Pentair HO UV Housing Thread Dimensions

[rsumner]

Does anyone have a 50, 80, 120, or 150 watt high output Smart UV sterilizer from Pentair that could help me with some measurements I'm trying to get? Attached in the image below is a parts breakout of the HO versions of their sterilizers. I'm interested in knowing the specific dimensions of the areas I've annotated with green arrows. I need to know the diameters and any thread specifics.

 

[piranhaman00]

All of their threads are proprietary, you have to use their fittings

 

[rsumner]

I'm not doubting the need to use their fittings. I'm trying to understand the specifics of the housing opening and the housing thread that will mate with parts 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind this can be done, hence the reason I'm posting this in the DIY forum.

 

[Enderg60]

Im not sure if you lost parts for yours or if youre trying to make your own but...

Part #4 is 3.75" diameter. Its labeled as a 2" union so you should be able to find that at a pool/spa shop. Cant comment on the threads since I cant measure them.

Part #5 is proprietary. You may find something similar that works but it will be off another UV unit.

Considering the PINA factor of finding parts that MAY work I would highly suggest you just call Pentair. I lost all the unions for my 150w in a move and they had everything for a very reasonable price and were super easy to work with.

The only really overpriced part is the housing itself. Which is why they use 3.5" and 5" pipe, because finding fittings in those sizes is dang near impossible.

 

[rsumner]

What I'm trying determine is if there is a way to not use their housing at all. For instance, would all the guts of the UV fit in a 3 or 4" Schedule 80 bulkhead and would the retaining nut properly thread on to the bulkhead's threads. I love to reverse engineer things. I've seen some high-end commercial UV chambers that look like they just have 10 standard pentair 50w's in them.

I was staring at the Hayward bulkhead specs (https://pvcpipesupplies.com/documents/hayward-bulkheadfitting-bfasseries_technical_data.pdf) to see if things could/would align well.

 

[Malcontent]

What I'm trying determine is if there is a way to not use their housing at all. For instance, would all the guts of the UV fit in a 3 or 4" Schedule 80 bulkhead and would the retaining nut properly thread on to the bulkhead's threads. I love to reverse engineer things. I've seen some high-end commercial UV chambers that look like they just have 10 standard pentair 50w's in them.

You can buy bulbs and ballasts separately. And I'm pretty sure you can get quartz sleeves too. If you really want to DIY your own UV sterilizer it's probably not that hard.

 

[rsumner]

You can buy bulbs and ballasts separately. And I'm pretty sure you can get quartz sleeves too. If you really want to DIY your own UV sterilizer it's probably not that hard.

Yep, I'm aware you can buy all the parts for the UV sterilizer (see the parts diagram I provided above). That's the point of this thread. The housing thread and dimensions are the hardest part and stuff I can't figure out without having my hands on one.

 

[Malcontent]

Yep, I'm aware you can buy all the parts for the UV sterilizer (see the parts diagram I provided above). That's the point of this thread. The housing thread and dimensions are the hardest part and stuff I can't figure out without having my hands on one.

You don't even have to buy/use any Pentair parts...

 

[rsumner]

You don't even have to buy/use any Pentair parts...

Ohhh...I hadn't thought of that.

 

[Malcontent]

Ohhh...I hadn't thought of that.

For example, Aqua Ultraviolet quartz sleeves and gaskets are readily available. You could even make your own gasket from two-part silicone. I made a replacement for the rubber drain plug for my air conditioner I misplaced last weekend.

 

[Enderg60]

What I'm trying determine is if there is a way to not use their housing at all. For instance, would all the guts of the UV fit in a 3 or 4" Schedule 80 bulkhead and would the retaining nut properly thread on to the bulkhead's threads. I love to reverse engineer things. I've seen some high-end commercial UV chambers that look like they just have 10 standard pentair 50w's in them.

I was staring at the Hayward bulkhead specs (https://pvcpipesupplies.com/documents/hayward-bulkheadfitting-bfasseries_technical_data.pdf) to see if things could/would align well.

AH, Yes the parts should fit standard stuff if youre looking to make your own. But you will want to use ABS not PVC. The UV will break down PVC.

And if your into this kind of stuff, check out my UV upgrade.

Upgrading the 40w UV to 80w.

So a LOOOOOONG time ago I was gifted a emperor 40w UV after it got wet and the ballast fried and the bulb exploded and cracked the sleeve. So I decided to DIY it back together and put it on my QT tank. I found a 40w t5 ballast for $25, new off brand bulb for $35 and new sleeve for $40. $100...

forums.reefcentral.com

I upgraded an old 40w uv to 80w HO. Still running strong.

FYI your local aquarium maintenance company probably has a ton of non working 40w housings laying around.

 

[rsumner]

I think the point of my original post has gotten lost or maybe I wasn't clear. Let me clarify what I've been drawing on paper. Note, this is just me brainstorming and not actually trying to plan a build quite yet. I was more curious to get the creative juices flowing.

Build an ABS box or sump compartment that has many UV quarts sleeves mounted to the side of it. There are some commercial sump manufacturers that do this and the ones I've seen pictures of look like they just use standard Pentair 50W setups with some sort of bulkhead (could be custom) to mount the stock Pentair config.

 

[Enderg60]

HA, thats MRC sumps. Im having one made right now with integrated UV. Its basically exactly as you describe but they are not pentair UV's its their own bulb and ballast design.

I doubt you will find the parts youre looking for easily. The union nut is the only standard sized thing on the unit and unions have different threads depending on manufacturer. The rest of the parts are proprietary and while you may be able to get one or two from the manufacturer I doubt they will sell you all you need to do this.

I would call pool equipment shops and see what fittings they use on larger UV systems. Aside from buying a ton of non working UV housings to cannibalize, Im not really sure where to get those parts.

 

[rsumner]

HA, thats MRC sumps. Im having one made right now with integrated UV. Its basically exactly as you describe but they are not pentair UV's its their own bulb and ballast design.

MRC doesn't manufacture their own UV bulbs or ballasts.

 

[rsumner]

AH, Yes the parts should fit standard stuff if youre looking to make your own. But you will want to use ABS not PVC. The UV will break down PVC.

I think you may have this backwards. The scientific studies I've read mention ABS is vulnerable to UV degradation unless UV stabilizer is added to the resin. I know AquaUV uses PVC housings for all of their saltwater compatible sanitizers.

 

[Enderg60]

1. Of course they dont, no one does. They use something some one else already makes. But the bulb/balast is not the same that is used any other manufacturers units. Its their own "brand". The radiation per watt specs of their bulbs is higher than any other brand I could find.

2. The emperor UV's are all ABS. But now that Im working with MRC on a sump the UV chamber is PVC like the rest of the sump.

I have not read any studies, but after a quick search it appears your right. I guess Emperor gets their parts special made, which would make sense. So I redact using off the shelf ABS.

Have you had any luck finding the sleeve nut or flange parts?

 

[rsumner]

Have you had any luck finding the sleeve nut or flange parts?

Yeah, you can buy all the spare parts for the Pentair units from pentairaes.com.

I've also been working with MRC for the past few weeks on a custom sump build with their integrated UV, but still debating if that's the route I want to take. The integrated UV add-on is actually priced very competitively for what you get, but the base price of their iSump is what is preventing me from committing.

 

[Enderg60]

That is exactly how I feel about it. For what you get the isump is probably twice the price it should be. The UV systems are priced very well though.

No one else does integrated UV and Im getting a tank, equipment and all kinds of stuff through them. Considering how much im spending already the few grand extra for the sump to make it all easy isnt really a big deal. Plus Im local and can annoy them if anything goes wrong.

Im a huge DIY guy but Im old have kids and a bad back so instead of DIY im going with PAY this time.