Question 1

What is the difference between this card and 2nd gen quantadose uvc light test card ?

Accepted Answer

Hello Mozart,

The most important differences between the 1st and 2nd edition QuantaDose™ UVC test cards pertain to usage of high power UVC industrial-grade PPE disinfection equipment.   
 
2nd Edition Differences:

1) More Resilient PVC prevents aging/tanning when using high power UVC

2) Higher card to analyte contrast for better visualization of WPV (Word Power Visibility) when the calibrated minimum intensity point of 300 µW/cm² is reached when under 85% 253.7 nm with most of the remaining light energy peaking at 315 nm. Commonly referred to as the mercury line because this is the spectrum from low-pressure mercury lamps commonly used in the most trustworthy UVGI disinfection processes around the world.

3) Added UVC/UVB Color Scale Differential because it is important anyone using photochromatic analytes to visualize UV/UVC intensity understands that shorter wavelengths like UVC 200-280nm don't penetrate the analyte used for UV intensity measurements as deeply as UVA or UVB which causes UVC to display a lighter color for a higher intensity wavelength.

The lighter analyte color when testing UVC is precisely the reason for the inverted word ” ULTRAVIOLET” first becoming legible during exposure to optimal UVC germicidal wavelengths while the color concentration is still light at 300 µW/cm² yet the word ”ULTRAVIOLET” is clearly visible in both UVC test card editions.

4) Batch numbers are printed on all 2nd edition UVC test cards for unprecedented quality control over the reliability and accuracy of photochromic materials used in manufacturing QuantaDose™ UVC test cards.

5) Questions about how to test a UVC light? The purchase of a 2nd edition QuantaDose™ gives you easy access to our world-class toll-free technical support line which is printed on the back of the UVC test card so QuantaDose™ customers can consult directly to highly trained engineers in the USA to answer questions on the best ways to test different UVC devices and how to interpret UVC wavelength and intensity results.

1st and 2nd edition QuantaDose™ cards both perform the same for general UVC analysis. The added durability of this 2nd Edition was designed for higher power commercial use.

1st edition QuantaDose™ UVC test card customers also have access to our world-class toll-free technical support line available on our Amazon sellers account page.

1st edition QuantaDose™ cards also work for gauging the SUN’s UV intensity so you can take necessary precautions such as sunscreen or shade, different design considerations were used as we expect the purchase for testing a single consumer-grade UVC lighting product limited the use case of the specialized photochromic UV analyte.

Besides the differences above, the professional 2nd edition design provides clear instructions on the two-step UVC testing process on the front of the card.

The 1st edition provides a design for multiple uses for UVC light testing and/or use it for a UVA/UVB sun index card for maximum usefulness for end consumers in non-commercial UVC environments.

Blessings,
Interim CEO Katie Webb 
Quanta X Technology LLC
Toll-Free Support: See Sellers Page

Question 2

My uvc lights do not show uvc on the quantadose card only the ultraviolet shows on the bottom are they phonys ?

Accepted Answer

First, let us make sure you aren’t assuming the UV-C indicator remains glowing after it is removed from the light source.  The UVC indicator will only glow when exposed to direct UV-C light.

Remember, you must always protect your eyes and skin from UV irradiation and follow the light manufacturers’ guidelines when operating the device for safe usage in close proximity to any UV source.

As long as there is no misunderstanding of how step 1 works.  The short answer, if these UVC lights were marketed to you as UVC germicidal lights, then YES, they are 100% phonies.

All UVC wavelengths between 222 nm and 280 nm will cause a reaction that makes the letters UV-C glow, but it's way worse than a phony UVC light because, at this stage of the pandemic we are in today, as variants cause a lot of uncertainty!

Nine months ago, QuantaDose was in full swing, and it was a wave of new companies entering into the UVC business trying to figure out how to measure UVC effectiveness that made up a large part of our call volume.

This dynamic has changed dramatically. We now get calls from patients still laying in their hospital beds, recovering from weeks in the ICU, gratefully looking forward to going home in the coming days, unlike so many that walked through the same doors.

However, their lives won't be the same; when these COVID survivors return to their communities, homes, and workplaces, they will not be taking their safety for granted anymore as they plan their decisive pandemic countermeasures while awaiting a doctor's discharge from their life-saving medical care.

Let’s look at a QuantaDose card and show the different Step 1 results under several light conditions to put the UVC, mixing UV light and the absence of UV light into a wavelength that we can all see with our own eyes to spot any UV deception.

I have several different wavelengths here, UVC bulbs and several UV/UVC LEDs, to mix with UVC to validate other wavelengths of light interference in Step 1 UV-C testing.

Now we will take some video footage of the UV-C indicator to demonstrate how different indicator colors can provide useful data on the wavelengths of irradiation being emitted from a UV device.  The video covers many of the color and wavelength possibilities encountered with step 1 UV-C indicator.  Using 3 different UV meters, we validated the QuantaDose to indicate wavelength, intensity and calculate dose with distance over time.

Question 3

So if my uvc light takes 5 minutes to show the word ultraviolet, it's intensity is around 20 times less than 300 uw/cm^2?

Accepted Answer

Please don’t leave the QuantaDose test card exposed to a UV source for 5 minutes. The QuantaDose UVC test card is designed for rapid intensity testing (15-second result), prolonged exposure will cause photodegradation effects to photochromic analyte.

There are three main types of UVC test cards on the market today. With the three of them come three very important and very distinctive differences between these UVC measurement cards. Measurements of these three aspects of UVC radiation include its intensity, accumulative dose, and optimal UVC wavelength which are all critical detection factors of knowledge that will aid in the best UVC disinfection process.

1) UVC dosage test card
Function: Measures Accumulative Dose (one time use) Very effective, and expensive for single use.

SINGLE USE! A UVC measurement card designed for testing prolonged dosage exposure (say 5 minutes or more) is a UVC Dosimeter Test Card, these are your typical irreversible medical-grade UVC test cards rated at 25/50/100 mJ/cm². These cards provide a final confirmation of an adequate UVC power level reaching a surface over the entire time of the disinfection process. These irreversible UVC test cards are rated for accumulative dosage rather than real-time intensity.

2) UVC intensity test card and 3) UVC wavelength indicator
Function: Measures Real-time Intensity (limited reuse) includes UVC wavelength indicator

Reusable! A UVC measurement card designed for rapid UVC intensity testing (no longer than 15 seconds) is a QuantaDose UVC test card, this test is a lot like a credit card-sized meter with a single point of calibration starting at 300 µW/cm² with word visibility in the intensity test area. just like a meter, if the UVC light source is not putting out over 300 µW/cm² the meter will NEVER display 300 µW/cm², likewise, the QuantaDose UVC test card will NEVER display the word ULTRAVIOLET in the lower test area until the minimum intensity is reached, no matter how long the QuantaDose test card is exposed to the source, same as a meter would not measure intensity at 300 µW/cm² until that intensity is reached. Time isn’t the factor in intensity, overtime is dosage, not intensity. After the 15-second intensity test, providing you have reached at least 300 µW/cm² you can now calculate the dosage over time with a little math at distances closer and farther from the source just as you would be able to do with a UVC meter.

If you are not getting a color change displaying the word ULTRAVIOLET in the lower section of the Quantadose test card while the UV-C indicator is green within 15 seconds, the UVC light is likely not reaching the desired level of germicidal intensity required to achieve disinfection in under ten minutes and should be investigated, for either being aged UVC mercury bulbs or an inadequate or fake UVC product altogether.

Katie Webb
Interim CEO, Quanta X Technology

Question 4

If the UVC bulb picks up band 200nms to 400 nms, is it correct to think that this dosimeter would not pick up a bulb emitting 180-185 nms?

Accepted Answer

It is correct to think that, but not for the reason I think you think so.   Please let me explain.  The UVC emissions at 185nm are absorbed 100% by oxygen in the air, hence this is the ozone producing part of the electromagnetic spectrum.   In low-pressure mercury-vapor lamps, there are spectrum lines present at 184 nm and 254 nm.   Special fused silica glass is used in the manufacturing to keep the 184 nm light from being absorbed for maximum ozone production.

When you see UVC mercury-vapor lamps sold as non-ozone producing, that only means they changed the glass tube so these very short UVC wavelengths are absorbed in the glass tube itself.   However, in the case that this 185nm wavelength can escape the glass tube, the 185nm wavelength can’t escape air molecules that undergo ionic changes while creating ozone to effectively block all the 185nm wavelength to within the distance of air molecules that surround the bulb.

Testing of these wavelengths requires a vacuum otherwise the best way to pick up a bulb emitting 180-185 nm is to measure the ozone in the air!   Always remember that your nose is the best ozone meter ever made, and if you can smell it, ozone P.P.M is too high to safely be in the room.   Over the long run, your lungs can suffer from oxidative damage.  Using this 180-185 nm spectrum in the disinfection process does require additional safeguards, like understanding the half-life of ozone at different humidity levels!

The good news is any UVC bulb with emissions of 180-185nm UVC will always peak output at 253.7nm which is why the QuantaDose UV analyte is designed to display the word “ULTRAVIOLET” at 300 µW/cm² under direct exposure to 253.7nm UVC

Our QuantaDose UVC test card is absolutely perfect for rapid testing of either ozone or non-ozone producing UVC bulbs!

Katie Webb
CEO, Quanta X Technology

QuantaDose® UVC Light Test Card with UVC Light Wavelength Indicator and Photochromic UV Intensity Test

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