• Slow to start or no lights: If some of your lamps flicker but won’t stay lit, try turning the bed on and off once or twice to stabilize the lamps – replace starters if the flicker doesn’t stop. If your lamps are not lighting, this is also a sign that it may be time to replace your starters. Take the lamps that are not lighting and put them in the space where the lamps were lighting. If they now work, it’s time to replace the starters.
  
  
• Replace worn starters before they cause re-strikes or fail entirely. Worn starters can destroy a good lamp in a very short time: A glow bottle starter is rated by the manufacturers for about 6,000 starts. In a 20 minute bed, this is about 2,000 “bed on” hours… maybe replace starters every 2nd or 3rd lamp change, depending upon the hours you run a set of lamps. In a 10 minute piece of equipment you should consider 1,000 hours as the replacement interval… maybe every other lamp change.
  
  
• End Darkening: This is more noticeable in 160+ watt (often referred to as VHO) lamps, and is the result of the deposit of certain materials from the lamp’s cathode onto the interior bulb wall at starting. There are two reasons for this:
  • There is more power compared to 100W lamps and the start is often ‘harder’, and
  • Higher-wattage lamps are almost always operated with shorter tanning sessions. In 100 hours, the higher-wattage lamp will start twice as many times as the 100W lamp in a bed with a longer maximum session time.
    
    
• Electronic starters: Just as in sunlamps, not all electronic starters are created equal. Look for electronic starters from a reliable supplier. Properly designed and used, an electronic starter will:
  • Reduce end-darkening,
  • Will last 10 years or longer… possibly the last starter you’ll ever need to buy.

Remember, a bad starter can quickly destroy a good lamp. You’ve spent a lot of money on your lamps, so why risk trying to save a few bucks by not changing your starters? For an electronic starter, consider our own Wolff System AG e-Start for applications up to 220 watts with a rated life of 10 years.

If you have questions, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us at 800-959-6533.