UVB spot lights are a rip off...maybe

[jtrux]

I was reading the description of a UVB spot light Mega-Ray and noticed that it said "This all-in-one lamp is our top-of-the-range 100 watt SB Par-38 Narrow Flood Lamp which has been shown in tests to produce similar amounts of UVB to natural sunlight!".

For whatever reason I've never really paid attention to the description to any of these UVB bulbs and just took everyone's advice and spent the 60 bucks on the Zoomed brand lights.

Anyways a quick search on Amazon came up with these as the first listing...flood light

And of course for a few dollars more you can buy one of these...UVB tester

Has anyone ever put one of these regular old flood lights to the test??? If no body comes forward, i'm doing it. I know that Zoomed and other companies have to make a little money but holy cow! If I can save 50 bucks a light and help others do the same, i'd be a happy camper.

Josh

 

[jaizei]

I've done it before. I'll grab a couple regular MVBs in my travels today and test them again for you.

Regular MVBs are manufactured to block UV light as a safety precaution. HID lights are required to be made to block UV or have to be mounted in a fixture that blocks it.

Edit: I referred to MVB, but I'll get some halogens as well.

 

[theelectraco]

Do those flood lights give off UVB tho? I totally agree tho, all UVB bulbs are way overpriced and that's why I don't use them anymore and just use the good ol' Sun.


0.1.0 Dachshund
0.0.1 Redfoot
1.0.0 Greek

 

[jtrux]

I'm just cheap and trying to figure out an alternative to provide UVB for the winter months, right now everything is outside so I am not worried about it.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I don't provide any artificial UV at all. Not even in the winter. They get plenty from the good ol'sun

I'll save my $ for something else, tank you!

I'll be curious to see what the readings are.

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

 

[Tom]

When MVBs first came out, I tried to find the source. They were being manufactured up in Canada, but I never had any luck getting any. This was years ago. Most definitely the sellers are just repackaging a bulb they paid a few bucks for, but good luck finding the source.

 

[Sterling Thunder]

When MVBs first came out, I tried to find the source. They were being manufactured up in Canada, but I never had any luck getting any. This was years ago. Most definitely the sellers are just repackaging a bulb they paid a few bucks for, but good luck finding the source.

Seriously? The spotlight type bulbs are just regular old flood light style bulbs, or at least some of them?

 

[EchoTheLeoTort]

interesting. let us know what you find out

 

[Tom]

When MVBs first came out, I tried to find the source. They were being manufactured up in Canada, but I never had any luck getting any. This was years ago. Most definitely the sellers are just repackaging a bulb they paid a few bucks for, but good luck finding the source.

Seriously? The spotlight type bulbs are just regular old flood light style bulbs, or at least some of them?

No. They are self ballasted mercury vapor bulbs that are specifically designed to give off the right amount of UV in the right wavelength to be beneficial to reptiles.

 

[jaizei]

I tested a halogen like the Amazon bulb and it was 0 on both the 6.2 and 6.5, as expected. It's been a while since I tested a regular SB MVB flood and apparently they're a little more scarce than they were then. I'll see if I can find one in the next couple days.

The comparison between the Megaray and the Amazon bulb is apples and oranges because the Megaray is a UVB MVB and the Amazon is a regular halogen. There are Megaray halogens but they aren't UVB and are about the same price as the Amazon bulb.

As I said above, lamps that aren't designed for UVB production are going to be designed to block it for safety reasons.

 

[jtrux]

It sure would be nice to find the source.