Jebo UV-H13 UV Sterilizer Review

[unirdna]

Just got it. I have a couple Turbotwists at home, so I thought I'd let my workplace be the guineapig for this new equipment. It is going to be installed on a 50g, semi-planted tank w/ a 96w Aqualight and no CO2. Tank is stocked with native fishes, and they are nutrient machines - thus the need for UV (holidays - when water changes are few and far between - create "issues")

Anyway, here's a photo of what comes in the box. The pump that comes with this thing is a beast - must weigh near a kilo - rated at 1100 liters per hour. The sterilzer will be hooked up inline with an ECCO 2235, so the pump will be going to my garbage can of RO water. The inlet/outlets are cut-to-size, and has dimples to make this easier. The holders (which are black, but appear gray, due to the flash reflection) seem adequate, but do not offer the hang-on-tank option that the TT does. Still, it will mount to wood nicely.

At a glance: Plastic has a bit 'cheaper' feel than the turbotwist, but it does have O-rings, and the parts fit snugly. The quartz sleeve seems to be equal quality to the TT, but it came with some white insulation-type stuff in the end of it. I don't know what to make of this, since the TT didn't have any in it. Is it suppose to be in there, or was it in there to make sure the bulb didn't clank against the sleeve during shipping?

I'm hooking it up tomorrow. I'll update the thread.

Oh yeah. Less than $50 shipped off eBay. I'm sure you've seen em there already . Well, your questions will soon be answered.

[Marc]

unirdna- i got the 9w version a couple weeks ago and mine started leaking. Make sure you do not over tighten the barb fitting that screws into the uv's body. If you over tighten it will split the plastic down the threads. Make sure the washers on the barb fittings seal but dont over do it.

Also you can see that the main body is in 3 pieces. the middle piece is held together with glue. Do not hold the middle body while you tighten the ends, or it will come apart.

The white cotton stuff in the glass should be taken out.

[150EH]

It looks cheesy or like it not going to take any abuse. I think the Jebo lights looked cheesy too, at my LFS the lights had individule connections for the four pins on each bulb. The first thing I thought was: am I going to get confused about which wire goes where or does it matter. They might be inexpensive but I'm not going to keep a mop handy to save a couple of bucks.

[Momotaro]

Now, be open minded.

Let Uni install the UV and get it up and running before jumping to any conclusions. Uni is a pretty experience aquarist, he'll be able to give us the straight deal on this UV sterilizer.

Mike

[150EH]

Sorry, guess I'm the anti-Momotaro. I'll try to have a more positive outlook

[rayhwong]

Yea i tightened mine and it started to leak too. I had to epoxy the body casing. Then the silicon sealant fell off literally and i had to epoxy every seam on the body. The jebo is a piece of junk. took me a month to finally epoxy each seal, then discover another one, epoxy, cure...epoxy cure... and so on. by the time i had it water tight, the green water disappeared on its own.
once you get it water tight it works though.

[Jackfrost]

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !

[unirdna]

Well, despite my intrepidness and Mike's fairmindedness , it seems that you sceptics (and cynics? ) made the correct diagnosis.

It leaked.

If that's good enough for you, stop now. If you want the cause and remedy, read on.

Whether you were lucky enough to get a non-leaking Jebo, you should still be aware of a major design flaw - seams. [in the voice of the Grinch] All the seams, seams, seams, seams. They are everywhere on this thing. Horizontal and longitudinal! Six points of connection total - 4 of them glued. The worst part of the design is the decision to mold the threaded parts using TWO sides. In other words, there is a glued joint connecting two semicircles, and the seal and strength of the threads depends on how well the two halves matched up. In my case, one of the input-output assemblies matched up well (held just fine) and the other was mismatched by about 1/2 of a thread. Consequently, this significantly weakened the joint, and (without my knowlegde) separated when I screwed in one of the input/output nozzles. And mind you, I took Marc's words very seriously when I screwed it in. It is simply unacceptable that such a light amount of pressure split that seams. The splits was tiny, and didn't leak right away. Over night (12-16 hours), it let out about 8 ounces of water.

The remedy was fairly simple, but that's just because my place of employment (where the sterilizer is being used) has a shop in the basement. Some marine sealant and a hose clamp took care of the issue, and it's up and running fine now.

Other thoughts:

The new turbotwist have a clear end on the main body, allowing the user to see that the UV light is still working. The Jebo has a red light on the AC adapter that I thought served the same purpose (light on for good bulb and off for burned out bulb). Not the case, it's on regardless. So, the only way to know that your bulb is working is to check it. Piece of cake if you own a turbotwist, right? You can unscrew the bulb endcap without even taking the unit offline. Try this with the Jebo and you will end up very wet. This is because the quartz sleeve is not permantly sealed like the TT, but rather, it's seal is the result of sandwiched o-rings. Loosen the cap, and the water will go right around them. So, to replace a bulb, you will need to set aside some time to spend monkeying around with your plumbing.

I'll update this thread in the next couple weeks re: the performance of this sterilizer.

For now, I have to give it the thumbs down. Oh, I got it working just fine, but I don't appreciate having to "fix" the equipment I buy before I even run it. A Jebo, at it's best price will run you about $50 shipped. A Turbotwist will go for about $85-$90 shipped.

If you're looking to save $35-$40 bucks on your next sterilizer, I suggest you ask youself the question of whether you are willing to pay $35-$40 to give up your peace-of-mind. Because even if you are lucky enough to get a functioning out-of-the-box sterilizer, you are still left with a product that has much more leak potential than other brands.

More to come....

[plantbrain]

Mine works fine. No leaks. You can use teflon tape on the threads, be careful etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[150EH]

I never see anyone mention the Aqua-ultraviolet brand, 8 watt costs about $120. I don't have any experience with other brands, but this one has a wiper that cleans the quartz sleeve. I have to admit the thing is huge, but its built like a Mack truck. On the Turbo twists and other models do you have to take them apart to clean the sleeve?

[rayhwong]

After using epoxy, it works fine for me too. I have to look at the water tubes to see if the UV is on. A blue glow will come out. The first time the bulb would not light on. I had to dismantle the unit to access teh bulb and reseat it in the socket to make it work again.

[DarkSoul]

I just recieved one of these UV13 units.

From what I've read here just now, they have improved in quality quite a bit.

I havent yet had the chance to connect mine to water, but the threads in the main body of the housing are now a single piece, And are threaded into the body itself.... they are not inserts of any kind.

also the blue connectors that screw into the main body have a nice oring on them, which allows a good snug, and seemingly water tight fit without the worry of cracking anything.... i had them nice and snug, screwed in far enough that the oring was no longer visible.

The adapter of this unit is custom built.
you can tell by looking at it, that the LED was drilled by hand, and the transformer is much mich to light to be a core and coil step down.

Instead this unit uses an electronic step down circuit.
I havent disassembled the transformer, but its a good guess that the guy selling these on ebay got them at a steep discount because they didnt have transformers or something similar, and he managed to get a deal on electronic step down transformers, and had the transformers for the sterilizers custom made, or built them himself with custom parts..... which is why these units are so deeply discounted.

Also make note of the "LifeTech" stickers that replace some of the Jebo logos (on mine at least)

Having searched google previous to buying this, I remeber seeing actual Jebo models H13 as being 18W instead of 13.

So as you can see, these are Jebo sterilizers, but they have been modified by the person selling them on ebay.

at the very least..... the box is still Jebo

[whitepine]

I had one of these for about a year and used it less than that. I hooked it up to a new tank and it started to leak like a sieve. Reglued all the seams and checked all the fittings. While checking the last fitting the whole thing cracked. It seems that the plastic became brittle with use(uv can do this to plastics). I now own a turbo twist and like it much better.

Cheers, Whitepine

[aquino.ry]

I 've had my Jebo for almost a week now and I will say that it is a great product for a very good price. I got the Jebo 11w UV sterilizer from Ebay for $50. I've read from somewhere else that it could leak and the plastic tubes can split so I was extra careful when I screwed the inlet/outlet tubes and other assembly. A useful tip would be to use some plumber's teflon tape and do not over tighten it, and you shouldn't have any problems with.

[smoq]

Thanks for the reviews. I saw that catalinaaquarium.com have uv sterilizers at good prices as well. Did you ever try them?