UV-C Lamp 6 GPM Replacement - Aquapro PR-UV6-L

UV-C replacement lamp - 6 GPM

Replacement UV-C tube for the Aquapro 6 GPM steriliser (approximately 22,7 L/min). Reference PR-UV6-L.

This is the consumable part of the unit: reactor, ballast and quartz sleeve stay in place, only the lamp is replaced.

How UV-C treatment works

The lamp emits ultraviolet radiation at 254 nanometres, the wavelength matching the absorption peak of DNA. The radiation damages the genetic material of micro-organisms passing through the reactor and leaves them unable to reproduce.

The treatment is physical: it adds no chemicals, changes neither taste, odour nor mineral composition of the water, and generates no disinfection by-products.

The trade-off: the treatment has no residual effect. It acts only inside the reactor, at the moment of passage. Nothing protects the network downstream, which makes the installation sensitive to recontamination after the treatment point.

Why replace every 12 months

This is the least understood point of UV technology, and the most costly in lost performance.

A UV-C lamp loses output over time but keeps lighting. After roughly 9 000 operating hours, a year in continuous service, useful emission at 254 nm has dropped significantly, while visually nothing has changed.

A lamp that lights is therefore no proof of correct operation. An installation whose lamp has not been replaced in two years appears to run normally while delivering an insufficient dose. Hence the rule: annual replacement, on schedule, whatever the lamp looks like.

The quartz sleeve, the other check point

The lamp never touches the water: it sits inside a quartz sleeve that transmits UV. That sleeve scales up and fouls.

Even a light deposit screens the radiation and reduces the dose reaching the water, exactly like an aged lamp. So use the annual replacement to clean the sleeve, soft cloth with white vinegar or dilute acid on scale, and check that it is neither cracked nor clouded.

Clear water is essential

UV performance depends directly on water clarity. Suspended particles act as a shield: a micro-organism sheltering behind a particle crosses the reactor without receiving the required dose.

5 micron prefiltration upstream of the steriliser is therefore not an option, it is a condition of correct operation. Iron, manganese and turbidity must also be treated beforehand.

Fitting

Switch off the power supply before any work, then shut off the water.

Handle the lamp with a clean cloth or gloves: fingerprints bake onto the quartz under heat and create permanent opaque spots.

Never look at a lit UV-C lamp outside its reactor, the radiation is aggressive to eyes and skin. Replacement is done with the unit powered down and the lamp off.

After returning to service, run and flush for a few minutes before use.