If you’re a homeowner and your house has lately suffered water damage, smoke harm, mold infestation, or the dreaded “odor of loss of life” from an expired rodent in a crawl space, then you’ve got most likely learn that an ozone generator may simply be the reply to your issues. Nevertheless, with so many various kinds of ozone machines in the marketplace, how is one to decipher between reality, fiction, and pure unadulterated BS? I’ve a few tips that will allow you to avoid getting ripped off and aid you make a wise ozone generator shopping for decision.
The first thing you’ve to realize is that the ozone generator industry as a complete is just not regulated by any authorities agency. More than half of the so referred to as ozone generator manufacturers are nothing but Internet opportunists making an attempt to cash in on a high priced, somewhat in demand product. These unscrupulous distributors make their overpriced ozone machines in their very own garages, set-up an internet site that makes all kinds of outrageous claims as to the output capabilities of their ozone machines, then promote their webpage in the search engines. A certain hearth method to weed out a number of of these vendors is to do a Google search of their business address then use the “road view” feature by dragging and dropping the “little man icon” onto the road right in entrance of their business handle. When you see a residential home, you might need to keep away from that vendor. Why? It is simple to shut down your operations when you are doing business from home. Once you put money into a business location, it exhibits you are in it for the long haul and it is more durable to walk away from a “brink and mortar” location than it is from a home run enterprise. Why must you care that the vendor is in enterprise for the lengthy haul? As a result of ozone generators are liable to fail as a result of very corrosive nature of ozone and the damaging results it has on the metallic elements inside switches, timers, relays, and many others. Identical goes for eBay distributors who buy a variety of ozone machines without also investing in substitute components. When their supply runs out, they’re out of the ozone business, and you’re left with an expensive door stop when your machine fails in due time.
Once you find an ozone machine that tickles your fancy and you’re ready to invest your hard earned cash, the following question one must ask themselves is “How do I know if this machine actually places out as a lot ozone as the vendor claims? Ozone generator manufacturers don’t must validate the ozone machines they promote to make sure they’re producing the quantity of ozone being claimed. I’ve seen some distributors claim sixteen,000 to 20,000 milligrams per hour but when we examined these machines in our shop with our ozone meter, they produced 3000-5000 mg/h. That’s fairly an enormous difference between what is actually being produced and what is being claimed. How then are you able to make sure that the ozone generator you buy is definitely producing the amount of ozone being marketed? Simple! Ask the vendor the next questions in an e-mail (future fodder for a 100% cash back should you take a look at the machine and discover the knowledge offered was incorrect)
Question #1. What number of Volts is the power Provide! An ozone generator creates ozone by creating an electrical spark that splits oxygen within the air. In order to perform this feat, it’s important to create a high voltage electrical spark. A simple rule I’ve observed within the lab and nicely recognized within the ozone business is that a 3000 volt transformer can produce round 3000 mg/h of ozone per hour when connected to a high voltage ozone element or six or more MICA plates at 40% humidity or much less. Every Mica plate can produce a most of about four hundred milligrams of ozone per hour IF it is properly installed due to the weak electrical spark it’s able to generating from the wire mesh. When you own a MICA plate ozone generator, view the plate in the dead of night. It will not mild up very bright, very dimly as a matter of fact. The varieties of ozone plates that turn shiny purple at nighttime are called “High Voltage Ozone Elements” and they’ll produce round 3000-4000 mgh per plate when fed with a 3000-4000 volt energy transformer. Some of these plates glow purple, virtually like UV lamp, in the dead of night. They create a really strong electrical spark that is much more environment friendly at producing ozone vs the quaint MICA plates. As a matter of truth a 4000 volt transformer and ozone aspect only uses about 35 watts of electricity, now that’s environment friendly! Subsequently, Tip #1 is to ask the vendor to e-mail you in writing the exact voltage, amps, and watts used by their power transformers and what number of and which type of ozone plates their machines use. If a vendor claims as an illustration their machine produces 16 to 20 thousand milligrams of ozone per hour however their machine solely makes use of one 5000 volt transformer, then you will things just do not add up.
Query #2. What type of ozone element does the ozone machine use? Imagine it or not, some distributors will attempt to persuade you that the ozone elements in their machines are “permanent” and will final without end. Of us, there is not any such thing as a permanent ozone plate! If used in ninety-one hundred% humidity, even the expensive high voltage ozone plates will only final 20-40 hours. Ozone generators usually are not made to be used in ninety% plus humidity! In humid areas, you will need to run the air conditioning or a dehumidifier so as to perform a shock remedy. Tip #2 subsequently is to assume twice earlier than buying an ozone generator from a vendor who doesn’t offer alternative ozone plates or makes a machine that utilizes “MICA” plates.
Upon getting those solutions in writing, save the e-mail in case you need to make use of it to obtain a refund in the future. Whenever you obtain your ozone generator, have an area electrician buddy of the household (or rent somebody) to open your ozone generator and give it the once over and test the power (in volts) of the power transformer. In case you uncover the stated voltage doesn’t match the advertised voltage, ask for a refund. In any case, what you’re shopping for when you purchase an ozone generator are high voltage energy transformers, not a slick gross sales pitch! The trustworthy vendors will ly state their machines specs on their websites and through e-mail if requested. They’re going to additionally give you a picture of the inside of their items and disclose the amount of plates, sort used, and many others. Try to be weary of distributors who hold this information close to the vest or refuse to go on the file with this information.
Now you understand what questions to ask an ozone machine vendor before making a purchase. I would like to close out this “Ozone Generator Shopping for Guide” by supplying you with a number of recommendations on how to save cash on your purchase:
Tip #1. Ask the vendor if they promote any used items or any “bare bones” ozone generators. Many ozone generator vendors can have spare components on hand from returned or mounted items they can promote “on the down low” for a mere pittance of the retail worth. Others would possibly be capable of promote you a “bare bones ozone generator” without any of the bells and whistles you may simply use to make your personal ozone generator, especially if you’re the “do-it-your self” sort. You may additionally need to verify eBay to see if anyone is promoting high voltage energy transformers in the 3000-12,000 volt range or high voltage ozone parts that can be simply attached to the power transformer. Some ozone vendors want $one thousand or extra for his or her ozone generators, nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that ozone machines are fairly basic digital components they usually should not price as much as a used automobile, especially if you buy the primary parts and “Do It Yourself.”
Tip #2. Do not buy an ozone generator with too many “bells and whistles”. Ozone as I’ve already mentioned may be very corrosive over time to all metals besides stainless steel. Unfortunately, all electronic switches, relays, and many others wants to make use of regular metal with a purpose to be conduce electricity. What we’ve got therefore is a dilemma. The answer? Do not buy an ozone generator with all the bells and whistles! This would come with an inner timer, ozone output dial (to show the ozone up and down), etc. Just notice that when you do purchase an ozone generator with these components that finally the ozone is going to destroy those parts and all it takes to shut down an ozone generator is to have one of many electrical components fail. For those who want a timer, purchase an external timer for $5 at Lowe’s. If you want to be able to turn the ozone output up and down, purchase a “repeat cycle timer” that may turn your ozone generator on for a number of seconds ever x amount of minutes, and repeat that cycle indefinitely. Both of these items might be linked through an extension cord in another room to your ozone generator. Much less is more with regards to longevity in shock remedy ozone generators.
Tip #3. Don’t over do it when performing shock therapies! There’s a purpose the skilled professionals that administer ozone shock remedies command thousands of dollars to perform shock treatments; they know what they’re doing and how one can safely and successfully perform a shock therapy without leaving your private home smelling like ozone for weeks after the shock therapy! Moreover being an ozone generator manufacturer, I additionally run a restoration enterprise that employs ozone in a few of our work. For mold remediation, ozone solely performs a small position in riding the home of toxic mold as an example. Sheet rock has to be taken down and changed, tremendous high CFM air cleaners make sure the mold, when disturbed, isn’t re-distributed throughout the structure. Wet wood must be dried. Leaky pipes must be fixed, etc and so forth. Yes, shock ranges of ozone will kill the mold, but that is just a small a part of mold remediation, no matter what some ozone vendors might promote to assist hawk their models.
The main mistake I see homeowners make when doing a shock remedy is just not correctly eradicating or covering all petroleum based merchandise equivalent to carpet foam, sofa cushions, and many others. We use Kevlar to cowl carpets and foam filled sofas, mattresses, and so forth. Kevlar is ozone resistant and will keep the foam from interacting with the ozone. Ozone will oxidize foam and rubber and cause a chemical-ozone smell that can linger for weeks. So tip #three is to not over do it with an ozone shock remedy! One or two hour shock therapies in furnishings filled homes is advisable. You may should perform several such shock therapies, but it is higher to be safe than sorry when shocking a furnishings filled dwelling. Some vendors tell their clients to simply turn the ozone generator on and let it run for a number of days. I strongly advise in opposition to that apply.
Tip #4. If you end up prepared to purchase, call the vendor and order over the telephone. Odds are sooner or later in time your ozone generator is going to wish service. I do not find out about you but I hate buying something on-line, having it break down, then not being ready to talk with a live individual for help without having to attend on hold for half-hour or worse but, not being ready to talk to a stay person in any respect then not having my e-mails answered! You can nip this kind of situation within the bud by first calling. If you can’t easily get through and get a properly informed reside person to reply the telephone to put your order, then consider shopping for elsewhere. This bit of recommendation goes for making any massive ticket item buy on the web.
If you want to save cash and make a sensible funding, ask the fitting questions before you purchase your ozone generator and in addition consider incorporating some of my tip solutions as well. The more you shop around, the more time you spend doing some Web research, and most importantly, the more time you spend e-mailing and speak immediately with the vendor, the more possible you are to make a wise investment and end up with an important ozone machine that lasts you a lifetime.