What is the difference between QFS-40 and UVB-313EL Lamps?

QFS-40 and UVB-313EL lamps are both used in QUV accelerated weathering testers to provide fluorescent UV light that includes a significant UVB component for faster testing. The diagram below shows that both have similarly-shaped spectral power distributions. How do these lamps differ, and which one is best for use in your QUV?

The QFS-40 lamp was developed to meet the specifications of SAE J2020, which, when written, had a hardware-specific requirement to use this lamp. That hardware-specific requirement has been removed in SAE J2020 and in most standards that are based on SAE J2020.

UVB-313EL lamps were developed later, and operate with the QUV’s SOLAR EYE irradiance control system to provide a more consistent and repeatable level of irradiance than using QFS-40 lamps in a QUV/basic, due to lamp aging, maintenance, and environmental conditions. UVB-313EL lamps are significantly less expensive than QFS40 lamps because far greater volumes of UBV-313EL are manufactured.

If your QUV has SOLAR EYE irradiance control, you should use UVB-313EL lamps and set the irradiance to 0.48 W/m2 at 310 nm for SAE J2020 and standards based on it, even if those standards have not been updated to include the UVB-313 lamp. This is the most cost-effective and best-performing option when irradiance control is available.

If your QUV does not have irradiance control (QUV/basic or old style models), you should continue to use QFS-40 lamps to maintain comparable irradiance levels to what is intended by a test standard or historical practice. UVB‑313EL lamps used in QUV testers without irradiance control will generate irradiance that is significantly higher than QFS-40 lamps in the same tester.