is correct; The quartz sleeve is optically transparent at around 200-240nm and allows that wavelength of radiation through while absorbing the radiation at other wavelengths. It could be that the plastic is being exposed to a small amount of UV and it is finally breaking down or i could be over thinking the whole thing and it's just plain worn out and due replacement.

[clockman]

I have heard of this problem with Jebo sterilizers. This usually starts to happen much sooner than in a few years. My guess is that it's been doing this for a while and you just noticed it. Unfortunately it's time to retire it and shop for a better brand.

[Herb Fla]

wat type do you guys use and how many watts?
Do I even need one.