I was so happy to get my Nite Glowrings today (2 green ones). I couldn't wait to find a dark corner to see that glorious glow!

And when I did, my heart fell.

The glow came only from the small tube inside the outer polycarbonate tube. I was expecting so much more!

All the pictures I've seen online show the entire polycarbonate tube glowing.

My question is, to those of you that have glowrings...do your whole tubes glow, or just the small inner tube?

False advertising I'd say...unless I have defective ones. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I feel ripped off <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I'm sorry that you are disapointed Ors.

I have a green glow ring with the black aluminium top and bottom, which I bough from The Glow Company in the UK. I find mine satisfactory for identifying gear and illuminating stuff in the dark (although dimly).

Green is by far the brightest, and the thing that glows is the borosilicate glass vial inside which contains tritium gas, H3. The gas emits beta radiation which activates the green phosphor coating on the tube and makes it glow. The larger the tube is the more light it puts out. My glow ring is much brighter than the tritium face of my marathon watch. The vials are the same type just much smaller on the watch.

The "traser" vials have to be protected by the polycarbonate tube because they are very fragile and it is not good to breathe the tritium gas if they break.

Also a tip, wait until night and then take them to a dark room. After a few minutes your eyes will have night adapted, then they will appear much brighter. They are also brighter when held against a white wall than something dark.

jup, it's just the little tube that glows. It's really only good enough to find you glowring and the thing(s) its attached to in the dark.

Could you guys post a link to the website with this glowrings? I would like to know what this thing is.
Tritium gas, radiation... that sounds a bit unnerving. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Nite Glow Rings

Radiation is relative. There are are three main types of radiation Alpha, Beta and Gamma. They all can be deadly in large enough quantities under the right circumstances, but are safe when contained in appropriate ways.

Alpha radiation has the least amount of energy and can be stopped by a piece of paper or skin. Beta particles have more energy and are stopped by aluminium foil or glass. Gamma is the most penetrating and requires quite a bit of lead to stop, and is the most dangerous.

The good news is that tritium vials contain beta radiation which is stopped by the boroscilicate glass vial and is unable to be detected by a radiation meter in contact with the glow ring. (I've tried it) So they are very safe, you get more radiation from a banana than the glow rings. Yes, bananas are radioactive, they contain small amounts of a naturally occuring radioactive potassium. This potassium releases small amounts of Beta radiation. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Actually we are exposed to small amounts of radiation every day and every time you fly on an airliner you receive much larger doses of radiation, than you do on the ground.

LOL <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Bananas <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Where did you get this info? Are there any other foods that are radioactive?

Hi Ors,
I experienced the same feeling when I first received mine, because I did exactly what you did, which is rush to see it in action.
However, Macgyver is right on target. Your eyes must be fully adapted to the dark( pay attention here, you will see this again!) to truly appreciate the light your glowrings emit. Also he's right when he says that a light colored surface like a white wall or inner tent will greatly enhance perceived light output due to reflection.
If you are a looking for more light output still, there is a device that is actually a glowring on steroids called a "Beta Light" .
I have two of these "monsters" to complete my collection of glowrings and think they are great (yes, I bought many more after my initial dissappointment) . This little nugget is capable of giving off enough light to read by in total darkness (they are actually made for this purpose) and when suspended inside your tent will light up a small dome tent with a VERY soft green glow, enough ( to dark adapted eyes, once again) to "find your way" and distinguish gear in total darkness and clearly see facial expressions of others in your tent.
Btw. if you're seeing faces inside your tent and you're hiking alone you may need help from someone other than us from the ETS community to solve that one for you <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.
If you are interested, here is where I got mine :
www.edirectory.co.uk/penrithsurvival
At approx. $91.oo USD the price my seem steep, but keep in mind that these things run 24/7 for over 10 years which turns out an operational cost of less than ten bucks a year <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> !!
Hope this helps.
Pharaoh.

Pharoah, are these "Beta Lights" the multipurpose illuminator made by Betalight.com? Where did you purchace them from?

How does the light output compare to a krill lamp?

Well actually bananas don't glow, they just emit small amounts of beta radiation. The radiation has to collide with something which scintillates or produces light in order to glow. Phosphorous is one of these substances and is what is used in the glow tubes.

The bananas contain large amounts of Potassium which (when found in large enough amounts) always contains a small amount of Potassium 40, which is mildly radioactive. Do a web search for Potassium 40.

Aparently table salt substitute is radioactive, I haven't tried it. Some older orange glazed pottery contains Uranium which gives it it's color and is therefore radioactive.

Lots of info on CandlePowerForums <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yes Macgyver,
The one called "Illuminated Torch" in the "tactical devices" section on their website are the kind I have besides the regular glowrings.
The light output compared to a standard green 360* krill is a bit less but not much. Very similar.
They are very handy devices, but have their limits. There is a trade off, you have, for practical means, an unlimmited lightsource that will work under the most extreme conditions and requires no external power source whatsoever, but it's limited to the tasks it was designed for ie. upclose tasks with low light output demand like reading books/maps finding stuff in your tent or as a nightlight. It's no SAR searchlight.
Like I said, you can have a conversation with your buddy inside the tent at night (again, dark adapted eyes) and be able to look each other in the eye, but the light will not be visible to someone outside that tent .
If you want one you can order online from Penrith Survival.
see: http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/pages/banner.asp?companyid=55
Pharaoh.

Just to caution people, there is a reason that this web site that you linked to is located overseas. For people in the US, importing these things may be a big "no-no." It is something about being able to buy a few thousand of them may give you something useful in a nuclear weapon. Personally, I don't think that it is a big deal, but some D.A. somewhere may have different ideas.

I'll try it with some night vision tonight. I'm reassured to know that mine are functioning properly.

I wasn't expecting to replace a Krill or Glotoob or chemlight with them. I just thought that if the wider tube glowed, it would be easier to see...

I had that image of people using them as fashion accessories in clubs...I can't imagine they would look that cool, with the small tube the only part that could be seen in anything but dark, dark.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Virtually every living thing is radioactive to some extent... and the dead things are radioactive untill enough half-lifes have passed, but as has already been said, radioactivity is relative. I work nuc. plant outages (refuel, repair, etc.), and my annual exposure rate is higher OUTside the plants than inside, but I've been lucky as far as job assignments and work areas go <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. Radioactivity is ALL around you, but in most cases, the exposure rate is insignificant, as far as the dose from a banana... you could eat a warehouse-ful of bananas and not get the dose that you'll pick up from one x-ray, so I wouldn't go cutting them out of your diet. One of my co-workers uses a little gallows humor to justify his smoking... cigarettes cause cancer, and they use radiation to treat cancer, right??? So following his logic, the smoking is cancelling out the excess radiation, and he's breaking even... sometimes I can't help but wonder what the long term effect to the brain from the extra exposure is <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

Troy

I expected a little brighter too, but for their intended purpose, that is to find keys in the dark or whatever they are attached to, they serve the purpose. The tritium tubes in my marathon sar watch don't appear that bright either until in total darkness and my eyes are adjusted, then then they are darn bright compared to normal night indicators on a watch that has to be exposed to strong light to glow a little bit.

I think the photos they use for advertising these are done with a long exposure, so they look brighter. Tritium just kinda glows, it really doesn't cast much light.

It's like those food places with the commericials showing the "fresh" ingredients. One place I worked out had commecials showing nice bright lettuce and beautiful red tomatos being cut up by hand...I told my wife, "yeah, we never do that...all the stuff comes in bags already cut up". But it looks good for advertising.

I'll accept the glowrings for what they are. And I'll probably buy more of them. I was just expecting a small version of a chem light that doesn't go out for years. But then, I was the kid who was really disappointed when his bag of Tato Skins didn't sizzle when he opened them...like they did on TV <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

You need a couple more zeros in that count before you start making an A-bomb into an H-bomb. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Among other things.

Tritrium is only a booster for the fission-fusion-fission reaction anyway. And that's open source infomation. Best thing to is make the Custom's Officer look like he's either an idiot or being malicious. As in deliberate misuse of office.

As I said, among other things. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Try this!
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=126948