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How do you keep your tanning equipment
operating at its peak? How do you know if
there’s a problem with your bed or booth
before the problem starts to cause customer
complaints? How do you know when to
change your tanning lamps?
It’s no secret. The most successful salon
operators meter their equipment’s output
regularly, and keep a careful log of their
meter readings.
Contact your supplier and purchase a
handheld UV meter that is proper for your
tanning system. These simple meters are
typically designed to read UV intensity at
only one wavelength (normally 365nm). They
give a relative reading only, and three
different meters might give three different
readings for the same lamp in the same bed
or booth on the same day. That’s not
important; what is important is that your UV
meter will help you to see how your
equipment is functioning and how your
lamps and acrylics will degrade over usage.
Establish a notebook with a page for each
booth or bed in your salon. In setting up
columns for your readings, your notebook
might look like this:
| Equipment |
| Date |
Reading Acrylic on |
Reading Arylic off |
Relamped |
Cleaned |
| 12-1-00 |
17 |
18 |
no |
yes |
| 12-8-00 |
16 |
17 |
no |
yes |
When you put new VHO lamps into your
equipment, you should operate them for at
least 5 hours initially, to distribute the mercury
within the lamps and bring them up
to full output. In the case of HO lamps, no
break in time is required.
Once the lamps are stabilized, take and
record your initial UV intensity reading. Test
them regularly; you’ll want to change your
lamps when the output falls to 70% of the
original meter reading. Thus, if your initial
reading was 20, you’d want to relamp when
the output fell to 14.
Always test your equipment under the same
circumstances. We suggest a five minute
warm-up, and readings taken with the meter
exactly in the center of the equipment,
resting on the acrylic, or within a preset
distance from the lamp. If your test
procedures vary (ie; incoming voltage), your
readings will vary, and the usefulness of the
readings you get will be questionable at best.
It's not just lamps that wear out. As they age,
acrylics solarize (degrade) and begin to filter
out some of the UV coming from the lamps.
When this happens, even good, new lamps
will not tan your customers—and it’s time for
new acrylics. Meter your equipment’s output
with new acrylics, and watch for a significant
output change (acrylic on vs. acrylic off) as
the acrylics age.
In addition to the above, the existence of
written records and test results will save you
time and money if you ever have to diagnose
certain equipment problems. Therefore, you
need to meter your equipment and keep
good records. You'll be glad you did!
A Word of Caution
Light Sources lamps are made for OEM and
replacement applications, in accordance with
FDA 21CFR1040.20 requirements. In order to
determine the compatible lamps for your
equipment, please refer to your equipment
labels and user instruction sheets.
The breadth of the Light Sources product line,
includes lamps specifically designed for rapid
start or preheat ballast designs. This is intended to optimize tanning lamp
performance in the OEM equipment design.
Rarely is the lamp operation optimal with one
lamp in both types of circuits. Be sure you are
using the proper lamp for your application!
The addition by salons of RDC adapters to
bipin lamps constitutes a misapplication of
the lamps. This could lead to accelerated depreciation, end darkening and dissatisfied
clients. Light Sources assumes no
responsibility for misapplied lamps.
Maintaining Lamp Performance
- Lamp Replacement Checks
- When changing lamps, always clean the
tanning unit thoroughly. Dirty reflectors and
acrylics can significantly reduce the useful
UV performance of the lamps.
- Check the acrylic quality. Poor quality, “cheap” acrylics, or badly degraded acrylics
can block 70% or more of the UVB radiation
of the lamps from reaching your skin. This
can make a new lamp appear to perform
like one that has reached end-of-life.
- Check the lamp sockets. Be sure that the
lamps are snug in the lamp sockets. Replace
any which show worn springs or loose
contacts. Poor lamp contacts can cause
difficulty in lamp starting, shorten lamp life,
cause premature end blackening, and
possible electrical arcing at the lamp ends.
- Change the lamp starters regularly.
Generally most bed manufacturers
recommend changing the starters at every
other lamp replacement. A worn-out starter
can quickly destroy an expensive lamp!
- Lamp Operation
- Periodically check lamp cleanliness. Most units
have an air cooling system for the lamps,
which ends up being a giant vacuum cleaner
for room dirt. A dirt buildup on the lamps can
have a significant effect on lamp intensity.
- Check that the cooling system for the lamps is
operating properly. Without proper airflow, a
lamp can lose intensity. A lamp running 20-30
degrees too hot (or too cold) can lose as much
as 35% of its maximum output intensity.
- Monitor your lamp intensity. Purchase a UV
meter and develop a history of UV
readings. Check your lamps both with and
without acrylics so you can follow the
degradation of the acrylics. Also,
periodically check the lamp intensity so you
can monitor the depreciation of the lamps
during use. Keep in mind that most meters
cannot be used to compare lamps with
different spectral roperties. Generally
lamps are replaced at about a 30% loss
from their initial intensity. This will vary by
lamp design and power loading.
- Lamp Storage
- Lamps will not degrade in their carton; so “freshly dated ” lamps are not necessary.
The only way to degrade a lamp is by
operating it.
- Lamps are not hurt by storage in high or low
temperatures. However, lamps allowed to sit
in a cold or hot environment may be difficult
to light until they reach room temperature.
- If lamps have been stored in the open,
always clean them before installing.
Acceptable cleaners include glass cleaner,
alcohol and most general cleaners.
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