OK, Lets Talk Ozonators!!!

[Vinny]

My tub will be 3 YO comes June and it's ozonator will be shot if it's not already (it is supposed to be good for 9000 hours), I have not run it 24/7 all the time so it may just be dying out about now. I have discussed the fact that I would like to put in a more powerful ozonator but I never got a difinitive answer as which are good and why.

I am assuming that an ozonator works based on what I've read here although I am skepitcal but that may be because my Del ozonator is a POS. I am willing to buy a "better" unit to see if it does make a difference. I really don't want to turn this into a yes it does/ no it doesn't discussion ... just whats a good ozonator and why. The other question is do I add tubing to make a longer "contact" chamber for the ozone as Chas has mentioned in the past of what he does for newer HS ozonators. My tub has approximately 10 feet of tubing before it enters the water (this is an estimate).

My impression so far is that a Prozone PZ-1 is the most powerful ozonator that I have found with 8 grams of ozone a day. It has a life of 20,000 hours and can be had for about $100. The next best one is the JED 104 (or is it the 103) that produces about 4 grams a day, has the same hour rating and around the same price. The Prozone uses a UV lamp and the JED is corona discharge.

My discussion with Del is that both their CD and UV ozonators produce the same amount of ozone ... I forget the figure but it was very low.

I'm starting this now so that I can gather info and if I need to buy tubing get the info on that as well.

Thanks in advance!

Vinny

[hottubdan]

I always heard that UV ozonators produce less ozone over time as bulb degrades.

So, they might start with equal production, but... :-?

Is there something new I don't know about?

[ndabunka]

My tub will be 3 YO comes June and it's ozonator will be shot if it's not already (it is supposed to be good for 9000 hours)... my Del ozonator is a POS.

My discussion with Del is that both their CD and UV ozonators produce the same amount of ozone ... I forget the figure but it was very low....
Vinny

So, was your old one a CD or UV one?  You didn't state.  Common understanding is that the CD-type will last longer simply due to the way they are designed.  I too have also heard that UV degrades as time goes by.

Also, as Tim "the toolman" Taylor demonstrated, bigger is NOT always better so if it were me (and it soon may well become so as mine too is 4 years old), then I would select the mid-output CD version myself.

[Vinny]

My ozonator is an UV type. It is rated for 9000 hours and I assumed that meant that it will produce ozone at a specified output for that duration but this might not be the case.

Maybe middle of the road is better than all out the most. Certainly a 4 grams a day CD unit is much more than whatever my Del ozonator is capable of putting out.

Others have stated Balboa ozonators but what is the difference between brands other than UV/CD. As I said Del told me that their CD & UV ozonators produce the same amount of ozone ... maybe the CD unit doesn't fall off the way the UV does.

ndabunka, we discussed this about a month or 2 ago and you said that whatever was in the tub tubing wise - leave it alone. I guess with mid output ozonator I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Maybe the JED unit is the way to go as it is a CD unit and at 4 grams a day is at least 2x as powerful as what I have in there now.