Cheap Bulbs

Often, a customer will tell a sales person that they want some "cheap bulbs" for their home tanning bed. The irony is that they are often replacing good quality lamps that probably still have life left in them, with something that is inferior to what they already have, all in the name of saving a buck.

Most quality retailers don't carry sub par lamps, but unfortunately, most retailers are not quality oriented, so there are plenty of opportunities to buy low quality tanning bulbs with little effort. You are better off if you buy from an actual manufacturer/retailer, who depends on their name meaning something in the market place. SunMaster and Interlectric are two good examples of manufacturers that you can buy quality lamps from direct. And still, you are much better off not buying the least expensive lamps they offer. While they are good lamps, you can get a lot more lamp for just a little more money.

An example: The SunMaster Custom Series lamps are rated at 800 hours, like any typical OEM lamp. For about 20% more, you can get their Pro Series lamps, which last 1200 hours, a full 50% increase in life for just two dollars. The same holds true for just about any brand.

If your current lamps work (ie: light up) and you can only afford to buy the cheapest lamps made, maybe you need to look at reconditioning your acrylics instead. This will increase the UV that reaches you by 10% to 40%. You can buy a "Rebuild Kit" from any of the advertisers for less money than it costs to just SHIP lamps, typically under $30. Then save up your money for a year and get a *quality* set of lamps, which you will be happy to own.