UV LED's for sterilization???

[drmaxx]

However, I do have a specific application I'd like to experiment with and I need your help.

If you find a good and reasonalbe cheap and reliable solution then you're in for quite a large business.

The WHO acknowledges treatement at the point of use as one of the most important measures for improving health worldwide. Even in developing countries there are substantial concerns about hygenic problems that occur within the water system of a house. E.g. Legionella that cause legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease is quite a concern over here in Europe.

A UV-LED that would disinfect the drinking water at the point of use and would run for a long time and would be big business.

 

[dbvanhorn]

:sigh:

If that's the case, could I just paint/coat these LED's with something to get it to output only 260nm? Thanks again fellas...:twothumbs

In case this wasn't already made clear: No.

 

[phreeflow]

If you find a good and reasonalbe cheap and reliable solution then you're in for quite a large business.

The WHO acknowledges treatement at the point of use as one of the most important measures for improving health worldwide. Even in developing countries there are substantial concerns about hygenic problems that occur within the water system of a house. E.g. Legionella that cause legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease is quite a concern over here in Europe.

A UV-LED that would disinfect the drinking water at the point of use and would run for a long time and would be big business.

Hey DrMaxx...you hit the nail on the head. That's kind of along the lines I was thinking but the technology is just not ready as far as LED's go. For those of you recommending Steripen...I'll be getting one for personal use but I had an industrial application in mind when first initiating the question. I wanted to add uv led's to supplement something I am working on but have decided to just go with the uv tubes.

In case this wasn't already made clear: No.

Actually it wasn't thoroughly touched upon on this thread and I thank you for the clarification. And you're 100% right, the folks at SSC said they had tried all sorts of different lenses and/or filters but they will not change the frequency.

 

[gillestugan]

There is a lot of research going on as a cheap UV-C LED would be perfect for water purification in development countries.

LEDs would make it possible to make a small portable solar cell driven water purifier which needs no maintenance.

 

[drmaxx]

There is a lot of research going on as a cheap UV-C LED would be perfect for water purification in development countries.

Not just in in developement countries. Legionella for example requires that we here have to keep our hot water tanks at home at 60 °C. This is one one hand a potential burn threat e.g. with kids and one the other hand costs a lot of energy. Give us a reliable way to disinfect the tap water and you are in business - I am talking here about most of Europe.

 

[phreeflow]

There is a lot of research going on as a cheap UV-C LED would be perfect for water purification in development countries.

LEDs would make it possible to make a small portable solar cell driven water purifier which needs no maintenance.

Exactly...and a chance to do something good. It's unfortunate that one of the leading causes of death in many developing nations is poor water. It's literally like drinking poison.

 

[Wangstang]

Any chance there has been some advancement in the UV LED's that put light out in the proper range?

Wes

 

[1 what]

FYI .... LedSupply list a 361nm UV LED for $3.99.
http://ledsupply.com/l5-0-u5th15-1.php
I think it sounds too good to be true but ordered a few of them last week. I expect delivery this Friday.
I'll let you know how they perform.

 

[KiwiMark]

FYI .... LedSupply list a 361nm UV LED for $3.99.

It' a pity they don't have a 260nm UV LED for the same price (or even or twice the price).

 

[AW]

Seoul makes the 255nm UV LED for germicidal and medical applications :

http://www.socled.com/en/product/prd/DeepUVLED255.asp

 

[1 what]

Hi AW!
Do you know anyone who sells them at a "retail" level?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Phreeflow,

I am going to move this discussion over to the LED section of the forum.

Tom

 

[Wangstang]

Seoul makes the 255nm UV LED for germicidal and medical applications :

http://www.socled.com/en/product/prd/DeepUVLED255.asp

Anyone know whot to talk to about building some 6P drop in bulbs?

Wes

 

[travelinman]

Not to be a nit picker here, but UV light doesn't actually kill bacteria, it only inhibits it's ability to multiply, thereby stopping it's ability to reproduce. Sort of a miniature vasectomy. oo: That's good enough however, because a few bacteria won't hurt you, it's only when all the offspring start having offspring etc. etc. that you get harmed.
At least that's what I learned in biology many many years ago.

 

[drmaxx]

Not to be a nit picker here, but UV light doesn't actually kill bacteria, it only inhibits it's ability to multiply

This is only partly correct. UV light damages the DNA - very unspecific. Some of this damage inhibits important life functions, some of them inhibits growth and multiplying. The key is, that the UV-dose is high enough to damage enough DNA to overload the internal repair mechanism. And this is equal to being dead. Otherwise the microbes are only harmed and require some time to repair themselves. After that they are ready to do their thing again. This is one of the reasons why UV-disinfection has a bad rep in water supply. If you don't do it correctly then you don't really disinfect. Doing it correctly is not an easy thing to do (Computational Fluid Dynamics - anybody?).

 

[Rexlion]

Not to be a nit picker here, but UV light doesn't actually kill bacteria, it only inhibits it's ability to multiply, thereby stopping it's ability to reproduce. Sort of a miniature vasectomy. oo: That's good enough however, because a few bacteria won't hurt you, it's only when all the offspring start having offspring etc. etc. that you get harmed.
At least that's what I learned in biology many many years ago.

I'm sorry, it just doesn't work that way. Stop shining that UV LED into your pants, and get a real vasectomy like the rest of us...

 

[RocketTomato]

Anyone know whot to talk to about building some 6P drop in bulbs?

Wes

Checkout Nailbender in the Custom B/S/T forum

 

[PhotonWrangler]

It's not an LED, but I just stumbled across a UVC germicidal bulb at Target today. It's in the hardware section by the air purifiers. I bought one to experiment with.

Near as I can find out it's a 3 watt 10v bulb that's intended to work with a ballast in it's host device, a small UV air purifier that plugs into a light socket. The linked page shows a photo of the bulb also.

This lamp is very reminiscent of the old OZ-4 ozone bulb, aka the G-E G4S11, with an incandescent filament and a tiny drop of mercury visible inside the clear quartz envelope. They're commonly used in water purifiers and tootbrush sanitizers as well as air purifiers. Many years ago they used to use the OZ-4 bulbs in commercial restroom hand dryers.

At any rate I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but i'll think of something. :huh:

 

[Rexlion]

...At any rate I'm nto sure what I'll use it for yet, but i'll think of something. :huh:

That sounds like a lot of us with our lights.

 

[batmanacw]

Why not just use the Steripen to begin with?

Steripens are a great way to get sick. They only work in water. If you dip your drinking vessel into the contaminated water source, then use the steripen, what is going to purify the germs you got on the outside and top of the container? You will just recontaminate trying to pour across the top of the container to put it into another container to drink it.

The military tabs tell you to loosen the lid and shake the canteen to get antiseptic water onto the threads. The steripen purified water is not antiseptic so it would not kill anything by itself. The chemicals in the military tabs do actively kill bugs.

Also, sterilized crap is still crap. The solids in the water actually will protect germs inside the solids. Light can't get to it so it lives through the treatment and goes into your belly.

Use a real water filter.