Hi, guys.
Someone directed me to this thread (as sadly, I can't monitor all the forums I belong to, as I used to do)... I'm very sad to hear that some people regard the Facebook Reptile Lighting Group as somehow "covert" and imply that things discussed there are being "kept from the public eye", this is EXACTLY the opposite to what the group was set up for... to enable open discussion and make lamp test results widely available.
Every group I join requires registration and log-in, Bearded Dragon.org is no exception. So how can "joining" a Facebook group be any different? I'm a moderator on that group, and I check in four or five new members every day; as far as I know we have only ever "banned" two people, both of which were Chinese lighting salespeople simply advertising their products! We now have nearly 1,500 members, so we are hardly keeping secrets. My lamp test results are in the Files there. Anyone can join the group and read them.
I have not updated the UV Guide UK website for many years - I just don't have time. I removed ALL the lamp test results from there several years ago, because they were all out of date.
The Reptiles Magazine article belongs to Reptiles Magazine - I cannot update or edit it.
Now, let's clear up the situation regarding the ZooMed Reptisun tubes (both T5-HO and T8.)
Back in the spring, people with Solarmeters were starting to report low readings from these products. Previously, they had virtually identical output to the Arcadia T8 and T5-HO tubes. But now, people were reporting up to 50% lower from their replacement tubes.
Your own members Taterbug, Cooperdragon Kyleena29 and Drache613 reported this:
https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=231575&p=1785794#p1785794 way back in March.
Around that time, people had told me about it so I too investigated it, and came to the conclusion that the tubes they were testing not only had a lower output, they also looked different. I discovered that I was actually using some of these new ones myself, and they did have a lower output than previous ones I'd owned. I wondered if ZooMed had changed manufacturers. However, there was NO danger posed by these lamps. They were still perfectly safe, just more like some other lamps widely available from other brands, with lower outputs. There was never any reason to start alarming folks who had bought these lamps, and no need for a recall.
Of course, I contacted ZooMed and requested samples, though, to confirm that the lower output was not just from one batch, but was the result of different specs. I was told that they had become aware of a lower output with the current products and were remedying this. Instead of samples of the current lamps, they would be sending me new "improved" lamps to trial, along with a new improved reflective fixture.
The samples arrived in August, but I have been very busy with other work and so it is only now that I have started testing them. I can confirm that the output is now back to what it was from lamps before the change in appearance last year (and they now look like the original ones, too) but it will be several weeks before I can finish the testing and put the new test results up in the Reptile Lighting Files for everyone to see.
With best wishes,
Frances Baines