Full spectrum and uv LED lights

[Deleted account]

you may or may not remember I announced a few months ago I had packed it all on as a spark and was going to semi retire get a little part time job.

anyway I kind of did but got a job in a zoo full time On maintenance. I didn’t want full time, but it was accept full time or miss out on this opportunity. It’s fantastic, really pleased I went for it.
I am not there as the electrician, but I am happy to do a few minor works as part of general maintenance.

that’s the background.

question

the zoo has problems with providing full spectrum light with uv For the reptiles. In the tropics and the giant tortoise enclosures. The heat and moisture are blowing the ballasts in the T8 fitting regularly. The cost in time and parts is massive.

I’ve looked into LED full spectrum and uv, but the technology is very new so very expensive and there are not alot available.

there are a lot of LED full spectrum out there but the uv output isn’t good enough for the reptiles.

any ideas how to protect those ballasts or do you know of a fitting that is designed to survive extreme temps and moisture?

edit: I know this is very rude, but I’ve just posted this thread and know need to unexpectedly go out. I will respond to any input later when I get back. Sorry.

 

[UNG]

Can you mount the ballasts in a remote gear box outside the reptile enclosure

Or alternatively could you use pvc flexible conduit to duct cooling air through the existing fittings with a fan, the solution could have multiple conduits running from a box with a fan in or a fan with a spiggot plate output for the conduits to feed a number of fittings if needed. The fittings would need to be sealed so would suit using vapour proof fittings
I did something similar with a CCTV camera housing located adjacent to the feed end of a glass furnace many years back as the camera kept failing due to the ambient temperature of around 50 - 60°C and sometimes a little higher

 

[Deleted account]

Can you mount the ballasts in a remote gear box outside the reptile enclosure

Or alternatively could you use pvc flexible conduit to duct cooling air through the existing fittings with a fan, the solution could have multiple conduits running from a box with a fan in or a fan with a spiggot plate output for the conduits to feed a number of fittings if needed. The fittings would need to be sealed so would suit using vapour proof fittings
I did something similar with a CCTV camera housing located adjacent to the feed end of a glass furnace many years back as the camera kept failing due to the ambient temperature of around 50 - 60°C and sometimes a little higher

I did consider that one, and it may be the best option, but the distances and quantities of ballasts involved would mean a lot of work.

the tortoises have 32 ballasts spread around the enclosure in light fittings. The tropics probably hav3 the same. The distance to a cooler location would be several met3rs.

I was hoping that there was some sort of IP rated self cooling ballast out there. Wishful thinking.

 

[UNG]

I was hoping that there was some sort of IP rated self cooling ballast out there. Wishful thinking.

Not sure why you need IP rated ballasts surely the fitting enclosure is IP rated

 

[Deleted account]

Not sure why you need IP rated ballasts surely the fitting enclosure is IP rated

sorry should have been a bit more explicit in IP requirements in post.
The fitting the ballast is in is only ipX2.



water is sprayed about and humidity is extremely high. flora and fauna are in abundance (Plants and cockroaches). The ballasts don’t like that.

 

[brianmoooore]

To state the obvious, why are the fittings ipx2? Surely that's a C2 on an EICR in itself.

 

[Deleted account]

To state the obvious, why are the fittings ipx2? Surely that's a C2 on an EICR in itself.

Absolutely Agree.

as stated above I have not come into this role as the electrician, but a maintenance guy. The electrician role is elsewhere. This sites electrical installation is a massive responsibility that I did not want.
However my electrician head has popped on from time to time. I have raised this point and other points.
A separate company do regular EICRs ( 3 yearly) and this had never been flagged. I however am flagging things as I come across them.

Im still learning the site and locations of plant rooms. When I have got my head around things I want to look at these EICRs out of interest.

 

[UNG]

A separate company do regular EICRs ( 3 yearly) and this had never been flagged. I however am flagging things as I come across them.

Would that be the lizards, the reptiles, the snakes or maybe it's the cheetahs or a mix of all of them