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Corwyn 
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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 Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:45 pm Post subject: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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As if I had nothing better to do, I found this on AliBaba and plumbed it into my water tank. Bring on Giardia! 
"Lumiwell UVC LED Module DC 12V sterilizer"
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18763
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| How about a real world test for us? Maybe fill it from a river and see what happens. Thanks for sharing. |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:28 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| MarkWard wrote: |
| How about a real world test for us? Maybe fill it from a river and see what happens. Thanks for sharing. |
Just downstream from the rotting deer carcass . . .
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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alaskadan
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2013
Posts: 1937
Location: anchor pt. alaska
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 7:27 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| Corwyn wrote: |
| MarkWard wrote: |
| How about a real world test for us? Maybe fill it from a river and see what happens. Thanks for sharing. |
Just downstream from the rotting deer carcass . . . |
Ha! LOL, once when clam digging on Cook Inlet we forgot to grab the water bottle from the car. There was a small creek that ran down the beach. My wife was so thirsty she just had to take a drink. Walking further up the creek we found nasty half gone/rotten salmon carcasses. I LOLed back then too! She was ok.
I bought a Steripen for hiking, but never really used it much , as many of the bodies of water are glacial and murky making the pens use questionable. So how can you be sure? Get some pond water, test it to make sure it has plenty of swimmers. Then turn on the light.... I've had ghiardia or something like it once. Its bad. A buddy got it on a float hunt from drinking out of the river where the rest of us filtered our water. Boy did he pay for it, every 20 minutes or so  . |
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zimflux
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2015
Posts: 228
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 5:01 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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Unfortunately UVC is probably also breaking down your tank material now...
_________________
84 Westy w/ 2.1 MV |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32989
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18763
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 7:30 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| How about a link to the part? |
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vanis13
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2010
Posts: 4406
Location: ABQ NM USA.... Except when not
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 8:03 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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cool color effect. what is the black wire for?
_________________
83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace
www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 8:47 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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The thick black wire bundle goes to the water level sensor. Alibaba now shows this item as "undeliverable to the USA" 😳, but the are alternatives on the site. A little more peace of mind . . .
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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vanis13
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2010
Posts: 4406
Location: ABQ NM USA.... Except when not
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:01 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| Corwyn wrote: |
| The thick black wire bundle goes to the water level sensor. . . . |
Interesting..h water level sensor is outside the tank on the side
_________________
83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace
www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:11 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| zimflux wrote: |
| Unfortunately UVC is probably also breaking down your tank material now... |
Its wired from the galley light, so its only on for about 30 minutes in the evening. The tank is "milk-jug" plastic and almost as thick as a kayak. I'm not worried . . .
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:13 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| vanis13 wrote: |
| Corwyn wrote: |
| The thick black wire bundle goes to the water level sensor. . . . |
Interesting..h water level sensor is outside the tank on the side |
I don't know what year van you have, but mine has a float on a rod inside the tank.
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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vanis13
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2010
Posts: 4406
Location: ABQ NM USA.... Except when not
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:24 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| Corwyn wrote: |
| vanis13 wrote: |
| Corwyn wrote: |
| The thick black wire bundle goes to the water level sensor. . . . |
Interesting..h water level sensor is outside the tank on the side |
I don't know what year van you have, but mine has a float on a rod inside the tank. |
83.5 Westy...in signature. the float/rod idea is interesting. Am not familiar with your vintage. Thanks for the detail.
_________________
83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace
www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make |
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SyncroHead
Samba Member
Joined: May 23, 2005
Posts: 1159
Location: Northern Nevada
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:30 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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I find this a terrific idea!
I wonder if the intensity of this light is sufficient to be effective all the way to the bottom of the tank?
I wonder how long the light would need to be on to kill all the bacteria?
I think it's a valid concern about the UV deteriorating the plastic material, but depending on how often the light was on and the duration each time, it might take 5-10 years to be concerning or maybe 50 years.
Sounds like a great topic for a controlled science project. Anyone have a bacteria counting system?
Jim Davis
_________________
"A Vanagon? It's not a car or a van. It's a hobby!"
Check out:
www.VANAVATION.com
www.SyncroSafari.org and
www.Vanagons.org
| sphet wrote: |
| I have *no* idea what the previous owner carried in his Westy... angry donkeys? |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18763
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:38 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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From the website. Unfortunately I only play a virologist on the internet.
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| UVC LED Testing 1.Turn on the UVC LED 2.Colon bacillus,The concentration of bacteria liquid is 3000cfu/mL, Pick 0.1mL bacteria(about 300pc bacteria)to a board. Use this UVC led, Shining 5min with distance 1cm,and then check. 3.Irradiated by a distance of 1 cm from the surface of the bacteria. 4.The shining time is 5 minutes. 5.Calculate the percentage of sterilization rate. |
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khughes
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013
Posts: 883
Location: Phoenix AZ
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:56 am Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| MarkWard wrote: |
From the website. Unfortunately I only play a virologist on the internet.
| Quote: |
| UVC LED Testing 1.Turn on the UVC LED 2.Colon bacillus,The concentration of bacteria liquid is 3000cfu/mL, Pick 0.1mL bacteria(about 300pc bacteria)to a board. Use this UVC led, Shining 5min with distance 1cm,and then check. 3.Irradiated by a distance of 1 cm from the surface of the bacteria. 4.The shining time is 5 minutes. 5.Calculate the percentage of sterilization rate. |
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Well this really doesn't tell you anything about effectiveness, it's just a suggested method for measuring effectiveness. But, in the method the exposure is 5 minutes, so assuming you could get 100% reduction of E. Coli at 1 cm, just 5 inches away (12.7 cm) you'd need over 800 minutes exposure for the same effect (12.7 x 12.7 x 5min) due to the inverse square law - and that's not factoring in the absorption by the water. So even if the tank is only 10" deep, you'd need almost 54 Hours exposure at the bottom to equal 5 minutes at 1 cm.
I've tested a lot of UV disinfection/sterilization equipment, and my guess is this is virtually useless, but can't really tell without any actual output specifications.
_________________
'86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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kourt
Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2013
Posts: 2317
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 12:14 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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The better way to do UV purification in the RV setting is to build an inline UV filter into the supply line from the tank to the sink. You set it to power on only when the pump is running.
There are a lot of good products that already do this. This site has a few, including a legitimate in-tank UV sanitizer.
https://ultraviolet.com/uv-water-purification/
I agree with the other poster who mentioned that UV light will degrade the plastic tank. It's better to build something into the sink supply line.
I thought of doing a project like this, but for now I'm just using a separate Pentek filter system that is switchable. Turn it off for washing dishes, turn it on for filling water bottles. This is very popular with my guests, and works well as long as you manage it properly. Photo below.
kourt
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khughes
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013
Posts: 883
Location: Phoenix AZ
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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| kourt wrote: |
The better way to do UV purification in the RV setting is to build an inline UV filter into the supply line from the tank to the sink. You set it to power on only when the pump is running.
There are a lot of good products that already do this. This site has a few, including a legitimate in-tank UV sanitizer.
https://ultraviolet.com/uv-water-purification/
I agree with the other poster who mentioned that UV light will degrade the plastic tank. It's better to build something into the sink supply line.
I thought of doing a project like this, but for now I'm just using a separate Pentek filter system that is switchable. Turn it off for washing dishes, turn it on for filling water bottles. This is very popular with my guests, and works well as long as you manage it properly. Photo below.
kourt
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Agreed on the UV systems quoted (e.g. they are looking at 30K uWs/cm2, likely >1000K times the energy of the LED). They are a tad pricey, but that's why.
As to a Pentech filter, I'd be cautious in what you expect it to do. To reduce or eliminate "typical" flora from a tank of potable water, great, you wouldn't want to rely on even a 5-micron filter to eliminate pathogens, especially Giardia and oocysts. And carbon filters are a food source for bacteria so their use has to be controlled if you don't want to create additional issues.
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'86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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Corwyn
Samba Member
Joined: December 29, 2009
Posts: 2424
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: UV-C Water Tank Sterilizer |
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Somebody had to get this conversation started. . . .😎
_________________
'90 White Westy ("White Lightning")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja
"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~ |
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