what is the longest life a tanning lamp ?

Chippp · 04-23-2002, 03:13 PM

How long a life can a tanning lamp be made to work for? 400, 800, 1200, 1500, hours?

Mori · 04-23-2002, 05:31 PM

5000 hours... but don't expect it to tan !!

Lamp manufacturers like to test lamps "at optimum conditions". That means turning on the lamp in an airconditioned room (to optimal life temperatures that can almost never be maintained in a salon. The test the lamp every number of hours WITHOUT SHUTTING THEM OFF.

Get yourself a meter from Solarmeter, measure the degradation of the lamp and toss it when it drops by 30%... you'll never be sorry.

JOHN @ URI · 04-24-2002, 10:57 AM

The Wolff Eurosun Boast the longest lamp life of 1500 hrs.
I usually tell customers to knock 20% off of whatever your told.

Light Sources Aroura line tend to give a very long life. Most of the 100 watt lamps are rated at 1200 hrs. I've had customers use Beach Suns for almost 1000 hrs.

Most 160 watt lamps claim 800hrs. But I don't think that has ever happened more like 500 good hours.

I think that some Lamp makers rate the lamp life in dog hours.(1 year = 7 dog years)

Chippp · 04-24-2002, 11:09 AM

what is it about the construction of a tanning lamp that limits its life? the phosphers the electrods?

JOHN @ URI · 04-24-2002, 01:39 PM

Everything effects life.
Mainly Phosphur types. Some "cheaper phosphors may deteriorate a lot faster than expensive one. That's why you get what you pay for. Stick with The Major name brands and you won't have a problem.
(LIGHT SOURCES,COSMEDICO,WOLFF,PHILIPS)

*you can't use "" it confuses the software. it is part of the html codeing.
chippp

[ This Message was edited by: Chippp on 2002-04-25 09:37 ][ This Message was edited by: Chippp on 2002-04-25 09:39 ]

Brian Oshman · 04-25-2002, 08:38 AM

The cooling provided by the bed most determines the useful life of a lamp. Excessive heat is what degrades the lamp more than any other factor. Insufficient air conditioning contributes to this but if the bed cannot maintain proper lamp temperature with a maximum of 76°F ambient room temperature the output and lamp life will suffer. Overdriving a lamp also will shorten the useful life of a lamp.

bsmart · 05-05-2002, 05:33 PM

John you mentioned 20% over-rating of lamp life. Is that true of LSI?? Would it be fair to say that if you meter your lamps when they are new, you can run them until they are at about 75% of new measured output, on a Solarmeter??

solarmeter · 05-05-2002, 05:55 PM

The "industry standard" recommendation is 70% of new value.

Start "new" reading after 5 hours of burn-in (seasoning). Or after you don't see mercury balls swirling around seeking a stable home. Be aware that during the first ~100 hours, output may drop 10% or more fairly quickly. This is normal. The other 20% may take 500-800 hours.

JOHN @ URI · 05-06-2002, 09:10 AM

Most LSI Aurora 100w lamps are rated for 1200hrs. So knock 20% off and you could expect a decent 900 hrs.

Don Smith · 05-06-2002, 10:06 AM

John:

One of the interesting things to come out of our "sunlamp aging" project is that the "spectral composition", i.e., the percentage of the various components of UVR (UVB, UVA2, UVA1) doesn't change much over the life of the sunlamp. What does change is the TI (total irradiance) value. When we "plot it out" on a graph, the "peak height" decreases steadily as the lamp ages. Is it a decrease in the gas or a decrease in the "power" of the electrodes? I tend to think that it is the electrodes at this point.

In addition, it appears from some preliminary data we are just evaluating that it is the "visible" (400 - 700 nm) and the 3 IR "bands" that degrade first. Thus, the client "feels" a reduction in the "heat" of the sunlamp and equates that "feeling" to a reduction of the tanning power of the sunlamp. That is not the case because this phenomenon (loss of the "heat" producing wavelengths) happens fairly quickly (in the first 300 - 500 hours) at time when the sunlamps are still well above 70% of "new" TI.

FYI, we have conducted several "experiments" to see when most clients will start asking about the "power" of sunlamps and it always comes out the same. When they are somewhere between 50 - 60% of new, the "complaints" will start. Thus, changing your sunlamps at 70% of new provides a "safety margin" whereby you can still get the maximum value from your lamps without losing clients.

Keep in mind that YOU MUST standardize your testing procedure so that you ALWAYS measure your sunlamps the same way. Otherwise, you will be measuring "other" variables than sunlamp aging. For instance, IF you "read" the sunlamps at 5 minutes into the 20 minute session (which is what we recommend) and do so for 5 or 6 "consecutive" sessions (with only a 5 minute delay between sessions, you will draw the "erroneous" conclusion after the 5th or 6th session that your new sunlamps are ready to be changed. As a rule of thumb, it takes 15 - 20 minutes for the sunlamps to "rebound" after a session. Having said that, I understand that NO ONE, including us, can afford to let a 20 minute sunbed sit idle for 15 - 20 minutes during the busy season. My point is that if you don't standardize the testing variables you will have GI=GO (garbage in = garbage out).

This a fascinating area of study.

Don

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04-23-2002, 03:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
Chippp Join Date: Apr 19 2001 Posts: 2,556 Rep Power: 8	How long a life can a tanning lamp be made to work for? 400, 800, 1200, 1500, hours?

04-23-2002, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mori Waiting Confirmation Join Date: Apr 23 2002 Posts: 247 Rep Power: 0	5000 hours... but don't expect it to tan !! Lamp manufacturers like to test lamps "at optimum conditions". That means turning on the lamp in an airconditioned room (to optimal life temperatures that can almost never be maintained in a salon. The test the lamp every number of hours WITHOUT SHUTTING THEM OFF. Get yourself a meter from Solarmeter, measure the degradation of the lamp and toss it when it drops by 30%... you'll never be sorry.

04-24-2002, 10:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
JOHN @ URI I love Derf!! Join Date: Dec 21 2001 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,302 Rep Power: 7	The Wolff Eurosun Boast the longest lamp life of 1500 hrs. I usually tell customers to knock 20% off of whatever your told. Light Sources Aroura line tend to give a very long life. Most of the 100 watt lamps are rated at 1200 hrs. I've had customers use Beach Suns for almost 1000 hrs. Most 160 watt lamps claim 800hrs. But I don't think that has ever happened more like 500 good hours. I think that some Lamp makers rate the lamp life in dog hours.(1 year = 7 dog years)

04-24-2002, 11:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
Chippp Join Date: Apr 19 2001 Posts: 2,556 Rep Power: 8	what is it about the construction of a tanning lamp that limits its life? the phosphers the electrods?

04-24-2002, 01:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
JOHN @ URI I love Derf!! Join Date: Dec 21 2001 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,302 Rep Power: 7	Everything effects life. Mainly Phosphur types. Some "cheaper phosphors may deteriorate a lot faster than expensive one. That's why you get what you pay for. Stick with The Major name brands and you won't have a problem. (LIGHT SOURCES,COSMEDICO,WOLFF,PHILIPS) *you can't use "" it confuses the software. it is part of the html codeing. chippp [ This Message was edited by: Chippp on 2002-04-25 09:37 ][ This Message was edited by: Chippp on 2002-04-25 09:39 ]

04-25-2002, 08:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
Brian Oshman Brian Oshman Join Date: Apr 29 2001 Location: High Bridge, NJ Age: 39 Posts: 893 Rep Power: 12	The cooling provided by the bed most determines the useful life of a lamp. Excessive heat is what degrades the lamp more than any other factor. Insufficient air conditioning contributes to this but if the bed cannot maintain proper lamp temperature with a maximum of 76°F ambient room temperature the output and lamp life will suffer. Overdriving a lamp also will shorten the useful life of a lamp.

05-05-2002, 05:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
bsmart Join Date: May 2 2002 Location: 2621 W Main Suite 9 Posts: 768 Rep Power: 7	John you mentioned 20% over-rating of lamp life. Is that true of LSI?? Would it be fair to say that if you meter your lamps when they are new, you can run them until they are at about 75% of new measured output, on a Solarmeter??

05-05-2002, 05:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
solarmeter Join Date: Nov 13 2001 Location: MI Posts: 545 Rep Power: 7	The "industry standard" recommendation is 70% of new value. Start "new" reading after 5 hours of burn-in (seasoning). Or after you don't see mercury balls swirling around seeking a stable home. Be aware that during the first ~100 hours, output may drop 10% or more fairly quickly. This is normal. The other 20% may take 500-800 hours.

05-06-2002, 09:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
JOHN @ URI I love Derf!! Join Date: Dec 21 2001 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,302 Rep Power: 7	Most LSI Aurora 100w lamps are rated for 1200hrs. So knock 20% off and you could expect a decent 900 hrs.

05-06-2002, 10:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
Don Smith Join Date: Feb 25 2000 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 1,597 Rep Power: 10	John: One of the interesting things to come out of our "sunlamp aging" project is that the "spectral composition", i.e., the percentage of the various components of UVR (UVB, UVA2, UVA1) doesn't change much over the life of the sunlamp. What does change is the TI (total irradiance) value. When we "plot it out" on a graph, the "peak height" decreases steadily as the lamp ages. Is it a decrease in the gas or a decrease in the "power" of the electrodes? I tend to think that it is the electrodes at this point. In addition, it appears from some preliminary data we are just evaluating that it is the "visible" (400 - 700 nm) and the 3 IR "bands" that degrade first. Thus, the client "feels" a reduction in the "heat" of the sunlamp and equates that "feeling" to a reduction of the tanning power of the sunlamp. That is not the case because this phenomenon (loss of the "heat" producing wavelengths) happens fairly quickly (in the first 300 - 500 hours) at time when the sunlamps are still well above 70% of "new" TI. FYI, we have conducted several "experiments" to see when most clients will start asking about the "power" of sunlamps and it always comes out the same. When they are somewhere between 50 - 60% of new, the "complaints" will start. Thus, changing your sunlamps at 70% of new provides a "safety margin" whereby you can still get the maximum value from your lamps without losing clients. Keep in mind that YOU MUST standardize your testing procedure so that you ALWAYS measure your sunlamps the same way. Otherwise, you will be measuring "other" variables than sunlamp aging. For instance, IF you "read" the sunlamps at 5 minutes into the 20 minute session (which is what we recommend) and do so for 5 or 6 "consecutive" sessions (with only a 5 minute delay between sessions, you will draw the "erroneous" conclusion after the 5th or 6th session that your new sunlamps are ready to be changed. As a rule of thumb, it takes 15 - 20 minutes for the sunlamps to "rebound" after a session. Having said that, I understand that NO ONE, including us, can afford to let a 20 minute sunbed sit idle for 15 - 20 minutes during the busy season. My point is that if you don't standardize the testing variables you will have GI=GO (garbage in = garbage out). This a fascinating area of study. Don

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