Local source for UV Bulbs for Alpine Spas

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dantheperson

174 posts

Master Geek

#318008 5-Dec-2024 23:17

Anyone had any luck sourcing spare bulbs from other than alpines spas themselves? They want $200 for a bulb, when they appear to go for $8 on aliexpress. A local supplier would be good to avoid shipping risk on aliexpress.

https://www.spasupplies.co.nz/products/ultraclear-uv-bulb?_pos=2&_sid=fc68d0ad4&_ss=r

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006139844028.html

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#3317421 6-Dec-2024 06:45

Would the bulbs used for water treatment work? EG https://pumpsonline.co.nz/collections/ultraviolet-uv

pih

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#3317429 6-Dec-2024 07:27

These come in lots of different sizes and wattage ratings, so be careful if you're trying to replace one brand or supplier with a cheaper one. AFAIK the bulb needs to match the ballast you're using with it so that you drive the bulb with the correct current. The original in your first link is 300mm long and doesn't say what the wattage is, the second one is 225mm and 15W, so may not be suitable.

Yes, UV bulbs are hideously expensive, it's daylight robbery. The AliExpress ones are cheap enough that you could buy a couple and see how long they last. Quality would be a bigger concern for me than shipping risk. If they are broken/DOA you just ask for a refund.

FWIW I've bought bulbs from this crowd before (because I couldn't find a cheaper suitable replacement for my system), and their customer service was outstanding: http://www.lightexports.com/

dantheperson

174 posts

Master Geek

#3317434 6-Dec-2024 07:54

Thanks yes i've checked pumpsonline, but not found one there that matches the 303mm length. But noted the water treatment ones are generally much longer and more powerful for less cost.

The aliexpress link had two sizes, the 15W 303mm length one matches the one in the spa. But how do you know it really works without exposing yourself to UVC?

pih

649 posts

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#3317446 6-Dec-2024 09:00

dantheperson:

The aliexpress link had two sizes, the 15W 303mm length one matches the one in the spa. But how do you know it really works without exposing yourself to UVC?

Ah, right you are. I was looking at "Product Dimensions" which listed just the one length.

As for "how do you know it works?": There are two parts to that good question. First, "is it working at all?"

There is some visible light emitted from the tube but yeah, you don't want to be exposed to UVC (or stare at it) for any length of time, but a miniscule bit of indirect light that escapes for a second or two probably isn't going to cause burns or cancer. But if you want to check it I'd recommend wearing a good pair of sunglasses and covering exposed skin just to be safe:

Once properly installed, switch it on and see if you can see a faint purple glow from the end cap that goes over the plug. There's usually a tiny bit of leakage (at least on the two systems I've seen). If not, just open it a tiny crack.

However the bigger question with getting a cheap bulb is the quality of the UVC it produces, ie. "Is it effective?". Is it producing light at the right wavelength? Is it producing enough to be effective? And will it continue producing for as long as the original? Those are questions that you'd need a UVC dosimeter and a bunch of to tests to accurately measure.

mentalinc

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#3317449 6-Dec-2024 09:04

Is the spa chlorinated?

Do you even need a UV light? not sure what it is actually doing if you have it correctly chlorinated...

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hsvhel

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#3317569 6-Dec-2024 12:45

I get mine from here, also have an Alpine Spa

https://thelightbulbshop.co.nz/

Agree with you SpaStore is off the mark on their UV pricing

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dantheperson

174 posts

Master Geek

#3317574 6-Dec-2024 12:52

It is not essential, you can just use chlorine. But the manual suggests much lower dosage of chlorine is need when the UV and ozone system is operating.

Other reports i've read say the main benefit is that the UV light kills the chlorine, so it's all gone by the next time you use it. Chlorine to kill the bugs, UV to kill the chlorine.

I wouldn't trust UV on it's own, as it's not treating the whole of the spa water. It treats dirtry water, turns it into clean water, and then returns it to the spa to mix with the dirty water. Perhaps if they designed one that was integrated into the cover so it treated the entire spa in one go while the jets were running to ensure the water in the pipes is treated.

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hsvhel

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#3317576 6-Dec-2024 12:58

Mine is a pain to balance when the light dies, that's the biggest indication....at least now the newer ballasts have an LED extension that goes into the logo so you can see when the bulb fails without taking the cover panels off

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neb

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#3317622 6-Dec-2024 16:23

pih: However the bigger question with getting a cheap bulb is the quality of the UVC it produces, ie. "Is it effective?". Is it producing light at the right wavelength? Is it producing enough to be effective? And will it continue producing for as long as the original? Those are questions that you'd need a UVC dosimeter and a bunch of to tests to accurately measure.

That's actually fairly easy to check, if it's LED tech of any kind then it's not UVC. A cheap way to test alleged-UVC apart from the appearance (low-pressure mercury lamps are pretty distinctive) is the banana sunburn test, put it on top of a banana, cover it, and turn it on for awhile, the UVC-exposed portions should go black. You can also get plastic UVC test cards for very little money that have printed portions that react specifically to UVC and/or UV in general.

In terms of getting the right one, you could either just spend the $8 and see or get a E27 socket and wire that in its place and use any E27 germicidal lamp.

pih

649 posts

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#3317626 6-Dec-2024 17:08

neb:

That's actually fairly easy to check, if it's LED tech of any kind then it's not UVC. A cheap way to test alleged-UVC apart from the appearance (low-pressure mercury lamps are pretty distinctive) is the banana sunburn test, put it on top of a banana, cover it, and turn it on for awhile, the UVC-exposed portions should go black. You can also get plastic UVC test cards for very little money that have printed portions that react specifically to UVC and/or UV in general.

In terms of getting the right one, you could either just spend the $8 and see or get a E27 socket and wire that in its place and use any E27 germicidal lamp.

I actually have a few genuine UVC LED PCB strips, bought to try and replace the mercury vapour lamp in our tank water filtration system with something longer lasting that can be switched off when the water is not flowing. UVC LED tech is not cheap, but it is available. Unfortunately after buying them I did some calculations and realised I'd need 4 times as many LEDs as will fit, just to get the same efficacy as the original lamp 😢

Unfortunately, while the banan-o-meter will tell you if there's UV B/C, it won't tell you how strong it is, unless you have a reference lamp to compare with. The UVC dosing is important to ensure it's effective - though I guess it's less of a concern if it's combined with chlorination/ozone.

Finally, the cheap E27 germicidal lamp won't work in this instance. The mercury vapour lamp that OP is using fits inside a narrow quartz sleeve like a large test tube, to seal it off from the water flowing past. A regular germicidal lamp won't fit.

neb

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#3317627 6-Dec-2024 17:20

Good point, I should have qualified my comment about LEDs as "if it's 'UV' LED tech from Aliexpress, Amazon, etc". Those are either just purpleish LEDs or at best 365nm but more usually 395nm. Fine for attracting bugs to a zapper but useless for sterilisation.

dantheperson

174 posts

Master Geek

#3323798 23-Dec-2024 18:46

ok i bought some bulbs from aliexpress, (but from a different seller to what i originally linked) and setup a little experiment.

Bulb out of enclosure
UVC exposure testing card
old phone to record the result without risking my eyesight.
don cheap poly-carbonate safety glasses just in case
turn on spa remotely from isolator.

Its a fail. Neither of the two bulbs i purchased appear to do anything.

Verified that UV should have been active as the UV indicator LED inside the alpine logo was on, and LED was red indicating the bulb has failed.
Also checked from the control panel after it was clear there was no harm to be had getting close.

A cheap failure at lest.

Next decision, do i try the $100 bulb from spaworlds https://spastore.co.nz/spa-pool-ozone-and-uv/uv-bulb/ or go straight to the $200 part from the official supplier?

dantheperson

174 posts

Master Geek

#3323802 23-Dec-2024 18:59

Seems these guys have it too https://www.aquarius-spaparts.nz/products/uv-lamp. Have sent an enquiry to thelightbulbshop penrose branch too. Thanks for the suggestions.

hsvhel

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#3323835 23-Dec-2024 20:39

Be interested to see the results from the lightbulbshop.

Since replacing mine, it's been the same to balance as per the OG bulb.

When the bulb is out, its a pain to get close.

Are you in AKL? i have some Spa supplies bulbs i can lend as a test also

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neb

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#3323929 23-Dec-2024 23:00

Another possibility, those look like Aliexpress test cards, it's possible the fault is in the cards and not the lamps. If you're in Orkland I've got some QuantaDose test cards you're welcome to borrow as a backup test before you burn $100-200 on a lamp.

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