Ozonator damage?

[Aqua Lab Rat]

If a corona discharge ozonator is left operating full-time but all water pumps stay off, is there any potential damage to the ozonator? We're talking maybe a full day of operation with no suction from the injector. I'm trying to figure out why my ozonator stopped putting out ozone but haven't popped anything open to look at it yet. It is fairly new.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If the CD electrode is running 24hrs with no air flow, you will likely foul up the electrode, the glass tube, or burn out the electrical connection. The flow of gas through the CD discharge is what cools it.

Why was this running without a flow switch? Was it not setup properly? Some of these units use pressure switches instead of flow and that’s not good. Pressure switches can fail or activate under insufficient flow conditions.

Short answer - yes, running an ozonator for 24 hours with no water flow to pull the gas into the return stream is very bad.

 

[Aqua Lab Rat]

The unit is one part of a consumer add-on system. I was going to test it and forgot the pump in my test setup was on a 12-hour timer cycle. The unit itself just has a standard electrical plug. I haven't opened it yet to see what switches it might have inside, but the unit stopped putting out ozone after the incident. Thank you for you answer, Matt.

 

[RDspaguy]

Also, ozone is very hard on electronics, causing plastic to become brittle and corroding metals.