Dear Sue, I can highly recommend the Tank007 UV-AA02 UV light. It has a true 365nm output with quite low 'leakage' of longer wavelength blue and purple light, so that you can see the fluorescence much better than with a lot of the cheaper led UV lights. Ideally, you shouldn't be able to see that the light is on, you should only be able to see the fluorescence. Some lights come closer to this ideal than others. The Tank007 UV-AA02 does quite well, compared to others, similar to the regular fluorescent tubes I would say. When I bought it, around two years ago now I think, I did extensive online research, and this one came out on top. It is possible of course that even better ones have come to the market in the mean time.
Another popular UV light is the Reskolux one, which I have also tested personally. However, I can't recommend it. It does have a fancy lens that gives you a very even light spread, but its output is quite poor, and it's extremely expensive. The UV-AA02 is much brighter. (Test it in the dark in your supposedly clean kitchen and prepare to be shocked.) It has a brighter spot in the middle of the beam, but I would say this is an advantage rather than a shortcoming. This allows you to see some fluorescence even in light conditions, something which is impossible with the Reskolux. Furthermore I really like that the UV-AA02 uses regular AA batteries instead of a non-replaceable or non-standard battery. The batteries don't last long, but you can always exchange them when you're working on site somewhere, or use rechargable AA's. Build quality is also excellent. In any case, watch out that you don't buy a 395 nm UV light, nor a mixed 365/395 nm light. You'd be looking at a lot of blue and purple and not much fluorescence. I hope this helps. Kind regards, Thomas Michgelsen Wood & furniture conservator from The Netherlands > ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
