Magnetic Ballasts

[bronzecafe]

Not sure if this is in the right place but it has to do with meter readings. My level 3 beds are a TA Delray (magnetic ballasts)w/ Sig Series Plus and a Prosun Lumina 40sli (electronic ballasts)w/ Wolff Bronzing Sun Plus. Now I know the Sig lamps are great lamps but at 250hrs my Delray is metering only 35 on a 5.0 as opposed to my Lumina metering 48 with 360hrs. Both of these beds were metering about 50 during the first 50hrs. So my question: Does the magnetic ballasts eat 160watt lamps that much faster and if so why in the hell did companies use them for so long.

[solarmeter®]

Excellent question. Hope someone knows the answer. I don't.

[BIG AL]

Yes, magnetic ballasts do tend to eat lamps faster than choke, especially new era lamps. Lamps for magnetic ballast have different gases in them compared to choke ballast. Magnetic ballast also use the rdc connectors compared to the bi-pin for choke ballasts. Puretan was the only one that I know of that used the rdc and choke ballasts. They were the standard choke lamps will rdc caps.

Why Tan America used magnetic ballasts when almost everyone else switched to choke, I don't have a clue.

[solarmeter®]

He was talking about Magnetic vs Electronic not Choke.

Do Choke and Electronic eat lamps the same... assuming Magnetic is the worst?

And - I asked on a different thread... are 5.0 readings higher or about the same for electronic vs non-electronic, assuming all else is equal?

[John]

Big Al is pretty much right on. The Magnetic Ballast used in tanning beds was designed to be used in an outdoor sign application to run 2 8 ft tubes. The start up voltage & current to the end of the lamps is very high & constant. You will notice black ends very fast & lamp performance declines fast at about 250-300 hrs. Most salons are changing lamps around the 400 hr mark in the 160W Magnetic Ballast applications. Typically you want to stick with an Argon gas only lamp in the magnetic ballast applications. If you use an Ar/Neon gas mix like most high end VHOR lamps have (Magic Sun, Sig Series, Cosmedico) you will get much better output, about 20-25% more, but output will crash much faster around 200 hrs. There are a few Sig Series & Sig Series Plus lamps which are made for Magnetic or RS style ballast. They would have the 4 digit part number of 1155 or 1387 for the FR71/RDC or 1149 or 1207 for the FR73 RDC. They tend to hold up longer in these applications, but don't expect miracles from any lamp you put in there.

Choke systems are the preferred method of ballast system for the majority of bed manufacturers, they do need more parts, such as capacitors & starters, but the output on the lamps is much better & more consistent over the life of the lamps. The real test would be to use either the Sig Plus in both beds or the Wolff lamps in both beds, you will see that the Prosun unit with Choke ballast will have better life and provide a nicer tan over the life of the lamps.

Many bed makers including Tan America are starting to switch to electronic ballast. These are typically more energy efficient, run much cooler & can increase lamp life by 20-30%. Not all have mastered the switch from Magnetic & choke to electronic but many are trying. You can't just take an existing bed design & swap out ballast and expect it to run properly. They will need to adjust the cooling and possibly the tan time. If the lamps are overcooled they can easily drop 20% in output.

[bronzecafe]

Now I'm confused, do I have electronic or choke in my Prosun? Also if the magnetics in the Delray are going to eat lamps that bad than wouldn't it be better just to put a cheaper lamp in it but change it more often?

[SUNNYDAYS]

The cheap lamps may not hold up as long as John stated because of the cheap phosphers.

[John]

BronzeCafe, If your bed has starters which it most likely does then it is choke. I'm not sure that Prosun has an electronic ballast in that unit. I could be wrong.

Also cheap lamps won't help the problem at all. You still have to give good results in the session time you have.

[BIG AL]

Bronze, I don't know if you have electronic ballasts or not, but the Prosun website doesn't mention the electronic ballast. I would guess that you have choke but it would not be the first time I was wrong. There was that time in '86.

[bronzecafe]

I'm pretty sure the prosun has choke. Little white ones with starters at the end of each lamp. The sad part is I like the Delray. It's not that impressive to look at but it tans fairly well. I just hate having to relamp it twice for every one relamp in my prosun. I also have TA Catalina's (magnetisc ballast w/ 160watt canopy / 100watt bench)also and in one I have Beach Suns and in another I have Midday Suns. I relamped them both the same day and at 220hrs my midday suns are metering 35 and the beach suns are metering 30.5. So maybe the midday suns last a little better with the magnetic ballasts.

[John]

Bronzecafe,
The Beach Sun's have a bit more UVB, so naturally they may meter lower than the Midday Sun. You really need a 7.0 Meter to determine how well the lamp is producing. This will give you more of the story.

[bronzecafe]

Our customers really like the Beach and Midday Suns, much more than the VIP Premier's we did have. Why did Tan America and other companies continue to use magnetic ballasts if they eat the lamps up and why does it eat the lamp more. I know TA is now using electronic ballasts but why did they wait so long?

[John]

That is a question only they can answer. They must of felt it was sufficient enough. The only ones who really stuck with that early 80's technology was Tan America, Hex & Sundash. All the new Sundash is electronic, Tan America has offered some models in the past with choke ballast as an option. I'm not sure what ITE Hex is upto these days.

[bronzecafe]

John. just out of curiosity more than anything, why do the magnetics eat the lamps up quicker. What do they do differently?

[Brian Oshman]

Originally Posted by bronzecafe

John. just out of curiosity more than anything, why do the magnetics eat the lamps up quicker. What do they do differently?

Here's why:

A choke ballast uses a starter which applies current to the cathodes to start the lamp then once the lamp starts the starter drops out.

In a magnetic ballast, current is constantly applied to the cathodes which creates higher internal heat in the lamp. This is because the ballasts of this type are used in general lighting and signs which are used outdoors. In cold climates the lamps will have a hard time starting or reaching full brightness so the constant current adds the extra heat to take out the flicker and bring up the brightness of the lamp.

Now for this application this is OK but in tanning, heat is bad. Heat kills tanning lamps and performance and output. We are constantly combating heat in tanning beds and salons.

The added internal heat in the lamp is what speeds up the degredation of the lamp.

[PlanetSun]

Won't be electronic ballasts in a Prosun Lumina. Hapro introduced electronic ballast as option on the X7 and X10 at Solaria 2007 (They call it IP Control).

[John]

Thanks Brian!
Brian is right on with that answer.

[bronzecafe]

Thanks all for the knowledge.

[bronzecafe]

Now you have me thinking more on this subject. Theoretically will the magnetic ballasts eat up 160watt lamps faster than they eat 100watt lamps, due to the even higher heat? If so then (Now I know I'm sounding cheap and ghetto, but I'm just thinking here) in my Catalina's should I change out my 160watt canopy twice for every one lamp change in my 100watt bench?

[Brian Oshman]

Just do the whole bed at once.