Burnt plastic smell inside Jebao 36 watt UV Sterilizer

[Kjames]

I've been running one of these for a couple of months and out of curiosity opened it up to see how it's made. Rinsed it out before reassembly and some black crud washed out of the body - much like what you'd get when purging a fresh load of carbon in a reactor. Naturally, I had to give it a sniff and was rewarded with the (seemingly) unmistakable smell of burnt plastic. The last time I smelled this was when a Cobalt NeoTherm heater self destructed in a different tank. Is this just the plastic housing degrading from the UV light? Is this normal? Am I an idiot for plugging it back in?

 

[Silver14SS]

Is this just the plastic housing degrading from the UV light?

Yup

Is this normal?

I don't think I'd say it's normal, but this is not the first post I've seen of the same issue. I don't know if it eventually happens to all Jebao UVs, if there's a certain size impacted, etc.

Am I an idiot for plugging it back in?

Depends on what happens when you do

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've been running one of these for a couple of months and out of curiosity opened it up to see how it's made. Rinsed it out before reassembly and some black crud washed out of the body - much like what you'd get when purging a fresh load of carbon in a reactor. Naturally, I had to give it a sniff and was rewarded with the (seemingly) unmistakable smell of burnt plastic. The last time I smelled this was when a Cobalt NeoTherm heater self destructed in a different tank. Is this just the plastic housing degrading from the UV light? Is this normal? Am I an idiot for plugging it back in?

I would address this with manufacturer as it does NOT sound normal.

 

[Cment]

that does not sound normal to me. Ive used UV in the past and have not experienced this. I would unplug it and see if it can be returned

 

[Kjames]

Yeah I'm taking it offline right now. Thanks for the reality check.