You just bought a used tanning bed or have an older tanning bed and you need new lamps, but you have no idea
what kind of lamps you need. Read on, as our resident nerd will explain what you need to
know to figure this out, in plain talk. The page looks long, but it will skip you to
the right sections that apply to you. Relax, you are in good hands.
As the largest seller of tanning lamps, we hear this every day, but fortunately, it is
pretty easy to figure out what you need using this guide. You need to be near your
tanning bed for this page to be helpful. If you are not near your tanning bed, write
down our domain name (TanningBeds4Less) and come back when you are. We do this all
day long for customers, so trust the process and read on, all your questions will be
answered in 1-2 minutes. Have a pen and paper handy, so you can write down the size
you need.
1. Do you have face tanning?
There are a couple different types of face tanning, so look below. If you don't
have any type of face tanning (most tanning beds), skip to Step 2.
Otherwise, read about each below.
Turbo Facial
This system is fairly rare, but a few models have these turbo lamps. If you are
using the system in the home, our suggestion is to remove the small turbo lamps and don't
replace them. (Really) Instead look at one of the special Face Tanning Kits
for your bed. These small lamps are expensive and put out too little UV to justify
their cost. Removing them from service is perfectly safe to do. You can buy
replacements if you just have to have them, but be forewarned that they tend to cost $30
each, which is about twice the cost of one of our basic lamps. You can get more
power for less money with the other kits. If you bed has Turbo Facials, then the
long lamps are surely F71 sized. Write this down.
High Pressure Facial
This is very common type of face tanning that uses a 400 watt bulb that is a few inches
long (shown above), behind a (usually) purple filter glass. Never use them if the
glass is missing or cracked, this would be dangerous. The replacement cost for the
bulb itself is around $25. Some beds have more than one of these. Most beds
that use this facial have F71 sized lamps for the long lamps, and the lamps in front of
the face bulb may be F59 (shorter), or they may have shifted the lamps down and used F71
lamp all around. You have to look at the lamps, and count the number of short/long
lamps to be sure. I cover this below.
Dual Zone Facial
This is actually just a F71 lamp that has been specially treated to produce two
different UV spectrums. All the magic happens inside the lamp, not outside.
When the lamps are on, they look like the image above, although your bed might have
fewer/more of the face bulbs. This means you can either replace it with the same kinds of
lamps, with regular F71 lamps, ClearTech, Dual Zone face tanning lamps, etc. You
need F71 lamps, write this down.
Face/Arm/Side
This is actually just a F71 lamp that has been specially treated to produce two
different UV spectrums, like the face lamps. The typical 24 lamp bed will have 8
plain lamps, 8 face lamps, and 8 side lamps. When the lamps are on, they look like
the image above. Like above, you can generally replace them with any F71 lamp you
choose, including ClearTech, bronzers, etc. You can also replace them with a kit
that is just like the current lamps. We call this a FAS or Face Arm Side kit.
You need F71 lamps, write this down.
No face tanning
Your bed doesn't have special face tanning, but you can likely add it. You can go to
Step 2, below.
 Before you say "Wolff", please know that Wolff isn't a brand
of tanning bed. Dozens of bed brands have the name Wolff on them, and it only
refers to the original lamp style. There should be a name on the bed such as
SunQuest, SunVision, ESB, Suntana or similar. 90% of the time, this will
automatically tell us what size lamp you need, as many manufacturers only used one size
lamp in all their tanning beds. If you are not sure what brand of bed you have
(label missing, worn off, etc.) then go to step 3 now.
SunQuest, SunVision, SunMaster, ESB, Solar Storm, Soleil, ACN, Alisun use F71 lamps.
Of course, if you have face tanning, you may also have short lamps, F59, or Dual
Zone lamps (above). If you don't have high pressure face tanning, then you
definately have F71 sized lamps (write this down), and *any* 100 watt F71 lamp will work
in your bed. At this point, you are pretty much done, but you can jump
to step 4 if you want to learn some options and prices for your bed. (recommended)
If your tanning bed is a Puretan, Montego Bay, SonnenBraune, Suntana, Sundash, SCA or
other brand, it gets a bit more complicated since they used a variety of sizes in
different beds. It isn't hard to figure out, but you need to go to the next step,
just to be sure.
Ok, we will do this the hard way ;) Actually, it is pretty easy to tell your lamp
needs by looking at the lamp as long as you can see the numbers on it. Old lamps
often used a wierd code on them, but newer lamps use a somewhat more universal numbering
method. Look at your lamps (noting if they are all the same length or not) and write
down the code on the lamp. The code will almost always have the phrase "T12"
in it. That means "thickness = 12/8", which is a fancy way of saying the
lamp has a diameter of 1 1/2 inches, like almost every tanning lamp.
Most lamps will have a code like this: x71T12xxxx. Obviously, the letter
"x" isn't really used, and could be any letters, such as F71, DSS71, VEL71, etc.
The letters don't matter, only the number. For example, a DSS73T12 is really
an F73 lamps. The DSS part just stands for "Diamond Sun S". It is
exactly the same size as a VEL73T12, which is the code for a Velocity F73 lamp. The
two numbers before T12 are what matters. If you have short lamps in
front of a high pressure facial, those will likely say "DSS59T12" or similar,
which means they are F59 lamps. Using "F" and the size is the proper, ISO
way of sizing lamps, but some companies fancy it up with their own letters. It means
nothing, they are still F71s, F73s, or F59s.
The letter R. If you see the letter R mixed in, such as FR71
instead of F71, this means you have a reflector lamp. Examples include Reflex
Bronzer, Sol Plus, Pro Reflector, etc. Call us instead. Reflector lamps are
generally used on only larger tanning beds, but a few 24 lamp beds might have them.
Very likely, this doesn't apply to you. If it does, we have lots of them in stock,
so don't worry.
What if your lamp has different codes? Older lamps like Crystal Sun S, Bellarium
S, Bellarium Plus, etc. used a different coding system. Those lamps aren't made any
more, but they were still just F71, F72, F73 or F59 lamps with fancy codes. Here is
a guide you can use to convert your old codes to their actual size:
F72 codes: (has an RDC, black cap)
DA1-766-100W, F72T12, DSS72T12, or similar xx72T12
(This is a fairly rare size. Some Suntana beds and a few Puretan/Tanfit beds used
this.)
F73 codes:(has an RDC, black cap)
SA2-10-100W, SA1-10-100W, DA1-767-100W, DSS73-T12, VEL73-T12, ES3-73-100W or
similar xx73T12
F59 codes: (bi pin lamp, shorter)
SA1-59-80W, DA1-59-80W, F59T12, DSS59T12, VEL59T12 or similar xx59T12
F71 codes: (bi pin lamp, 6 foot)
DA1-763-100W, F71T12, DSS71T12, or similar xx71T12
(This is the most common lamp size in the industry. Most tanning beds use this
size.)
Write down what size you need now so you can refer back to it later!
If you have size F72, you will be looking at either the Pro Plus or ClearTech 20 lamps.
If you have F73 lamps, we stock about half of our lamps in this size. Go to
the lamp kits section and choose according to the number of
lamps in your tanning bed. If you need both F71 and F59 lamps (ie: you have a high
pressure facial) then you will be looking at the Pro Plus, Pro Bronzer or ClearTech lamps.
You can choose a kit with the right number of both types of lamps, plus a face
tanning bulb, from our lamp kits area. If you have F71,
check out the next section.
4. What are my options?
Your options depend on what size lamp you have, and most of you will have F71 lamps.
Virtually every tanning lamp we offer comes in this size. This section will
help you pick the right lamp for your tanning bed. You can also just jump to the Lamp Kits, but you may find the below sections helpful.
Before you decide what lamp to use, first you should ask yourself if you want any
special features to enhance the tanning experience. Likely, you didn't even know you
had these options! Choose one of the questions below if they apply to you.
A. Do you have a 16 lamp bed, but you want it to perform like a 24 lamp
bed?
B. Do you have trouble tanning your legs?
C. Do you have trouble tanning your face or sides?
D. Are you hard to tan because you have very fair skin?
E. Are you hard to tan but have average skin?
F. Do you want to tan FASTER, even if that means a tan that is less deep?
G. Do you want the darkest possible tan, even if you have to tan in longer
sessions?
H. Do you simply want the best, most powerful lamp on the market?
I. Do you want the cheapest lamp that still performs well?
J. Do you just want something similar to what the bed came with originally?
K. Do you want something slightly hotter (faster) than what the bed came with
originally?
L. Do you want something that is very, very hot?
A. Do you have a 16 lamp bed, but you want it
to perform like a 24 lamp bed?
This is a Catch-22, because if you get a really hot lamp (high UVB), then you will get
striped when you tan. You should avoid any lamp, by any maker, that is rated higher
than 6.5%UVB if you have a 16 lamp tanning bed. Even if someone else's salesperson
thinks it is a good idea. We build beds, we know better than to do this. If
you are wanting to really ramp up the power of your 16 lamp tanning bed, it needs more
than a high UVB bulb, you need a bulb with tons of UVA and just some extra UVB. The
only real choice to get this kind of performance gain out of a 16 lamp bed is to upgrade
to ClearTech technology. Specifically, the ClearTech 20 tanning lamp. These cost
more, but they last twice as long, so they are more cost effective in the long run.
Yes, they actually burn green. They really are different, and in this circumstance,
different is good. You can buy 16 of them in a kit for
your bed here or look at all our kits for 16 lamp beds here.
Back to questions.
B. Do you have trouble tanning your legs?
We have a kit for that! Actually, you would just need to use the SunMaster Custom
Body lamp throughout your bed, and install the label over your feet, like shown below.
The lamp is a standard F71 bulb, so it will work great in any tanning bed that uses
an F71 lamp with no modifications. All the technology is INSIDE the lamp.
The pink section has about 20% more UVB for extra tanning stimulation. After a
couple of weeks, you will notice your legs getting noticably darker, which will even out
your tan. This particular kit works in all beds, no matter how many or how few lamps you
have. Not only is this one of our best selling kits, but we offer several tanning
beds in this configuration and they are some of our best selling models. If you are
having trouble getting your legs as dark as the rest of you, then the Legs Plus
kit is definately the right kit for you, and it is quite affordable. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
C. Do you have trouble tanning your face or
sides?
You might consider getting a lamp kit for either the face, or face/arm/sides. These
lamps are regular F71 lamps on the outside, but they are treated differently inside, to
produce two lamps in one. We offer two styles, Face (with 12" of pink section)
and the Body lamps, which are half pink, half blue. You install them in different
places in the tanning bed to achieve the desired results. You mix them with regular
bronzer lamps where you don't want extra power (either Custom Bronzer or Pro Bronzer).
Above is the Face / Arm / Side kit for a 24 lamp bed. Others are similar.
Note how you get more power (pink) at your sides and in the face area.
Above is a Full Face Kit for a 24. Note that all the lamps in the face area have
a pink section directly over your face, with 20% more power. You can also less than
12 lamps in the canopy with face lamps, even stagger them every other lamp.
To make this easier, we have kits of lamps that include exactly the right number of
each type of lamp you need for each desired effect. For example, the 24 lamp FAS
(Face/Arm/Side) kit has 8 Custom Bronzer, 8 Custom Body and 8 Custom Face. You only
pay for the lamps, nothing is added to the price when we put them in kit form. If
you want extra power directed to the face or to both the face and side, these kits are
ideal and very affordable. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
D. Are you hard to tan because you have very
fair skin?
If you are fair skinned, then you need to be particularly careful when tanning.
The idea is to AVOID burning. Regardless of what other salespersons might or might
not tell you, you should AVOID lamps with more than 5% UVB rating. Light skinned
persons do not develop melanin as fast as regular skin, so a hotter lamp will NOT help
you, only burn you. 6.5%, 8.5%, 9% lamps are not the answer. The answer (like
it or not) is time. You should get a tanning bulb with 5% lower UVB and expect
longer session times. This is the only way you will get a quality tan without
burning. If you have a 16 lamp bed, this means the Custom Bronzer or Pro Bronzer.
Both are 5% lamps. If you have a tanning bed with 24 or more lamps, look at
the Reflex Bronzer 5% or better yet, the Pro Reflector 2.6%. These lamps tan slower
but deeper, which is what you need. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
E. Are you hard to tan but have average skin?
Generally speaking, average skinned persons that have difficulty tanning just need a
modest boost in UVB to stimulate melanin. For these persons, a 6.5% lamp is the
right answer. Good examples include the Custom Plus or Pro Plus.
If you don't mind spending a little more, the ClearTech 20 is the best lamp for
you. They cost a little more but they last much longer, so they end up costing less
in the long run. If you do NOT burn very easily and need something VERY hot, then
the Wildcat 8.5% lamp may be a viable option. View all lamp
kits.
Back to questions.
F. Do you want to tan FASTER, even if that
means a tan that is less deep?
If you are looking for fast session times, then expect the tan to not be as deep or
dark as it would be if you tanned using longer session times. This has nothing to do
with any brand of lamp, it is physics. The Wildcat 8.5% lamp is a good choice if
your tanning bed has at least 24 lamps. The best choice is the ClearTech 120R lamp,
which only works in beds with at least 24 lamps. It uses the newest technology, plus
it has a built in reflector system for the most intense tanning of any tanning bulb on the
market. Also consider the ClearTech 20, which will work in any bed with 16 or more
lamps. It is not quite as fast, but it will tan twice as deep as any 8.5% or higher
lamp. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
G. Do you want the darkest possible tan, even
if you have to tan in longer sessions?
Some people like 20 to 30 minute tanning sessions because they know they get a deeper
and darker tan over time. It doesn't build as fast, but it will look more realistic.
If you have a 16 lamp tanning bed, you choices are either the Custom Bronzer, Pro
Bronzer or ClearTech 20. If your tanning bed has 24 or more lamps, consider the Pro
Reflector (2.6%), the Reflex Bronzer (<5%). In particular, the Pro Reflector is a
slower but deeper lamp that is less likely to burn and produces a very even tanning
experience. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
H. Do you simply want the best, most powerful
lamp on the market?
In a word, ClearTech. You have two basic options, the ClearTech 20, which works
in any tanning bed, and the ClearTech 120R, which is recommended for beds with 24 or more
lamps only. The 120R is basically the same as the 20, but has a built in reflector
to make the lamp about 35% stronger across the entire spectrum. These are the newest
generation of tanning lamps, using a special patented glass that is significantly more
transparent to ultraviolet. They even burn a different color, green. They cost
more, but they last twice as long as our Custom lamps, so they are actually more cost
effective. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
I. Do you want the cheapest lamp that still
performs well?
Then look at our Custom Bronzer and Custom Plus. At less than $15, they
represent tremendous value. We use the Custom Bronzer as OEM equipment on many of
the SunMaster tanning beds, and our customers love them. View
all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
J. Do you just want something similar to what
the bed came with originally?
If your tanning bed has a 20 minute timer, then our Bronzer style lamps are likely the
best replacements. This includes the Custom Bronzer (800 hour life) and Pro Bronzer
(1200 hour life). The Plus series lamps are slightly hotter versions of these lamps.
If your bed has Diamond Sun S lamps (very common), please note that only the
manufacturer sells these, but the Custom lamps are legally compatible with them, for about
half the price. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
K. Do you want something slightly hotter
(faster) than what the bed came with originally?
If you are looking for something just a step up from stock lamps, our Plus lamps fit
the bill. This includes the Custom Plus (800 hour life) and Pro Plus (1200 hour
life). The ClearTech series are a good example of premium lamps that
would also fit the description, while providing a fuller UVA/B spectrum, and delivering a
better quality tan. If your bed has Velocity lamps (very common), please note that
only the manufacturer sells these, but the Custom lamps are legally compatible with them,
for about half the price. View all lamp kits.
Back to questions.
L. Do you want something that is very, very
hot?
We don't recommend super hot lamps for fair skinned persons, or anyone with a 16 lamp
bed, but if you want the hottest lamp that is still going to bronze you, then you should
look at either Wildcat lamps, or better yet, the ClearTech 120R. View all lamp kits. Note that the hotter the lamp is, the
shorter your session time will be but the faster that your tan will fade. This is
not a property of our lamps, it is just the science of how tanning works.
Back to questions.
5. I am still confused!
That's ok, just call us and we will gladly help you. Call 1-800-274-1744 during
business hours, and be sure to have your tanning bed or lamp information handy. You
will get the same great price on the phone that you would online, guaranteed.
Stuff the lawyers make us say: Please note that
many of the trademarks used herein, such as Diamond Sun S(R) and Velocity(R), are actually
trademarked names that belong to ETS, LLC. We use them under Fair Use exceptions to
help our customers find legally compatible lamps. Wolff Systems(R) and the Wolff
System logo are registered trademarks of Wolff Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are
the property of their respective companies, and not our property. We are not
affiliated with any other company. Thanks for reading this ;) |
