Wiring up 4.0A, 460W UV lamp for plastic polymer research

Hi everyone, first time on the forum!

I am a graduate student in chemical oceanography examining the degradation products of different plastic polymers in seawater during photo-oxidative degradation. As part of my experimental design I am using a 4.0A, 460W UV lamp to accelerate degradation of my samples.

Neither myself (chemistry background) nor my advisor (an oceanographer) have experience with UV lamps, their correct setup and wiring. I wasn't sure who to reach out to, but I thought with your knowledgeset you could potentially point me in the right direction. My only relevant experience is a calc. based E&M lecture and lab I took a few years back as an undergraduate.

Attached are the lamp specs as well as the wiring diagram from the manufacturer (Osram / Sylvania).

So far I have the lamp, a set of Osram S26 and S26A R7S lamp bases, a laboratory space with a 220V power source, and head to toe UV-specific PPE and shielding in the lab. This lab will not be used by anyone else for the duration of the experiments. Just trying to sort out the correct setup of the system. I’ve tried reaching out to the manufacturer multiple times but no response. My local power company told me to kick rocks and contact a licensed electrician.

1) The diagram shows an ignitor, but I believe I have found online that some are combination ballasts & ignitors. Is this true? Also, if the manufacturer states it requires a 4.0 kV ignitor, do I need to get one at 5+ kV to ensure I am passing the 4 kV threshold?

2) The diagram also shows a power factor correction capacitor. My understanding is that those are only required when a motor is in use, however the diagram is showing that one is required. Reading up on it, I still don’t quite understand how to calculate apparent power in the power factor equation: PF = real power / apparent power. How do I calculate / experimentally determine apparent power?

I would greatly appreciate manufacturer part numbers for an ignitor and ballast if anyone can provide recommendations. General advice, considerations, and resources are also greatly appreciated.


Iʻll do my best to answer promptly but Iʻm in Hawaii so different timezone from most of you. Iʻm happy to document the build and experiment process here if you folks are interested.

Lastly, apologies for my lack of knowledge in this area.


Mahalo,


Noah

This is a high pressure lamp in the UV-A range. The lamp needs an ignition circuit and a specific ballast to limit operating current. It might also need fan cooling.... operating current, voltage and temperature will all affect the light quantity and wavelength. The power factor correction is only there to reduce the cost of operation and make it more friendly for the electrical supply which won't be too important if you're only running one lamp and not banks of several dozen or hundreds.

It's not a good idea to just take the lamp and try to build a circuit around it, it's probably going to be an expensive learning curve. Usually you'd purchase a complete luminaire that comes complete with ignitor, ballast and cooling system and it would be certified to give you predetermined light wavelengths and light quantity as well as illumination optics giving predetermined light spread.

Marvo said:

This is a high pressure lamp in the UV-A range. The lamp needs an ignition circuit and a specific ballast to limit operating current. It might also need fan cooling.... operating current, voltage and temperature will all affect the light quantity and wavelength. The power factor correction is only there to reduce the cost of operation and make it more friendly for the electrical supply which won't be too important if you're only running one lamp and not banks of several dozen or hundreds.

It's not a good idea to just take the lamp and try to build a circuit around it, it's probably going to be an expensive learning curve. Usually you'd purchase a complete luminaire that comes complete with ignitor, ballast and cooling system and it would be certified to give you predetermined light wavelengths and light quantity as well as illumination optics giving predetermined light spread.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response Marvo. I am planning to use a combination of laboratory A/C and industrial fan(s) for cooling.

I tried contacting the manfacturer multiple times to see if they have / would recommend a specific ignitor and ballast but never received a response. What do you suggest my best route forward is from here for selecting the correct components?

As above its not a great idea

The ballast and ignitor will have ratings to match the lamp


Then there's the safe design of the assembly and fixing , fire safety

When you buy a complete luminaire it will have fixing and wiring instructions and when you follow those it should be safe , self assembly is risky for a few reasons

Mikegh said:

As above its not a great idea

The ballast and ignitor will have ratings to match the lamp


Then there's the safe design of the assembly and fixing , fire safety

When you buy a complete luminaire it will have fixing and wiring instructions and when you follow those it should be safe , self assembly is risky for a few reasons

Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments Mikegh. I've looked into a full prepackaged setup for this but couldn't find one. Hence, the attempt at constructing one.

I have no idea if this is of any interest, especially since you already have acquired some hardware, but there do seem to be a few 'pre-packaged' offerings designed for the curing market. Unfortunately using different (maybe similar?) bulbs.
There is also the safety issue of protection from explosion of the bulb, and providing a UV 'transparent' protection in front of it, and these ready made solutions seem to tackle that nicely



Might be worth researching this area of production equipment to see if there is anything more closely suited.
PS appreciate these are UK examples, but similar do appear to be available worldwide?

Avo Mk8 said:

I have no idea if this is of any interest, especially since you already have acquired some hardware, but there do seem to be a few 'pre-packaged' offerings designed for the curing market. Unfortunately using different (maybe similar?) bulbs.
There is also the safety issue of protection from explosion of the bulb, and providing a UV 'transparent' protection in front of it, and these ready made solutions seem to tackle that nicely

UV 400W Curing Flood Lamp - Fixed Mount Lamp with Wide Beam

Ultraviolet (UV) flood lamp with high UV output, ideal for fixed mount curing and bonding applications.

uv-light.co.uk

IUV400 UV Curing Flood Lamp

IUV 400 UV Curing Flood Lamp is a versatile high intensity, hand-held or fixed mounting UV lamp for curing adhesives, coatings, and potting materials.

www.intertronics.co.uk

Might be worth researching this area of production equipment to see if there is anything more closely suited.
PS appreciate these are UK examples, but similar do appear to be available worldwide?

Click to expand...

Avo - thank you very much for these suggestions.

The way I have been planning to have my setup oriented is a rotating wheel full of polymer samples in quartz (UV transparent) glass vials filled with seawater. Hence the cylindrical bulb I got already. However, these pre-packaged options may prove useful as well. Iʻll dig into them and take a look.

Thanks again!