Anyone use a UV meter? I want one...but which one?

[SoCaliSon]

I was thinking I would love to have some kind of meter that could measure the amount of UV a light source is emitting. I looked into these a while back and they were like hundreds of dollars... and seemed to be pretty bulky pieces of equipment. This would a great tool to have... Is my light to far? Is my reptarium gyping my Cham of UV? Is my light still good? I wonder how many people throw away bulbs that are still emitting perfect UV just becasue they are 6 months old? Is there someone who makes an affordable version of this? I know a guy who has one that is handheld ad seems to work great... But I can't remember what the brand name was... and I can't get a hold of the guy.

What would you guys recommend???

~Joe

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

handhelds work, you can find them 50- 70$

 

[SoCaliSon]

Who makes them???

 

[ChromaChameleons]

http://www.solarmeter.com/model62.html

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/usinguvmeter.htm

 

[Tygerr]

The person to speak to about this would be Dave Weldon.
He is a member of the UVB Meter Owners Forum, and has a lot of knowledge about UV metering specifically for chameleons. I know that he highly recommends the Solarmeter 6.2 UVB meter.

 

[SoCaliSon]

Thanks guys... Yeah that SolarMeter is the one I was looking at... Looks like retail is $180!!!ouch! I will send Dave a message... THanks for the input!

Joe

 

[Dean Pulcini]

I have the solar meter 6.2 which is made for reading bulbs thats what you want. Some guy was selling them on here about 5 months ago and I bought one for 160 shipped and it works great. Hes a bearded dragon guy cant remember his name, I could look for you if you want.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy All,

Glad to be back from a week-long business trip . Yep, the best price that I've found for the Solarmeter 6.2 unit is $160 (includes shipping!) from: http://www.beardeddragons.biz/solarmeter_6.2.htm. That's where I bought mine.

 

[opihiman]

Is it true that the bulbs only have a life time of 6 mos?

OPI

Ps just found this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarmeter-for-...ryZ31775QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


what is the diff between 6.0 and 6.2

 

[Tygerr]

The bulbs need to be changed regularly. It's probably safe to keep them for a bit longer than 6 months though - it varies from bulb to bulb.

You can read the results of tests done one the lifetime output of various UV bulbs here: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.htm

According to documentation on the ZooMed website (http://zoomed.com/Library/ProductDBFiles/Reptiles%20and%20UVB.pdf), "Independent scientific studies have shown that these lamps [ReptiSun 5.0 and 10.0 linear flourescents] are effective for a minimum of 12 months."

This is the main reason that some keepers buy themselves a UV meter - so they can accurately guage when a light bulb needs to be replaced. Most people recommend changing bulbs every 9-12 months, but if you had a UV meter and could tell that your 12 month old bulb still had decent UV output, you could potentially save money in the long run.

 

[opihiman]

I was just reading the site posted by dave weldon...I was wondering if there was a bulb that did not have the phosphor powder and therefore would just emit the UVB?:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubeintro.htm

also is there a difference btwn the solarmeter 6.0 and 6.2

OPI

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

question?

are the uvb rays produced by tube different from the suns uvb rays?
what are the differences

if so that means there are probably other kinds...........?

anyways, can someone explain why u would need a certain meter for lighting?

i know nothing about this, but i would like to think we are producing the same rays for our animals using tubes as they would get in nat sun ( obviously the nat sun will be stronger, but different?

it just kinda worries me that a different sensor is needed, that to me means its diff uv between sun and tube

 

[opihiman]

check out this site....it is very informative RE lighting issues

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/usinguvmeter.htm

OPI

 

[lonomac]

I recently had gotten a solarmeter and read that as long as they are receiving 5-15 on the reading that they were ok. I keep mine at 10. Ive had my bulbs almost a year now (Zoomed 5.0) and they havent shown any sign of weakening yet.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

The recommended amount of uv is 30 to 35 at the basking site for sun loving chameleons.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...Ps just found this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarmeter-for-...ryZ31775QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

what is the diff between 6.0 and 6.2

Howdy,

You might have already found the answer, but just in case... The Solarmeer 6.2 is 10x more sensitive than the 6.0 vesion. That means when you measure 30uW/cm2 on the 6.2 you get a display showing 30. With the model 6.0 it will display 3. This means that you have a potential reading "window" of about 2.5 to 3.5 when the display shows 3. Think of it as a rounding error. The 6.2 error window will be something like 29.5 to 30.5 instead.

If you want to compare your reading with everyone else in the reptile community, you'll want the Solarmeter 6.2 unit .

 

[opihiman]

Thanks for the info...HAGWE
whats left of it
lol

-OPI