Mercury Vapor Bulbs(repost)

[Ed_r]

Nicole Posted this before, but it seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

MERCURY VAPOR BULBS, FACTS



I’ve been meaning to write this for some time. I hope that it will clear up some things for the thinking people. I will also put it in the files section for future reference so new ones can review it. I believe it is important information, so please read it through if you have the time. If nothing else, read the end of this composition.

I have at this time I have tested well over a 130 Reptile Mercury Vapor bulbs for UVB out-put, UVB decay, and failure rates. The Connecticut Iguana Sanctuary (AJ Gutman, editor of the Iguana Magazine and board member of the ISS) has tested the failure rate of over 300 Self Ballasted Mercury Vapor bulbs. This is a combined number of over 400 lamps.

Mercury Vapor Bulb FACTS

1) Self Ballasted Mercury Vapor (SBMV bulbs) bulbs have a filament inside that works as a ballast. This filament is the weak point in the bulb. Just as you will have to replace standard incandescent bulbs in your habitat due to vibration failure, so will the self ballasted needs to be changed*. (Halogen bulbs last longer in habitats because halogen gas is used to capture vaporized tungsten atoms and replace them on the filament thus allowing the filament to run hotter and longer than conventional incandescent tungsten bulbs. Halogen bulbs produce UVA and a little of theUVB spectrum, but only in the upper nanometer range) SBMV bulbs that are mounted in solid fixtures, such as on walls and ceilings in your house will fail less often due to being mounted on a solid foundation rather then inside (or on) a freestanding habitats. The less vibration, the longer lasting the bulb. The obvious advantage to this bulb is that it performs 3 functions, heat, light, and UVB. The disadvantage is that when it fails, all three are gone. MV lamps used for reptile applications have an AVERAGE life of 6 months. Some will last shorter, some longer, but with the combined study of over 400 lamps, 6 months is the average.


*Self ballasted MV lamps used in most commercial applications will last up to 10,000 hours (well over a year) because of the way they are mounted.

** As long as the ambient air temperature is above 65 degrees, spending the day without the lamp won’t be any more then a minor discomfort for your animal. Also, if the ambient air allows, run a small HE or CHE in another section of the habitat in case of failure of the SBMV lamp.

2) External ballasted Mercury Vapor lamps will NOT fail due to tungsten filaments. They have proven to be excellent sources of UVB. They will require optional light and heat sources such as halogen lamps. Halogen lamps run “hot” for the wattage so be careful when setting them up.



3) Mercury Vapor bulbs will decay on the AVERAGE of 70%. Some will decay less and some will decay more. Simple terms, a 160wt SBMV FLOOD lamp that starts at 80uW/cm2@12” will decay (on the average) of 64uW/cm2 giving you 16uW/cm2@12”. Most of the decay happens very quickly in the first few days. It then levels off over the next several months. This happens to all MV bulbs regardless of the maker. We have recently discovered that some of this decay may be a product of the composition of the glass changing from UVC exposure inside the glass.


4) MV bulbs produce 3 times more UVB in the 290-300 (D-UV) nanometer range than “tube” type UVB bulbs of the total UVB out-put. 10uW/cm2@12’ from a MV FLOOD lamp is equivalent to 30uW/cm2 from a tube lamp. This fact helps explain why every rehabilitator I have spoken to sees a remarkable difference in the effects of MV lamps over tubes even though they may be using MV FLOOD lamps that are only emitting 10-15uW/cm2. (I still recommend using ZooMed 5.0 tubes with MV Flood style lamps).



5) Mercury vapor bulbs do NOT emit any strange or mysterious rays. The entire electro magnetic spectrum can be, and is mapped by spectralradoimeters. Regardless of what you may have read on some sites, Mercury Vapor bulbs do not emit any UVC at any distance. I have taken readings from MV lamps producing over 2,000uW/cm2@12” and have never registered even 1uW/cm2 of UVC.

6) Both Mercury Vapor lamps and florescent tubes contain mercury and should be handled with care. Mercury Vapor bulbs have an arc tube that contains a minute amount of liquid mercury under pressure that vaporizes with an electrical charge. Strip lights contain low pressure mercury vapor which when iodized (electric current passed through it) emits UV light. This energy (UV light) is then absorbed by a thin coating of white phosphor on the inside of the bulb. The white phosphor uses the energy from the UV light to emit visible light (it fluoresces). Some energy is wasted as heat but most is changed to visible light.


6)In a recent study by Dr. Gehrmann and associates, of spiny tailed iguanas, showed that MV SPOT lamps brought the hydroxyl (OH25) levels in the blood equal to those found in the wild. Interestingly the majority of creatures in this controlled study also preferred to bask under the Mercury Vapor SPOT lamps in comparison to the alternative UVB light and heat source.*

*Please see the files section for the complete study, “Dr. Gehrmann's comparison study”.

7) T-Rex and ZooMed Mercury Vapor self ballasted FLOOD lamps have about the same decay and failure rates RIGHT NOW. They both produce about 12-20uW/cm2 on the average after they have decayed. Both have a life span of about 6 months on the AVERAGE. It is futile to raise one over the other at this time. Some will find the T-Rex FLOOD as the better bulb and has more longevity and better UVB and some will find the ZooMed FLOOD has out lasted and has higher UVB. Over 400 bulbs in almost three years, we have found that it’s a tie, on the AVERAGE for the SBMV FLOOD lamps.

T-Rex Mercury Vapor self ballasted SPOT lamps have the same AVERAGE failure rate as the FLOODS yet they create incredible UVB. I have found NO advantage of the 160wt SPOT over the 100wt SPOT. These lamps both produce 80-150uW/cm2@12” after decay for as long as the burn. For heat, light, and UVB, these lamps can’t be touched (as of now). There isn’t any difference in OH25 production in the blood with the sun compared to the SPOT lamp, thereby proving that the entire creature does not need to be bathed in the UVB. SPOT lamps also have the advantage of giving the creature more UVB with less exposure to the care keeper since the UVB is focused on a precise area and little to none in the radiant directions.

9) Westron Lightings external ballasted lamps are the product to watch. These lamps are not compromised by the failure of internal ballast. Westron has only seen 3 bulb failures since its inception and carry a full 6 month non-pro-rated warrantee. Great for smaller reptiles or for larger animals with added light and heat compliments.

10) BigApple Capture the Sun Mercury Vapor lamps. These are advertised as FLOOD lamps yet are a SPOT lamp. They contain an internal ballast that is in a “second” tube. This may be why those that have tried them say that they have less heat than the bulbs from the two other name brand distributors. (We have found the same thing.) The bulbs that we tested had good UVB, 50-70uW/cm2. All the bulbs that we tested failed before two months or sooner. The CTIS bought 50 of these bulbs over a year and also had a 1-2 month failure rate. None lasted over three months. BigAppleReptile is an excellent distributor, yet for some reason Steve has refused to change his false advertising since first posted and continues to sell these lamps. We do not recommend these lamps.

In conclusion;

For those that think that Mercury Vapor lamps are to much trouble, I ask “Why do you have an exotic creature in your house?” If easy is what one wants, I would suggest a gerble or cat. Reproducing the requirements for what is considered an exotic reptile is no easy task. The major distributors have good warrantees on a product that goes through major abuse (in most cases). It’s up to the individual to be responsible to take advantage of these warrantees.

My friend AJ, mentioned earlier has purchased over 300 lamps and NEVER returned one of them, sighting the hassle involved. I had to ask her “What is the hassle compared to caring for 50 near dead reptiles at one time?” So why does she continue to use them? “Because I see remarkable results with them”, says AJ.*

*AJ Gutman is a reptile medical transcriber, from German to English and her husband, the “Doc”, is an emergency room doctor. They go to the outer envelope of reptile rehabilitation, even doing surgery on the kitchen table.

On a very good and well known website, I read that T-Rex lists all the zoo’s that use the Mercury Vapor bulb and then goes on to state that our living rooms aren’t ZOO’s. I have to ask “Why then are there WILD creatures in them? Should we care for these creatures in a substandard way? If so, what right do we have to own them?”

Keep in mind that as more people become aware of what the reptile lamps produce (or don’t) in the way of true UVB, products will change. This writing is accurate as of 1/2004 and might be out dated in six months.

Bob MacCargar

Nicole this was a great read. I do have a couple questions. First off Who is Bob MacCargar? Who does he represent? and where did you find this info.

I took the liberty of copying the post(now im happy I did) and emailed it to quite a few CHS members, and they are asking for the source.

	Ultra Violet Radiation B Ultra Violet Radiation B

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[NicoleRussell]

Bob MacCarger is a demi God.
LOL
Seriously though, he heads all the UVB research over at the meter group. I just got my meter and am playing like a baby with a new toy
He is an amazing person, obviously bright, friendly and runs a rescue. He puts hours and hours of time in speaking with companies, herpetologists, and average keepers, wrtiting articles and attempting to help with husbandry. He is also into cars and paint --- he tests bulbs for that too but I know nothing about that
I guess you can say I like him a little :P
Here are some links:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Iguanophiles/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/
http://www.candgpaint.com/

Also here is a post by him at one of the Yahoogroups:

From: "Robert MacCargar" <robertmaccargar@h...>
Date: Wed Feb 11, 2004 1:22 am
Subject: On the take?


A discussion that was taking place on the IML was brought to my attention (I
am set at “no Mail” but pop in once in awhile to see what’s the subject of
the day). Because what I read is now the second time in a week this subject
has come up on the net, both here and there, I will address it. (Those not
interested, delete and move on). I decided not to comment on that group
because it would be futile and time consuming. Also there are members here
that have made extremely intelligent and informative posts on this same
subject, there.

Hey! So what’s the dang comment? “vap industry's incursion into the posts on
the Meter site". It has been said that my information posted here is
unreliable because I receive “free” bulbs for doing so. Do I receive” free”
bulbs? YES, I do. But have they really been free, or at no cost to me?

Bob F (and some day I will remember how to spell your name) has been testing
MV bulbs on his own, and his iguana, Zig (although having other problems)
came back with a Hydroxyl (OH25, or 25 Hydroxyvitamin D, or
specifically,1,25- dihydroxycholecalciferol or 1,25 DHCC) level of well over
200 nmol/L. (read the ISS article and the Gehrmann study in the files
section to understand the significance of this level.) To make it simple, it
was as if Zig had been living in the tree tops in South America, and not
under artificial UVB sources.

**A quick comment on the ISS article. The Board of this group (The
international Iguana Society) is comprised of some of the most respected and
published members of the reptile community. (http://www.iguanasociety.org/)
Join today.**

Now to the “free” bulbs, or lamps if you prefer. I started doing this MV
bulb study quite by accident over three years ago. I ordered 8 ZooMed 160wt
MV lamps (I was previously using the Sylvania BL400 lamps noted in the
Gehrmann study). I received a meter from a donation from the first group
order that Bob F, Gail Eglsy, and David Kroughoff all had a part in. I found
that the MV bulbs that I was so “hot” on were not producing the UV that was
advertised. Sam Lee (Bronx Zoo) had done a study years before and found that
the MV lamps produced the most UVB by far. At the time I knew nothing about
Westron Lighting, whose lamps were used in Sams original study, nor did I
know it was the SPOT lamps that produced the amazing UVB readings.

I called ZooMed. I was a bit hot after getting grief from everyone from MK
and others about wanting to use HIGH out-put UVB bulbs and finding that
after all this aggravation, the bulbs produced LESS than my Sylvaina BL
lamps (that people also gave me grief over) . It should be noted that all my
true herpetologist and zoologist friends were using these type UVB producing
lamps. It was only on the open iguana forums that I was getting the holy
rain of terror about them.

All I wanted was for my creatures to get what was BEST for them, and for
some reason, I wanted everyone else’s creatures to get the same. It may have
been because I felt I ended up with everyone else’s creatures anyway.

Steve Dalrymple offered to send me a new case of lamps, and so my meager
little study started. Within 3 months I was testing over 20 lamps at a time.
My electric bill jumped from $250 a month to over $800. This is a total of
about $9,00 out of my pocket over the 2 ½ year period. Add another thousand
for fixtures, wiring, shipping, phone calls, ect. Every minute that wasn’t
spent rehabilitating creatures I was involved in testing and taking
readings. I rewired certain outlets direct to the breaker panel to be sure
that I got consistent amperage in case this would alter UVB readings. I
tested angle of the bulbs, on and off compared to steady on, variance in
difference fixtures. I tested in habitats and out. I have a tendency to get
anal about things, and this went to the max.

I have shipped out no less than 30 bulbs to people that have had problems
with their MV lamps, paying for the shipping out of my pocket. Having spent
hundreds maybe thousands of hours researching material and talking to
engineers has had its rewards and let downs.

In the End, ZooMed doesn’t talk to me, neither does T-Rex. I have made good
friends with Westron lighting though. Only they have risen above the others
as far as truly being concerned about having the best. It’s really no
wonder, they had the first.

My integrity is such in UV technology that the engineers from PPG, BASF, and
Evercoat have me testing their UV activated chemical products before they
hit commercial sale. Why? Because they know they will get an honest
appraisal of how they perform in the field. I have three UV realated
articles in print and have been asked to write several others.

I have lost friends in the reptile field because I have not agreed that
ZooMed FLOOD is better then T-Rex FLOOD or visi-versa. I have found them to
be the same. Wouldn’t my friends at Westron (that make the T-Rex) want to
hear that T-Rex is best? Yes they would. Are they mad because I don’t? No,
but! They are doing their best to BE better. They recently have changed the
internal design of the “ballast” and now say they are. I haven’t as yet
tested the new run to say one way or the other. You can belive that if they
are, i will say so without reservation!

Bottom line, is the research that all of you do tainted because of my
association with Westron?

Are the engineering and physics facts about MV lamps tainted because of my
association with Westron?

Does it make sense for me to spend $10,000 and three years of my life to get
“free” bulbs for my creatures? And would I use these lamps on my own loved
ones if they weren’t NOTHING but the best? (not to mention what I spend of
vet bills for others throw-a-way pets)

Only the narrow minded and the manipulative would suggest it.

I hate to get off on a personal tangent (and I may well get scolded for it)
but someone implying that I would give my babies less then the very best for
a free “plug” burns my hide!

Well, this wasn’t one of my most scientific writings, was it?

Bobmac
http://www.candgpaint.com

If you do nothing else today, visit and join the "International Iguana
Society" at
http://www.iguanasociety.org

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Iguanophiles

“At its best, the internet can educate more people faster than any media
tool. At its worst, it can make more people dumber faster than any other
media tool,” N.Y. Times


BOB MAC FOR PRESIDENT

	Ultra Violet Radiation B Ultra Violet Radiation B

[Ed_r]

Awesome Nicole.

Also Nicole, we just had our board meeting for the CHS last night and something came up you might be interested in. For Reptile Fest they are coming out with a new shirt for the cyclura(sp) Consevation project on Utila Island and also for the Cayman Island Blue Iguana. I personally havent seen it yet, but am told it should be real cool. As soo as i see one I'll send you a pic.

	Iguana Iguana

[NicoleRussell]

DEFINATELY!
Anything cyclura is up my alley.
Utila island has beautiful lizards. The only thing that stops me from having every single cyclura is space and money....they are all gorgeous animals.
Thanks Ed