Dear TanningBeds.org,

What would cause the acrylic to burn the back of your body when you are tanning? The acrylic is new and so are the bulbs.

Janet

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What is most common when it comes to getting burned (as in “heat”, not UV) from an acrylic is because a cooling fan is not working, or something is blocking the air flow. An example: if you go inside a tanning bed to clean it, and it had foam inserts to channel air, and you removed them. If it is a burn from heat, it will almost always be related to air flow, one way or another.

First, make sure the fans are working. Next, make sure you assembled the bed correctly when you replaced the lamps. Anything that changes the airflow can lead to this exact problem.

Dennis

I get a ton of phone calls and regular email asking about room sizes for tanning beds. For salons, one of the most common mistakes is making the room so small, that most tanning beds won’t fit inside. This limits their choices when it comes to beds and causes heat issues. For the home tanning bed, it is much simplier, since most people are not trying to build a dedicated room for the bed. Here is a good general guide for room sizes:

Home Tanning Beds:
You need to look at the specifications for the bed to get the exact size. Most 24 lamp home tanning beds are going to have a footprint of about 3 foot by 6.5 foot. This means you need an area at least 7 foot against the wall, and enough room in front of the bed to get in and out. a 7 foot by 5 foot area is adequate for most home beds, but again, look at the bed specifications before you order, so you can make sure the bed will fit in your house.

Salon Tanning Beds:
For some reason, many new salon owners also want a 7 x 5 area for a tanning bed, but this simple too small for a dedicated tanning room. Your room should be at least 8 foot on the wall that the tanning bed is going to be installed against, and should be at least 7 foot wide, to allow easy access in and out, as well as room for a small chair and table. A 7ft x 8ft room should be considered a MINIMUM size.

If you ever expect to have beds larger than 32 lamps, then you need to be looking at a room size closer to 9ft x 8ft minimum for those room. Remember, many larger or “super” beds have venting that must be run outside the room, so you need room to install the vents from the bed though the ceiling. You might not be buying any huge beds today, but you are better off if you have at least a couple of larger rooms in case you want larger beds in the future. Also, the larger the room, the easier it is to keep cool.

Another consideration for salons is door size and orientation. I can’t tell you how many times we have gone out to install a tanning bed, and the bed will not fit through the door. You should use a 36″ door, and never anything smaller. Also, have at least a 48″ hallway (which is code in most states anyway). Another consideration is the door “swing”. If the door swings into the tanning room itself, make sure it can clear the bed. If not, change to swing into the hall, which isn’t ideal but allows the best use of room INSIDE the tanning room. Otherwise, you will be hitting the bed everytime you open the door, particularly if the rooms are small. Also consider full vent doors, which cost more but make keep the place cool a lot easier.

With room size, bigger is better. A small bed in a large room allows the customer to enjoy the experience much better than a large bed in a small room, where they are too cramped to even get undressed.

Dennis

A reader asked a fairly common question the other day. Unfortunately, they did not leave a return email address, so I could not reply back to them. (You gotta leave me a way to contact you when you contact me!!!)

Dear TanningBeds.org,

My question is i am building a room for my tanning bed and my heating cotractor has asked how many btus of heat is produced during one hour af opperation for cooling purposes. Can you tell me?

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Generally speaking, tanning salons will add an average of 1/2+ ton of AC for a small commercial tanning bed that is designed to run all day. For home use, you really shouldn’t need much more AC than you normally need for that size room. The average 24 lamp bed will put out almost 2400 watts of heat. Beds that use electronic ballasts use less, and SunMaster beds use a special electronics system that puts out about 70% less (they use high frequency ballasts). So it depends on your bed.

Other factors that will affect how much AC you need include whether you are in a free standing building (you need more AC) or in the middle of a shopping center (less). If you get a lot of sun from the west, you definately need more AC, since you will be hit hard in the evening during the summer. If you have a lot of glass facing west, again, you will need more AC. Of course, if you live in New York you need less AC than if you live in Georgia.

Several years ago, a salon owner in Virginia called and asked for help because his salon was getting too hot in the summer afternoons, but was ok the rest of the time. He didn’t have enough electrical power to add any additional AC (older building) and wanted to know what he could do to improve the temperature in the salon. He would crank up up the AC first thing in the morning, but it was still too hot by 3am. The solution ended up costing him about $50.

He was in an older commercial building that had the flat roof with black tar. I told him to go paint the roof with some cheap white paint, to better reflect the light and heat during the hot summers. He called back two weeks later and thanked me, telling me that it worked perfectly. Now he just puts up another coat every couple of years, and he has lowered his overall heat, and energy costs. The lesson here is that not every heat issue has to be dealt with by simply adding more AC.

So in the end, calculating AC needs isn’t just about how many BTU’s of energy you use, and several other factors come into play. Again, 1/2 a ton or so is a great place to start calculating from for 24 lamps, but you have to consider location, air flow, insulation and the overall heat load on the building as well.

Dennis

Dear TanningBeds.org,

Someone told me you could clean a tanning bed with lemon or vinegar mixed with water and it wouldn’t hurt the acryllic. Is that true? But wouldn’t it smell nasty when you used the bed again when it got heated up?

[name withheld]

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Dear friend,

Your friend is very wrong. That will damage the acrylic. Lemons have citric acid, and vinegar has asorbic acid. You should only use actual “tanning bed disinfectant”, which is very inexpensive anyway (it costs less than those and even less than window cleaner). Also, it won’t leave a film and you don’t have to worry about it smelling nasty.

http://www.tanningbeds4less.com/posters.html has several different types of cleaners. The blue SunMaster disinfectant is what you want. The 16 oz bottle makes 16 gallons of solution. You might also look at the rebuild kit, which has the disinfectant, plus other stuff to recondition your acrylics. Its a good deal.

The rule for acrylics is simple: If it isn’t made specifically for acrylics, don’t use it. Besides, the real acrylic cleaner is cheaper than almost all alternatives anyway.

Dennis

I get about a dozen requests each week for wiring diagrams and technical information on older tanning beds (pre 1990). In order to help you better, you should always include the following: Brand of bed (NOT just “wolff”!!!), plus the model name and year made. This is almost always on the back of the bed near the power input, usually on the manufacturer’s label. Also, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to have the answer, but no way to email you back. If nothing else, leave a phone number and I will call you with the answer.

Usually, I will direct you to the manufacturer of the bed or an authorized dealer. In the event the manufacturer is out of business (very common) I will get you connected to a company that used to sell that equipment or is familiar with the equipment. Fortunately, I am pretty familiar with most of the old beds, and the majority of parts are still available for those old beds, especially lamps, acrylics and electronics.

Remember: Even if I don’t update the site for a month or two, I answer EVERY email sent here within one or two business days, so keep those emails coming! ;)

Dennis

As some of you know, this is the BUSIEST time of the year, so I haven’t been updated as much as I would like. Don’t worry, I will get caught up in the summer, but for now, here are a few recent emails. This question is from a new salon customer:

Dear TanningBeds.org,

I am a newer tanning patron and am looking for advice on what to look for in a tanning bad. There are various bulb amounts (ex. 20 bulbs), reflector lamps, watts (160 watts), time lengths; what should I look for in a bed, to get my money’s worth. I also just want to know if a bed will work better then another in terms of the bed qualities/mechanics.

Also, for new tanner’s can you give any tips for tanning, such as tanning evenly (my sides are getting less tan then my stomach). And do you suggest wearing sunblock on the face when tanning and just using a darker makeup to match to the rest of your skin?

[name withheld]

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Dear friend,

You shouldn’t have to wear sunblock or makeup when you tan. If the tanning bed isn’t tanning you evenly, look for another tanning bed. The 160 watt beds are nice in that they have more power, but most have 100 watt lamps in the bottom, which I never understood since this means you get more power to your front than your back.

I personally look for a bed with a 20 minute session (faster sessions generally mean more UVB and less UVA, thus a less deep tan, only faster). I like a big bed that is wide enough to get my sides, like a 30 to 36 lamp bed. If you want less sun on your face, you can find a bed with face tanning (the purple plate style) and simply turn it OFF while you tan, so much less UV
is getting to your face. This is common.

Most importantly, I look for a salon that is clean, with friendly and knowledgable staff and equipment that is in good repair. Salon owners that care enough to keep the place clean are more likely to care about having better equipment.

Good luck!