Field Question#2 - I Think My Second Wind UV Lamp is Broken....

We often receive calls to our customer service department with a comment that the contractor or homeowner thinks that the lamp they are using to service their Second Wind Air Purifier might be broken.  We will ask a few questions before investigating the problem to see if we are looking at an OEM replacement part but following that, we are often pleased to discover that our attentive and caring customer has noticed some apparent solids within the glass on their lamps that led them to believe that something was amiss.  What they notice as you can see in the photos below, is that there are two small balls inside the glass of the lamp that roll around and often make a slight rattling noise when the lamp is shifted in position.  These balls are the pieces of mercury (chemical symbol- Hg) that have solidified in the lamp used to create the fluorescent effect that you may be familiar with in drop ceiling lights or the newer compact fluorescent lights (CFL's).  

These components do not indicate a lamp is broken, it is merely the cooled mercury in a solid or liquid form.  When lamps are cold, some of the mercury in the lamp is in liquid form, but while the lamp is operating or the lamp is hot, most of the mercury is in a gaseous or vapor form.  

Although there is only a very small amount of mercury, there are procedures to follow to dispose of old lamps.  This National Geographic article provides some insight on how much mercury is there and LampRecycle provides good guidance for the appropriate disposal methods

We will continue to post any questions sent in that pertain to Second Wind Air Purifier or Indoor Air Quality that you may have. Please click here and send us your questions too!