Dear TanningBeds.org,

What can cause a bed that is rated to have 100w on bottom and 160W on top to burn your front but not your back if you stay in too long? My spouse asked for 6mins however the bed messed up and they reset accidnetly to 12mins and burned her but only the front (160w side on top) The front half of her is burnt but her back is not.

The owner says they have the same percent uv a and b on both bulbs. But doesnt the lumens output on the different bulbs differ to cause the magnitude or quantiy of UV Light from the top greater to burn her? She disagrees with that statement and goes with what the manufacture says will work for bulbs in the bed.

[[name and email address were not given]]

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Dear Friend,

I have never been a big fan of what some call “hybrid” beds, with 100w on bottom and 160w on top. You do get a lot more UV from the top than the bottom, both UVA and UVB, no matter what any salon owner tells you. As to the UVB rating being the same on the top and bottom, the salon owner (like most) don’t understand what the rating MEANS. A 5% 100W lamp and a 5% 160W lamp do not have the same output. It only means that 5% of the total is UVB, 95% of the total is UVA. Tanning lamps don’t carry a label for total UV at all, although the TE (time exposure) rating (which you will never find anywhere) is on file with the lamp manufacturer. The TE doesn’t indicate what time session the bed will have, it is just an objective standard that the total UV is rated at.

The reasons that they make beds with 160w/100w combos is two-fold: Putting 160w lamps in the bench creates heat issues that are difficult to deal with unless you use very expensive cooling systems. Secondly, anything that has any 160W lamps is a “160w bed”, so it is a marketing thing. Yes, they are more expensive and make everyone in the chain (manufacturer, reseller, salon owner) more money, but I have never thought the idea was a good one. In my opinion, the entire bed should have the same power lamps in both halves for an even tan, and it appears that your wife has accidently proven this point. There are good beds out there that have 160W lamps in both the canopy and bench, they just cost more.

Remember that salon owners are not tanning bed experts. They know what they are told by the manufacturer. Usually they have decent information, but even manufacturers are only going to say what they must by law, and of course, what will sell their equipment. Salon owners learn about the basics, and about lotions and their own experiences. They are not engineers with testing centers and you can’t really expect them to know the technicals on equipment, outside of what they are told.

Now some beds have a few more lamps in the canopy than the bench (ie: many 26 lamp beds have 12 in the bench and 14 in the canopy) and the theory is that since you are farther from the canopy than the bench, you need a little more light from the canopy to even it out. This is not the same thing though, as 160w canopies and 100w benches however, as the 160w canopies often have more lamps as well, and the total light coming from them is 50% to 100% more than from the bench.

The key issue here is that the tanning bed operator simply screwed up and burned your wife, and DOUBLED the time session. Most salon owners are not this unprofessional. Mistakes happen, but I might consider switching to a different salon if you can’t trust them to not burn you.

Dennis

I’ve had a couple of questions about capacitors during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. First a quick warning: Capacitors actually hold electricity, so even if the tanning bed is unplugged, you can get shocked badly if they aren’t discharged. Personally, I unplug the bed, then turn the bed on, which helps. This is the same idea on how a TV can kill or hurt you, even if it is unplugged, as the capacitors still are charged. So be careful.

First, some schooling: A capacitor is a pretty simple device. You can make one at home using aluminum foil and wax paper. Imagine taking two sheets of foil (conductors) then placing the wax paper inbetween them (insulator). This has to be done so there is no way that the two sheets of foil can ever touch each other. Now roll them up tight and solder a connector to each of the two sheets. That is the two poles, and this actually holds electricity when charged. If you want to get fancy, you can submerse the entire thing into a liquid that is dielectric (can’t conduct electricity) to dissipate heat. The size of the sheets, plus the thickness and type of wax paper determines the capacity of the capacitor. And yes, this really works, although not as well as those produced by more exacting standards, such as in a factory.

In addition to storing electricity, they can be used as a filter (installed in series mode instead of parallel). This is the little cylinder you see on tweeter wires, which filters out the bass frequencies and prevents damage to the tweeter. You also see this on old cars that have points, called a condenser (the word condenser is just another word for capacitor, just less used). They make Tesla coils work. If they didn’t exist, you wouldn’t have a computer, TV or radio. Your toaster and light bulbs would still work fine, though.

These seldom go out on tanning beds, as they have no moving parts and are pretty stable. When one finally dies, it is usually unevenful. Usually. Once in a great while they go out in spectacular fashion, burning up some wire, or perhaps exploding. Only twice have I ever seen one that had exploded. One in a tanning bed, and one in a car stereo system with lots of 12 inch woofers. In both cases, it sounded like a shotgun and did damage to the sheet metal. Obviously the owners were not amused, but again, this is very rare. In otherwords, don’t lose sleep over exploding capacitors but don’t be careless either.

Capacitors can work like a bladder tank of sorts: When the electrical current is high, they soak up power. When it is low (such as when you first start the bed) they release power. This happens very fast. They also serve to act as a buffer and even out and filter the incoming power a bit when used in this fashion.

Not all beds use large capacitors. Beds that have magnetic, electronic or high frequency ballast use smaller capacitors that are built into the ballast themselves. Choke style beds use the large offboard capacitors that we are talking about here. How many, and what rating depends on the number of lamps, and the preferences of the manufacturer. Some beds use less total capacitance as a way of saving money, others use many to make starting and running smoother. How much you need per lamp is a broad range, not a simple fixed amount. To a point, the more the bed has, the better.

Of course, the question was “how do they connect inside a tanning bed?” and I will let this image explain this. For a two pole capacitor, in a tanning bed or most anything else, this diagram works.

Hope that helps clear up a few things about capacitors!

Dennis

Dear TanningBeds.org,

Are there any other practical (or otherwise) uses for a sunlamp other than tanning?

Casper

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Dear Casper,

(yes, same Casper as last email, he had two good questions!)

There are several “unofficial” uses, and I have written about several of them on the blog. You should search the archives for more information on specific applications of these uses.

First, some people use them as medical devices, although no tanning bed has been certified for such use. Most often it is for psoriasis or other skin problems that necessitate the use of UVB. Doctors have UVB units that do the job, but they are expensive, and some have suggested using tanning beds as a replacement or in addition to doctor treatment. I have also heard people using tanning bed for athritis, because most generate a generous amount of infrared heat as well, although this is much less common.

Another use is in curing UV coatings. This is commonly done by surf board makers and people who make musical instruments, such as violins and guitars. Not all finishes use UV for curing, but the ones that do can cure faster with a tanning system. A tanning unit can provide a more regulated environment for UV curing, insuring each item is exactly like the next one, and the finish is very even.

Lastly, some people use tanning units (canopies, beds or home made rigs) to “age” wood finishes. This is mainly for custom guitars, to make a new guitar look like an old road warrier. This can take several days or longer, and the heat and UV combined can help put fine cracks, or “checking” in the finish to make it look like a 20-40 year old guitar. It doesn’t affect the sound, however. Some violin makers do this to their custom bows, to make them darker. They say it changes the feel of the bow as well, although I have no personal experience to share on the effectiveness of this.

I am sure there are other uses as well, but these are the most common I hear about. If anyone else has any other uses, I would glad to hear about them, so I can pass it on to our readers.

Dennis

Dear TanningBeds.org,

Can an old Sperti table top sunlamp be used as a growth lamp for plants, herbs and vegetables safely? If so, what would be the recommended exposure time (i.e, 20 minutes per day)? Thank you for your attention.

Casper

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Dear Casper,

You wouldn’t want to. Sperti units emit a great deal of UV, and UV kills plants in anything over moderate amounts. They can only tolorate what the sun give them, which is much less than what a tanning system of any kind delivers. Adding MORE UV is not going to benefit them in any way.

From my experience, it is hard to beat an old fashioned fluorescent light for general all purpose
growing. We used to propegate our own plants from seed for the garden. (too lazy in my old age to do this any more, so we buy seedlings now) This can be done as the sole light, or on a cheap timer to suppliment natural sunlight.

We would use simple two bulb fixtures (F48, or 48 inches long) that you can get from Home Depot for well under 20 bucks. The lamps are cheap too. If space is an issue, use the CFL, or compact fluorescent lights in a standard light bulb fixture. They use less power and last about 5 times longer, and they produce a decent imitation of the sun for plants. It isn’t as
good as grow lights, but if you put enough light on the plants, they wont mind.

Every office plant in the world has been doing fine with 4 foot fluorescents lamps for decades. They would NOT be doing well with the UV. Regular fluorescent lamps use a glass and phospor that is designed to filter out all UVA, UVB and UVC. Tanning lamps use a phospor that enhances and creates UVA and UVB, while the glass filters out the UVC. They use the same basic technology (which is over 100 years old, thank you Nikola Tesla) but the output is very very different.

Another note: Tanning units and regular fluorescent fixtures use VERY DIFFERENT ballasts. Tanning bulbs are HO (high output) and use more electricity per foot of lamp than regular lamps, so you don’t want to mix the lamps/ballasts for these.

Dennis

There is a certain amount of arrogance that comes with a letter like I received this morning. Some folks think that you and I are idiots. I have no intention of debating these issues, but since there are a few who share the same opinion, I though it would be a good time to drag out the soapbox. Again.

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Dear TanningBeds.org,

What do you have to say about the proven facts that tanning beds cause premature aging and even skin cancer?

C. H.
(name was changed to initials after publishing, at the request of the author)

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Dear Ms. C. H.,

If you bother to actually read my articles on both tanningbeds.org, en.wikipedia.org (user: Pharmboy), and even on the commercial sites I author, you would know I don’t hide the fact that tanning has certain risks, although you overstate your case. Recent research out of the UK clearly indicates that people who get NO UV have higher instances of all cancers, particularly colon cancer. There is also new evidence that the ingredients in many SPF formulas have links to cancer. Grilling food on a gas grill also “causes cancer” as do many other common, everyday activities. As always, life is about moderation and those who don’t abuse or overdue an activity tend to do just fine.

As to my own risks, I go fishing very frequently and get more UV than the average person. Both my parents have had basil cell skin cancer and have never even seen a tanning bed. Of course, they are both outdoor types who fish, hunt, garden and stay outside a great deal every day. This may be why they are extremely healthy and active while well into their 70s. This puts me at a higher theoretical risk so I use a little caution. I don’t let myself burn, I use SPF on my face when I’m outside for long periods and I wear protective clothing when warranted. I am outspoken advocate of tanning moderation. I have always said it should be illegal for minors to tan in salons, and it is in many states now. This is because MOST skin cancer is linked to OVEREXPOSURE as a CHILD, and has nothing to do with tanning beds. IE: You burn a lot as a child and your risk is high, regardless of what you do as an adult. I still believe that moderate UV exposure is better for you than none, and recent studies back me up on this. Humans evolved to get moderate exposure: we are engineered for it and even require this for vitamin D production.

Thanks for your letter but debating UV risks isn’t what the website is for. The website is for people who enjoy tanning, and the goal is to provide technical information and bust a few myths. In spite of your “good intentions”, please understand that the average tanner is not stupid; they know there are some risks, and the risks for those who use moderation are not nearly as high as you think. Only a tiny percentage of people take tanning to an extreme, and yes, they know it is not healthy to do so.

To compare, glamour magazines (Cosmo being the worst) and TV shows about modeling have done more damage than any tanning bed ever could. By spreading misinformation, creating false expectations, virtually endorsing drug abuse and anorexia, and creating a negative self-image for millions of young ladies across the country. Paris Hilton alone has done more damage to Americans and our culture than the entire tanning industry combined. Of course, I support the networks right to fill our airwaves with utter trash and nonsense, I just choose to not watch it. You can choose to avoid UV in the same way.

I could offer you a whole page of links that show actual published research, not just opinions but I have already done this over the years in many other articles. I don’t think you came here to get information anyway. You don’t tan yet you found this website, which clearly demonstrates you have an agenda to push and you have no interest in facts that may counter your “proven facts”. We dumb tanners already know that we should not overdo tanning, we should avoid sunburns, and that too much UV is bad for you. What you DON’T understand is that moderate UV is likely quite beneficial and seems to have lower risks than avoiding UV completely.

Sincerely,
Dennis Brown

Dear TanningBeds.org,

The owner of my tanning salon informed me that my lotion is not good for her beds. It is Ultimate’s Sweet Deception. I really find that hard to believe, the ingredients are found in lots of other lotions and I can’t imagine Ultimate making a tanning bed lotion that would ruin the acrylics. Of course, she doesn’t sell the brand. Does Hemp seed oil and jojoba oil really ruin them?

Thanks,
Vickie
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Dear Vickie,

No, those ingredients will not damage acrylics. Baby oil (aka: mineral oil) can, and some other oils (such as olive oil) are impossible to clean up. Other combos like olive oil and iodine are popular with weight lifters and can damage acrylics. Yours does not fit this catagory.

I researched the lotion you named and found it to be perfectly acceptible for use in tanning beds. As a matter of fact, it is made ONLY to use in tanning beds. Why your salon owner will not let you use it is a mystery, unless she just wants you to buy lotion from her only. I can’t say this for sure, but I would hope she is not so unethical as to do this. If she is, I would say it is a good time to switch to another salon. She has every right to prevent unwanted ingredients on her beds, but this lotion is perfectly fine.

Dennis