rechargeable uv lamp

[bill lambeth]

I was wondering if any of you have tried this rechargeable 13 watt uv lamp(79.00) at on of the suppliers R run across on the web.It says that it takes 2 minutes for it to cure your repair.I thought it would be a nice little tool to have.Thanks for any input you have.

[mend master]

Have not tried one of these. I have a jump box with two 12 volt sockets for plugging my lamps into. It will handle a full day of curing with no problem and can then be plugged into 110 at night to recharge. It also comes in handy if the vehicle needs to be moved and the battery in the vehicle is dead. You don't have to pay a fortune for one either. A decent one can be had for about what this lamp goes for. More powerful units run $125-$150.

If you're just looking for a spare lamp, I would suggest checking on cost and availability of spare bulbs as well.

[ThePitStop]

I picked up a real nice jump box at Harbor Freight for $79.99. It has two 12 volt power outlets, Two power 110 power inverter outlets (400w), Volt meter, Work light, Air compressor W/hose (up to 260PSI) and heavy duty booster cables (600 amp crank/1000 amp surge). I use that thing for more than just my UV lamp and Evaporator. 8 down, 2 to go..

[Props24]

Has anyone tried uv LEDs, their are many, but I have not seen them used for autoglass.

[Eco Steam]

I have a jumper box as well. I paid $35 for it from Pep Boys. It only has 1 12 volt slot, but this thing will go days without needing a charge, but it can be charged at or in the vehicle, so no worries.

As for the LED UV lights, they are out there, and I have tried a few (on sale items), but they didn't really work. There is a repair supplier that has led uv as an add-on, never tried it though, so I can't say if it's work the investment.

[Mr Bill]

I like my Deltakits 12v light. It takes 5 minutes to cure. Compared to a 2 minute light, that's 3 minutes longer, but usually I am cleaning my injector during the cure time, or preparing to do the next repair on the windshield, so I'm not really in a hurry. I have a jumper box too. I use one battery for the cure light and one for the drystar. If one battery begins to die, I have a backup.
I have dropped my DK light from time to time and it is so sturdy that it is still unharmed.

[Brent Deines]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Mr Bill.

Just to clarify, it does not take 5 minutes to cure with any of the UV lights Delta Kits sells, with the possible exception of the AA battery operated model. We do however recommend a 5 minute cure to make sure that the resin in the deepest part of the break (where 70% of the UV is being blocked by the glass)is fully cured. Depending on the resin used our 12V, 130V and 240V lights will cure a drop of resin at the surface within 2 minutes or less, some in less than a minute. Unfortunately many windshield repair technicians still don't know that solar green glass blocks UV and/or know mow much of a role the proper wavelength plays in getting the best possible cure.

There are a number of other factors that affect lamp performance of course, such as the bulb wattage, the power source, the distance from the bulb to the glass, if the bulb is directly over the repair or just around the repair, etc. It's amazing how much more effective a light is when the suction cups hold the bulb off the surface 1/4" rather than 3/4", or how ineffective a high powered circular bulb is compared to a lower powered straight bulb placed directly over the repair.

Like Mr Bill, I can find something to do for 5 minutes while making sure that the "entire" repair is cured all the way through regardless of which light I am using. Preventive measures reduce failure rates.

[Mr Bill]

Suppose you encounter a repair where the pit area is bigger than the injector seal and you have to apply a drop of pit resin to the chip and cure, etc. so you have a flat area to work on.
How long do you recommend curing that one drop of pit resin?
I usually wait 5 min, but now I'm beginning to wonder.

[Brent Deines]

Depends on the light and the resin, but if I'm using the 144-14 pit resin and the 40-13 UV light about a minute. A little longer if using 144-2 just to be sure I have a nice hard surface to work with, but not much. Try curing a drop on the surface of the glass for a minute and then scrape it flat as you would when capping a pit. You'll know pretty quickly if it is hard enough to suit your purposes. If it's still rubbery do the same test again but increase the cure time by 30 seconds. Repeat until you get the desired results. Just don't forget to allow extra cure time when you complete an actual repair to compensate for the UV inhibitors in the glass.