I got really bored last night and needed an odor control solution if I was going to smoke inside ths winter. I knew ozone was the solution, but I was damned if I was going to pay a hefty price for a generator. I decided to make my own off the principle of UV light. This would work in the same way that ozone is produced in the upper atmosphere by the sun's virgin rays.
The first step was to acquire the materials:
Next, I had to remove the outer 'bulb' from the mercury vapor lamp. The inner bulb is quartz and will pass UV readily, while the outer bulb is glass and it contains nitrogen. This shields the UV, which I needed. This was a 175W bulb.
A couple blows from an endwrench with the bulb wrapped in a towel freed the beast within. I was extra careful in my efforts. Of course, I had to play with the mercury for a few minutes by rolling it around in the bulb, lol. It's the weirdest metal on earth. Did you know it's second only to plutonium for toxicity?
And here's what it looks like installed:
The hard part was mounting the 8lb fixture in my container of choice. After a few minutes, I had figured it out, though. Here's a picture of the completed unit:
I cut a hole in the back for the fan to suck air in, and the unit was born. Air is pushed out from the sides of the lid. I may cut holes in the top, but I want to keep UV exposure to a minimum. Here's a picture of it running:
This thing is insanely powerful. I got queasy from having it on only about 30 seconds in my dining area. If you can readily smell ozone, it's not safe to be around for extended periods of time, and now I know why, lol. Obviously this was not something to be around when it was running. It was best left as a shock treatment for a post-smoke session. The glow from this thing was unreal. I can only imagine what the bulb looks like while it's running. I'd assume similar to an arc welder.
Then came the true test. I fired up a stogie in my room with an exhaust fan and smoked for about an hour. After I was done, I let the exhaust fan pull all the smoke out of the room, as ozone does not filter; it only oxidizes. When the room was clear, it still smelled like smoke. This was the green machine's time to shine. I plugged it in, left the room and closed the door, and came back in an hour and killed the unit. I let the room sit for about 20-30 mins to let the ozone smell dissipate.
There was NO smoke smell. It was awesome. I'm going to have to get a timer for this thing though, because when I went into the room to unplug it I got queasy again, lol.
Definitely a success and worth my 30 bucks! :thumbsup:
~Eric
The first step was to acquire the materials:
Next, I had to remove the outer 'bulb' from the mercury vapor lamp. The inner bulb is quartz and will pass UV readily, while the outer bulb is glass and it contains nitrogen. This shields the UV, which I needed. This was a 175W bulb.
A couple blows from an endwrench with the bulb wrapped in a towel freed the beast within. I was extra careful in my efforts. Of course, I had to play with the mercury for a few minutes by rolling it around in the bulb, lol. It's the weirdest metal on earth. Did you know it's second only to plutonium for toxicity?
And here's what it looks like installed:
The hard part was mounting the 8lb fixture in my container of choice. After a few minutes, I had figured it out, though. Here's a picture of the completed unit:
I cut a hole in the back for the fan to suck air in, and the unit was born. Air is pushed out from the sides of the lid. I may cut holes in the top, but I want to keep UV exposure to a minimum. Here's a picture of it running:
This thing is insanely powerful. I got queasy from having it on only about 30 seconds in my dining area. If you can readily smell ozone, it's not safe to be around for extended periods of time, and now I know why, lol. Obviously this was not something to be around when it was running. It was best left as a shock treatment for a post-smoke session. The glow from this thing was unreal. I can only imagine what the bulb looks like while it's running. I'd assume similar to an arc welder.
Then came the true test. I fired up a stogie in my room with an exhaust fan and smoked for about an hour. After I was done, I let the exhaust fan pull all the smoke out of the room, as ozone does not filter; it only oxidizes. When the room was clear, it still smelled like smoke. This was the green machine's time to shine. I plugged it in, left the room and closed the door, and came back in an hour and killed the unit. I let the room sit for about 20-30 mins to let the ozone smell dissipate.
There was NO smoke smell. It was awesome. I'm going to have to get a timer for this thing though, because when I went into the room to unplug it I got queasy again, lol.
Definitely a success and worth my 30 bucks! :thumbsup:
~Eric
