homemade uv254 lamp?

Dear Collegaues,

I thought of converting a uv appliance for testing bank notes into a
uv light source for examining uv254 tlc plates. Having noticed that
254nm uv tubes are used for erasing EPROMS (sort of memory chips), I
consider to exchange the fluorescent tube in the moneytester. The
whole setup would be less than 30 USD in contrast to a uv254 lamp from
lab suppliers which is 200 USD or more. The notably difference however
is that there would be no glass or filter shielding the *visible* part
of the spectrum, which might result in decreased sensitivity.

I would like to ask now if anyone has experience with a similar setup
and might give me some advice or would like to comment.

Many thanks and best regards,

Wolfgang