Low power of UV oven

[cekata345]

Hi,
My wife has UV oven for nails.
I measure it with my powermeter and it show ¬20W.
It has 4 lamps at 9W each.
I start oven with 1 lamp and it show ¬7.8W.
I remove it and connect second - it was the same.
Then i test all 4 lamps and all of them was ¬8W.
When i connect 2lamps it show 13W.
Is there something that i can change to improove power?
May be some capacitor?

 

[gophert]

Assuming the UV tubes are not LED...

The likely problem is an undersized transformer (undersized transformer). The transformer is likely not physically large enough, or to be able to supply the current required for four bulbs (9w/bulb x 4bulbs = 36 wats total).

A Transformer's voltage can also start sagging at max load as they age - especially if any oxidation occurs on the transformer plates. More oxidation (rusted) steel means less magnetizable iron. Also, oxidation pushes the laminated steel plates apart. This air gap reduces magnetic coupling between plates.

My advice, try a larger (higher current) transformer of the same voltage.

 

[cekata345]

Yes - they are CFL.
It has choke (not transformer) and capacitor, so i think
that it can`t oxidate.
Also if i attach 1 lamp i measure ¬8W consumption...

 

[gophert]

Yes - they are CFL.
It has choke (not transformer) and capacitor, so i think
that it can`t oxidate.
Also if i attach 1 lamp i measure ¬8W consumption...

Yes, chokes, especially powdered iron toroidal chokes do oxidize.

If it looks perfectly normal, then it was an under designed power supply to begin with as the voltage sags with only two of the four lamps. (Yielding only 13watts of the expected 16 watts).

 

[cekata345]

What about if i buy electronic starter 2x18W and connect 2 lamps in series at
first "channel" and other 2 lamps in series for second channel?
Did i neet some capacitor or i can connect them directly?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Why are you messing about?, doesn't it work perfectly well already?.

Specifications on such cheap Chinese gear is pretty imaginary anyway.

 

[gophert]

What about if i buy electronic starter 2x18W and connect 2 lamps in series at
first "channel" and other 2 lamps in series for second channel?
Did i neet some capacitor or i can connect them directly?

First, it is not an "oven", it is simply a UV light source. It is used to create free radicals to initiate (INITIATE!) polymerization of the stinky acrylic and/or methacrylic monomers in the polish. More UV helps if the Initial UV light is very weak. But most UV curing lights are fairly intense. But once the initiator is illuminated and converted to free radicals, the time to polymerization and for that polymer chain to harden can not be accelerated by adding more light.

The only thing that will happen by adding more UV light will be to increase the chances of getting skin cancer on her hands.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

First, it is not an "oven", it is simply a UV light source. It is used to create free radicals to initiate (INITIATE!) polymerization of the stinky acrylic and/or methacrylic monomers in the polish.

Not to mention you can use them for setting 3D resin prints

We bought a pink one just for that (pink because it was £1 cheaper for pink, and we're manly enough for it not to concern us!). It's an LED one we bought, and first job was to disable the in-built timer.