Tanning Bed Circuit Requirements
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Installing the Right Circuit When Wiring a Tanning Bed: How to Plan and Installing a Tanning Bed Circuit – The electrical specifications need to be identified on the tanning bed label to see if the required circuit has been installed. |
Wiring for a Tanning Bed
Electrical Question: Brace yourself this is gonna be a long one about a tanning bed circuit! About three weeks my other half decided she wanted to start using her tanning bed again.
- We had it moved into a storage room and wired by a professional electrician. The next day the washer started giving us problems, kicking the breaker but would work fine when we reset it.
- This went on for two days before it just fried the control board and the washer no longer did the spin cycle. The dryer then went out also kicking the breaker but after a day or two it fried the blower motor in the dryer.
- Both the washer and dryer were replaced thinking they were a few years old and it was just time. Now the hot water heater has started kicking the breaker, it would stay on for about 24 hours at first but now kicks almost immediately.
- I had a friend come out who has done electrical work for a few years and he said that he did not see a problem with anything. He checked for exposed wiring under the house and everywhere he could see.
- I should mention that she has only used the tanning bed once since the problems started happening.
- The wire attached to the tanning bed is 8 gauge from the plug, but at the breaker box it is wire nutted down to 12 gauge. Everything also has dedicated breakers too. Do I have some major type of electrical nightmare going on, or is it just time for all my major appliances to go out?
This electrical wiring question came from: Brandon, a Homeowner from San Diego, CA.
Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical wiring question Brandon.
Installing Electrical Circuit Wiring a Tanning Bed
Application: Electric Circuit for a Tanning Bed.
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced, Best installed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor. Work in electrical panels is not recommended for homeowners, non-experienced individuals or non-electricians.
Tools Required: Basic Electricians Pouch Hand Tools, electric drill, auger bits and extension cord.
Estimated Time: Depends on personal level experience, ability to work with tools and install 120/240 volt electrical circuit wiring.
Precaution: Identify the main circuit of the panel, turn it OFF and Tag it with a Note before working with the wiring or installing the 120/240 volt wiring and circuit breaker.
Notice: Installing an additional 120/240 volt circuit should be done according to local and national electrical codes with a permit and be inspected.
Planning and Installing a Tanning Bed Circuit
Brandon, no – I don’t think that this is just a worn out appliance problem.
- I do see right away that the tanning bed may have been wired wrong if there are two different wire gauges being spliced together.
- I would also inspect the electrical circuit breaker panel very carefully to look for any contributing problems.
- I suspect that there is an intermittent connection which is causing a loss of power to one side of the electrical service.
- Check the circuit wiring connections within the tanning bed and compare this to the installation manual.
- Once the problem is identified then the required repair will be necessary. This is best done by a professional electrical contractor.
Tanning Bed Circuit Requirements
- There are several different types of tanning beds with various options.
- The electrical circuit specifications will be found on the label of the tanning bed or inside the manufacturers installation manual.
- Depending on the size, the tanning bed may require a dedicated circuit. Careful attention must be given to the wiring connections to ensure safe operation.
More about Wiring a Tanning Bed
- House Wiring Circuits and Circuit Breakers
- Electrical Wiring
- Troubleshooting Electrical Wiring
- Types of Electrical Testers
- Using Electrical Testers
- Electrical Wiring Protection using Circuit Breakers
- A guide to home electrical circuit breakers and how they work to protect your electrical wiring. When properly installed, your home electrical wiring is protected by a circuit protection device.
- Electrical Wire for the Home
- Complete listing of electrical wire types and parts used for home projects with electrical code information serves as selection guidelines.
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I have a customer who has some old tanning beds in a tanning salon. The papers with the beds list a number of lamps and watts as follows: (18) at 160W (20)at 200W and (3) at 300W. Add a half hour power exhaust fan. Total at 240 volts 35.1 amps. Why is my Amprobe reading 66 amp draw on several of these tanning beds, which blow a 50 amp breaker on the second customer? He would need #4 wire to feed this load with a 90 amp breaker. Is it possible that these units are about to expire? Have you heard of loads increasing on tanning beds.
Hi Greg,
Just to be sure, each tanning bed should be on it’s own dedicated circuit, and the size of each of those circuits will be indicated on the equipment label or in the installation manual of each unit.
I have never heard of a tanning bed unit that consumes more power with age. Keep in mind that some of the lamps may be HO High Output, therefore the ballast is most likely a the magnetic type. These magnetic ballasts can go bad, especially if the tanning lamps are allowed to go bad while in the socket.
It would be good to use your Amprobe to clamp on and trace down the loads individually, and try to identify any one component that is drawing a higher amperage.
I hope this helps,
Dave