I received an email this morning with a difficult to diagnose problem, so wanted to share it. Unfortunately, they didn’t give me an email address, but did give a phone number, so I will call and refer her to this page.

—-

I have purchased a older commerical tanning bed. It has 4 relay contactors and only one is working. Therefore, the bed will not work. If I manually hold in the other 3 relay contactors the bed will come on. I think I need to replace the contactors but have no idea where to buy them or really how to replace them. I need some advice.

Thanks,
Teresa
(location and phone number not disclosed)
—-
Smart deduction of the contactors, but there may be another problem. Since 3 are not working, it is doubtful that all 3 went bad at the same time. My guess is instead that the trigger wire to the 3 is disconnected. I will try to explain the best I can, but it can be confusing.

Each relay has a coil at the base, and when electricity is applied, this is what turns the bed on. In a 240V bed, (which is just two 120V circuits) usually ONE of the 120V legs is always hot. When you turn the bed ON, the switch sends the other 120V leg to the coil of the relay, which makes them come on. Very likely, this is your problem, NOT the 3 relays.

If you are very comfortable working with electricity, or working with someone who is, (sounds like it since you knew enough to manually trip the relays) then you want to make sure that you are getting 240V at the coil of the relays when the bed is ON. If you are, then yes, the relays are bad. If not, then you need to trace back and see where the wire is disconnected.

It is POSSIBLE that the relays act in series, so when one is turned on, it powers the next (although I personally have never seen this in a bed.) This would mean that if one relay went bad, the next two in line could never turn on. What is more likely is that the trigger or the “always hot” wire on the relays are daisy chained (connected in series) and there is a break in the wire between that first relay and the second, so the other relays never get the proper voltage to start. This should be pretty easy to determine with a voltage meter, or by simple inspection.

If you determine that you do need one or more relays, you can call Archie or Ron at 1-800-274-1744 and order a replacement. It is best if you get the brand and the rating, usually on the side. Also knowing the brand/model/year of the tanning bed will be helpful. It may take a little digging to find the actual problem (which may be all 3, but not likely) and to find replacements if needed, but it will be worth it.

If you need more info or if I haven’t made the troubleshooting clear enough, email me and I will do what I can to help and maybe put up a diagram or two. This is one of those odd and frustrating problems, but often the solution is very simple: one bad wire.

I had a customer email me about a feature for a tanning bed today. It is a common request and the answer applies to all new tanning beds, so I thought I would share it over here at tanningbeds.org.

Do you have any tanning beds with built in radio and cd player?

Many people want this feature, but the majority of tanning bed manufacturers do not offer it, for good reason. I have personally looked into this for the company I work for. Twice, over the last 10 years. Both times, we decided against offering it as an option due to the potential problems and lack of satisfaction.

First, the radios seen in most tanning beds are actually car radios. This means you need to convert the power to 12VDC with a transformer/rectifier combo. Next, getting reception inside the tanning bed is always a problem, due to interference with the tanning bed electronics. Moving the radio just a few feet away fixes this. Also, the car radios are made to cram a bunch of electronics in a small space, so they are more expensive. Finally, repair is a real problem, and usually replacement is the best option. You spend $200-$500 for an option that is very prone to failure, and performance is usually mediocre.

Here is the alternative: Buy a boom box and do NOT get a tanning bed with built in radio/cd. It is absolutely the best way to listen to music while you tan for so many reasons. First, it is much cheaper, as you can buy a fairly nice boom box for $50-$75, or spend more if you want. You can place the box at the head of the bed and get great stereo sound and good reception. Most come with remotes, so adjusting the volume is easy. Most important: if it breaks or wears out after a few years, you can replace it easier. Reliability is much higher than in the cheap built in radios they put in some tanning beds. Most have a headphone jack, so you can listen with headphones if you want, or just use the built in speakers.

No matter how you slice it, you save money up front and in the long run, plus get better sound and an easier to use system for sound in your tanning bed when you go with an external radio/cd player. Oh, and the boom box can be taken outside in a snap if you want, so it is useful when BBQing, watching the kids in the yard, working in the garage, or any place you want portable music. Some things are simply better off NOT built in, and a sound system for a tanning bed is a perfect example.

I had a call get tossed to me today where someone owned a 16 lamp, 120V tanning bed, and had purchased 400W high pressure lamps and fixtures so he could upgrade the bed to face tanning. As this was an unusual request, naturally the call was forwarded to me. He asked how to hook it up. My answer was short and to the point.

You can’t.

There is no technical reason why you can’t run a high pressure facial on 120V, but there are many practical reasons. First, a high pressure bulb is a plasma device, just like fluorescent lamps or neon signs. This means you must have a ballast to regulate the current. Without it, it will keep drawing more power until it self-destructs. Unfortunately, no one makes a 400W ballast for face bulbs that runs on 120V. Another problem is the amp draw, as a pair of these 400W lamps would increase the amp draw of the tanning bed by 50%, and the breaker will certainly trip. This is why all the facial style ballasts are 220V.

Face lamps also need igniters, which are a type of capacitor. By the time you add a ballast, ignitor, bucket, bulb and installation, you have spend way too much money, even if your bed is 220V and you could make the modification. Oh, and face lamps produce UVC which is very dangerous if you don’t use the proper filter. This is a serious health hazard!

A few companies make lamps with face tanning built in, and you can even buy them individuall or in kit form from either of our sponsors and some other retailers. It will add about $30-$40 to the price of a set of lamps, which is the least expensive way to go. Since these lamps just install like a regular lamp, there is no additional wiring or work.

Save your time and money, and just upgrade your entire lamp set to one of these kits next time.

I get questions on ballasts pretty often, usually by people trying to replace them in an older tanning bed. This is an image that shows some of the most popular kinds used over the year. The only one not shown is what we call “double electronic” or “single electronic” which look like computer cards and either power one or two lamps, depending on if it is a single or double.

This image isn’t perfectly to scale, but I tried to give you some idea of the size difference and a basic description. Most are 120V except the choke.

Technically, it is possible to replace one ballast type with another in limited circumstances, but this usually requires rewiring the lamps for that ballast, and is not for a non-electrician. This would obviously void any warranty, but this is only done on very old tanning beds. Keep in mind that different ballasts also have different heat and power specifications, so you will get very different results if you were to replace one kind of ballast with another. Also, some ballasts use more or less power, so you could end up tripping your breaker. It should only be done as a last resort, and only by a technician or electrician.

Acrylics are the source of many different questions, so I wanted to address several here in a single post. I will likely add posting later with more, as there is no limit to the volume of questions that acrylics create. These are based on real email questions.

I need an acrylic, can’t I just go buy some plexiglass much cheaper?
Won’t work. Plexiglass blocks about 97% of UV. That is why tanning beds use acrylics, which are made from…acrylic. Acrylic is one of the few clear plastics that does not block ultraviolet.

Ok, but I can buy acrylic at the local home improvement store, what about that?
It might, but check the price, as it isn’t much cheaper and certainly isn’t the right size. Most acrylic material is made by extrusion, where it is pressed through a slot to make sheets. This is the least expensive way to make it, but it makes the acrylic very brittle. It is very difficult to cut this material, and requires a very high speed and very sharp type saw. A hacksaw, sabre saw, jigsaw or other hand tool will shatter it in just a few seconds. Also, many tanning bed acrylics must be molded, so if you try to force a flat piece of acrylic into the curved section, it may break.

You say to use Novus #2 on acrylics when you change lamps, but my acrylics look like new!
They may be very clear to visible light, but block ultraviolet light. UV causes acrylic to break down. You can’t see the virtual film, but it is there, and there has been plenty of testing to demonstrate this. The reason you use Novus #2 (which is slightly gritty) is to remove just a microlayer of the acrylic. This will make it perfectly clear for ultraviolet AND visible light. No matter how perfectly clean you keep your acrylics, it needs this or you will start to lose 10%, 20%, 30% or more UV transmission. And yes, it has to be done on both sides.

Someone told me I am supposed to replace my acrylics every 4000 hours. Is this true?
I used to hear this, and never understood why. If you take care of the acrylics, use Novus on them, and they are not broken, I have no idea what advantage this gives you. I say no, and only replace if they get chemically fogged, broken or stained somehow. These things shouldn’t happen if you take proper care of them and use the right chemicals and cleaners anyway. And NO baby oil when tanning, since it is a mineral oil and will slowly damage your acrylics.

Where can I buy shocks for an old tanning bed? Good question.

I get requests about finding the hydraulic pistons (also called shocks, pistons, etc.) for older tanning bed all the time. The problem is models changed often and many of the older shocks are all but impossible to find. The best place to start is with the manufacturer, whose name and phone number can usually be found on the back of the tanning bed on the manufacturer’s label, but for many older units, this is a dead end as most are out of business.

There are companies that stock some of the old shocks, but only because they had some from 15-20 years ago and didn’t sell them all. You will have a better chance of finding what you need if you gather some information that they will need BEFORE you call.

First, know that not all tanning beds used the same shock on the right and left side of the bed. Suntana was particularly bad about this. The shocks in the 80s came in 60#, 75# and 90# pressures as stock, and sometimes need a combination of two of these to do the job. Nowdays, it is easier to get custom pressurized shocks so it is rare to see mixmatched pistons.

So you need to first get ALL the numbers off of BOTH shocks. Usually there is a brand name, model number, etc. on the shock. Just write down the info for both, and make a note if they are the same or different. Next, you need to measure the shock in the fully open and the fully closed position. Write down the color of the shock and any particular markings, etc. Then start searching and calling…

There is no one clearinghouse for older tanning bed parts, but it makes sense to start with companies that have been in business for a long time, as a 3 year old company won’t have 20 year old pistons. Ask them for phone numbers of other companies if they can’t get you the part. It might take 1 or 2, or 8 phone calls, but more than likely you WILL be able to get those shocks and get your bed back into running order.