Hello everyone. This is my first post here.
I was very intrigued by the idea that one must use the CND lamp to achieve proper cure of Shellac. I have since switched to Gelish so the issue is not bothersome to me, but I still needed to know if CND's 36 watt UV light was so significantly different to cure their UV product that a similiar 36 watt UV lamp. As an avid ponder I have been using UV lights for years, so the thought that there was a UV light bulb with the same wattage as another but produced greater UV output intrigued me. So I set out to research this idea that has caused so much debate.
Consider this:
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[FONT=Arial,Bold]Types of UV light sources. [/FONT]
[/FONT]There are two primary types of UV light sources in use today. The first and most widely used are the low-pressure class of lamps that produce virtually all of their UV output at a wavelength of 254-nano meters. These low-pressure classes of lamps generally can convert up to 40% of their input watts into usable UV-C watts.I.e. a 150-watt low-pressure lamp will have approximately 58-watts of UV-C power. Low-pressure lamps are typically run at low input power currents,200 to 1,500 milliamps and operate at temperatures between 100 and 200 degrees F. This class of lamp generally has a useful life of 8,000 to 12,000 hours, depending on operating current of the lamp.
The second type is known as the medium and high-pressure class of lamps. This class of lamps produces a very wide range of wavelengths, 100-nano meters to greater than 700-nano meters, which is well into the visible light spectrum. They generally only convert up to 7% of their input watts into usable UV-C watts. I.e. a 175-watt medium-pressure lamp will have approximately 12-watts of UV-C power, while the remaining 163-watts are converted into heat and visible light. Medium and high-pressure lamps are typically run at high-input power currents of 2,000 to 10,000 milliamps, and operate at temperatures between 932 and 1,112 degrees F. This class of lamps generally has a useful life of only 1,000 to 2,000 hours, depending on the lamps operating current. (I gathered this info from Steve Zimmerman of emperor Aquatics).
So my research thus far has not shown that any 9 watt low pressure UV bulb produces more UV output then another. Generally they all convert approximately 38% of their input watts into usable UV-C watts. So if anyone can show how the 9 watt UV bulbs that CND uses in their lamps produce more usable UV-C watts then please post that information and the source so that I may be enlightened. I would definately be very interested in that information.
With that said I am sure that there are differences in the quality of the houses that box the lights in general. And CND may be superior in that aspect.
Regards.
