Quote:
Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn
However, I don't think this would extend bulb life, just the bulb's efficiency at destroying unwanted bacteria. So I suspect I'm still replacing at least twice a year.
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The sensor for the alarm is on the outer jacket of the unit, measuring how much UV light makes it from the bulb through the water to the outer jacket. Our lens tube cruds up on the outside, and needs a wipe every 2-3 months. I don't know if there's even a way to get access to the sensor to clean it, but that may be crudded up as well and throw alarms. Another cause of alarms is turbidity, which is sometimes a problem for us even with a (cheap) whole-house pre filter.
The UV system that we installed years ago was commercial-grade, and made in Canada. Something apparently happened with the UV bulb supply in the size that it needed, because the price went up, my DW ordered multiple DOA bulbs, and they seemed to be dusty old stock. TL;dr she bought a new UV system last year that had bulbs readily available.
If you need to replace your system, I strongly recommend doing a TCO calculation to see if an LED UV system makes sense for you. I would have installed one just because last year, but we don't plan on staying at Chez Vreihen long enough for it to make sense.....