UV Meter

[meacy]

I have been thinking of getting a UV meter, but there rather expensive. So would you say they where a essential item to have or a luxury?

[Alan1]

if you mean a solarmeter then it's a luxury item (£150) but can tell you when you need a new bulb so may save you money long term but will take a few years before you get that back

[yuna1971]

Expensive but as Al said, they are invaluable. It's the only way to truly know if your bulb is duff or a good 'un with regards to its UVB output. It also will help as you can test for the rate of decay with the UVB. And just a note (just my own opinion) but I wouldn't buy one from eBay. xx

[koimon]

I was going to ask the same question (kind of) is there any other way of telling if the uv has dropped off? like an early warning?

[yuna1971]

Um...not that I am aware of. xx

[koimon]

I know it sounds silly but I was wondering what those lights you can get for the garden that get charged by the sun need to recharge, is it uv? My daughter has a toy that rocks back and forth when the sun is shining

[yuna1971]

It's not silly not at all. Yes the solarmeter measures the UVB from sunlight and can be used to test mercury vapour bulbs (aka combined bulbs) by measuring their UVB output, which technically speaking they all should have. It's the only way of checking this as far as I'm aware. The reading you get - if low - either shows that the bulb is not throwing out an acceptable level or if the UVB has decayed within the bulb... (if it were a bulb that you have had for some time).
Does this help? I think if you look in the Housing Section Alan (Alan1) has been consistently taking readings from his Arcadia D3 combined bulb vs a Solar Glo combined bulb.
These were taken from a solarmeter - you'll see from this what one bulb does (with a not so good reputation) compared to the other which is the most popular and (judging by results), the most reliable in terms of the UVB output. xx

[yuna1971]

No it's not anything that gets charged up so to speak by the sun or any bulb. It is just equipment that can read UVB output at a given spot. xx

[koimon]

Yes thanks that does help. and burnt toast mentioned about the experiment Alan is doing, I'll check that out. I don't actually have my tortoises yet (burnt toast again is hopefully going to help me out there too ) and so I haven't got a bulb yet, I am researching at th moment to see which type will be the best option.

[meacy]

Originally Posted by yuna1971

Expensive but as Al said, they are invaluable. It's the only way to truly know if your bulb is duff or a good 'un with regards to its UVB output. It also will help as you can test for the rate of decay with the UVB. And just a note (just my own opinion) but I wouldn't buy one from eBay. xx

Next question then is where to buy one from? and best one for price/quality? I know thats 2 question