Reptile One Fan Heat Light - NOT suitable for UVB source

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ingie

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Hi there - I have heard several people say that they use the new Reptile One Fan Heat Light as a source of UVB for their reptiles because it says on the box that it gives off UVA and UVB. I thought I should make a thread dedicated to this because this product is definitely NOT suitable as a sole source of UVB and using it like that will lead to MBD for species with medium - high UVB requirements....

I know this for a fact because I had the chance to measure its UVB output the other day with a Zoo Med device, which measures UVB output.

First I measured the UVB outside - it was a cloudy warm Brisbane day. The reading was fluctuating close to 300, (unsure of the units). Then I took a reading directly under the heat fan light and the reading fluctuated under 30!!!!!!

I think this product needs to stop advertising UVB as this reading is so low it isn't enough to benefit anything with medium - high UVB requirements.

For anyone wondering - This is the product I am talking about

http://www.reptileone.com.au/instructions/Heat%20Fan%20Light/R1_fanheatlight_public.pdf
 
I might add to this... the product is also not suitable as a single heat source either. We have a couple of them in different tanks, but we use them in conjunction with a proper UVB and separate heat source, so essentially it is just a hundred buck fan. Could've rigged up a computer fan for nothing... That's my experience anyway...
Nic
 
Just looked at your link and they rate the units in microwatts per cm sq so I imagine your unit probably measures on the same basis. They also give stats for the UVB alone at 30cm as a percentage of the total UVA and UVB at 30cm (which look pretty pathetic as a total anyway), the highest wattage unit being just under 100 uW/cmsq making the UVB component only around 4 uW/cmsq. This seems like a very expensive waste of effort for sure. Thanks for the heads up Ingie.
 
the bad thing is imagine how much money they have made off these products, as they are so expensive...
 
The worst thing is as a noob beardie owner I was told to purchase one of these and it would be ALL I would need. For about a month or two this is all I had rigged up!!! Then when it started making a weird noise I went to purchase another from a different pet store who told me it was completely insufficient and I could use it as an aid in the basking spot but that I would also need a proper UV source and perhaps even another heat lamp on top. Essentially making it useless.
I guess that it would be beneficial for certain situations... but the packaging makes you believe it is perfect as a single source of everything you need for beardies!
 
Just looking at the picture, i believe this product is in my Viv! if this is the case the max temp my basking spot gets to with it is 35.6C, i now have a outdoor enclosure thanks to mum so i'll be looking at some changes.
 
I couldnt get my basking spot with 2 of these high Watt ones past 31C
Needless to say they have now been removed and I have 1 150W ceramic lamp which can happily get me in the high 30s with no problems.
 
These crap fan lights are just that, CRAP! As has been said cannot get the temp anywhere near 31, so ended up putting a ceramic in. One place in QLD I saw on with a $190 price tag for a 50w, RRP was around $90 i think.
 
mine gets to 35.6C and my boy is happy, just takes a bit to warm up is all
 
I have one in my macs enclosure, works well as a heat source and for circulating air, but as a UV??? Don't know... dont care... let's just say I would'nt use them for a diurnal lizard like a BD.
 
My local pet store let me take one home and trial it before buying as i was constructing a new rack of enclosures. Given a relatively small area to heat, i found it was pretty useless as well as noisy as well as very bright. After having them running for a few hours, the ambient temps of the enclosure went nowhere, i don't know how people use them as sole heat sources (unless they already live in hot climates!). the only good thing about it was that you didn't need a sparky to install it and it was easy to install. needless to say, i didn't end up buying any.
 
I used one for nearly a year.
No problems with the light/fan unit itself but after a while the transformer itself got so hot it melted & well shat itself.
 
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