Hi. We just bought a used Sunquest Pro 24rs tanning bed. The tag on it says:
U=220
V 60
Hz P=2860
I=12
A pf (*A zero with vertical line through it) >0.9 Phase 1
Mfg. Date: October 1998

I know it needs 220 volt but we can't figure out if we need a single or double pole breaker and if the outlet we have for it (that has 3 prongs for 3 wires) is correct. I would appreciate any help. I was hoping to tan as soon as we got it but need to be 100% sure about this before we set it all up.

 

If you are in the US, and this is a house with a normal electrical service (not a condo or apartment) you will have 120/240 volts available. To get 240 volts you will need a 2 pole breaker and 3 wires: Hot, Hot, and Ground. Based on your info, "I" would be current/amps (12) so I would recommend a 20 amp breaker and #12 wire/cable. A 15 amp breaker and #14 wire/cable would also work but #12 will give you a little more "room" The outlet should be a 240v(250v) 15 or 20 amp configuration and should match the cord.

Just for info:
220v = volts
60 = Hertz
2860 = Power or Watts
12 = Current or amps
PF = power factor (not really important in your case)
Phase = 1 (not 3 phase)

 

You will need a 240 volt 20 amp circuit (2 pole breaker). Finding conflicting information regarding the necessary receptacle. Most likely Nema 6-20R but different sites list different receptacles. Can you post a picture of the plug on the cord?

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

Ours does need the NEMA 6-20r. I forgot to include that!

 

Ok.. So we recently ran a 220v 30amp wire with a single pole breaker for my mom's camper to plug into when she is here. Can we use the same wire if we change the receptacle/outlet?... Or will the 30 amps not work if the tanning bed is 20 amp?

(sorry if my wording of all this isn't correct, lol)

 

Not really any such thing as "220v 30 amp" wire. There is #10 cable or wire used on 30 amp circuits (120v and 240v). If this is cable not individual wires you can use it on a two pole 20 amp breaker for the tanning bed. The white wire of a cable by code will need to be recolored black, or red or any color but gray or green (or white). If it is wires not cable you will need conduit.

 

From Wolff...............

Electrical Requirements:
20 Amp Circuit Breaker.
20 Volt Dedicated Circuit.
20 Amp NEMA #6-20R Receptacle

Important: Voltage must be below 230 VAC or may require a buck booster.

You will need a 240v to 220v transformer.

 

It's not possible to get 240V circuit using just a single pole breaker. 240V requires a two pole breaker. The RV circuit must be 120V 30A if only on a single pole breaker.

 

Ok... So the camper has a 30amp single pole breaker and you're right, it is 120v not 220 like I thought.

So... He will change the outlet to the NEMA 6-20R and we will change the breaker... So I need a 20amp double pole breaker? That means I need two 120v's to equal 240v and then add a transformer? Or after we install the new breaker if he tests it and it only tests at 220 can we use as is? Or is it possible that it could still put out 240v and blow my tanning bed? :/

 

If I put a 240 20amp double pole breaker And the bed calls for 220, can I use as is with the bed? It says not to use 230 or higher but I don't know if my bed will pull the whole 240? I've read so much the past few days and I think I'm possibly over thinking this.

 

In the US the standard nominal residential service is 240/120. The exact voltages will vary based on load, time of day, and lots of other factors, but generally will be close to those values. If 230 or higher will really damage the bed, then I wouldn't trust connecting it without a transformer to ensure the voltage stays below those limits. Even if you measure it at, say, 228, you can't count on it staying that low.

Unfortunately, a transformer of that size is not going to be cheap.

I would contact the manufacturer and make certain it will not operate safely on 240.

 

No. You use the 240 volts that goes to your house. You house is not actually fed 120 volts per se. The 120 is derived from neutral and one leg of the 240v. For this you need your two 240 volt legs to the buck boost transformer. The ballast and bulbs are unusually sensitive to over voltage.

 

Thinking about this a little more, you can use a buck-boost transformer which will be a lot smaller and cheaper than a straight 240 to 220 step down transformer. But it will require mounting and wiring that is a little complicated.

 

Does it matter if the double pole breaker Is the type that is connected together (like if it flips, both flip) or the kind that one can be flipped off and the other not?

If it matters - how do I know which kind to get?

 

You need the kind where the handle is tied and that takes up two full spaces in the panel so you will get 240 volts.

 

I probably seem obsessive about it but 2-1/2 years ago my mom and I split the cost of a used tanning bed. It ran on 110 and we plugged it into the outlet that my mom knew to be 110 and it blew all the ballasts. (And I soon learned the ballasts would be about $60-80 each and I would need 8 and that was more than we paid for the bed.) What we didn't know, is that my dad had changed it into a 220 at some point before he passed away 6 months before then. We never even got to see it come on. 😳

So... I am now obsessed with making sure it is right before we hook it up. And for whatever reason, tanning bed manufactures don't make the info easy to find like I thought they would have ! Lol.

We didn't pay a lot for this one but I can't afford to buy another one if this doesn't work out. The best thing abt this one is that my bulbs from the one we blew the ballasts on are still good, the fans and timer are good and all the parts like the cover, trim, acrilyc, etc are in great condition... And they are the same as this one we just bought.


**Just got a reply from the girl we bought it from and she asked her boyfriend abt the breaker the outlet they hooked it up to was on and he said "double 50 amp". I don't know them at all, lol, so that is likely as totally wrong as it sounds.**

 

jrtrahan...Lets get this straight once and for all. The US has 120V and 240V...no 110 no 220. At least not in any residential setting. There may be some minor fluctuations but 120/240 is the standard...ok?

Oh, and if it ever comes up...it's a water heater...not a hot water heater. Why would you need to heat hot water?

 

To recap, You need:

A 2 pole 20 amp breaker
A circuit with #12 copper wire or larger
A 20 Amp NEMA #6-20R Receptacle
A 12/24 buck boost transformer to drop the voltage in your house from 240 down to 216.

 

The Manual is wrong, it uses a 240v NEMA plug.

Basically, from the factory, it uses a 20 amp grounded 240 volt only plug.
Sounds like the prior owner used a 50 amp circuit, which raises a question whether
they used an old ungrounded electric range plug.

You probably want to hire somebody to install an up to date grounded receptacle,
and make sure you have the correct 240v grounded plug on the tanning bed.

 

I already apologized that I didn't use all the correct terms. I'm positive you knew what I meant about the water heater.

 

I understand that my home has 120/240v. However, the tanning beds I was referring to were still considered either 110 or 220 when you buy them so that's what I was referring to.

 

I looked up 240 NEMA plug but nothing is coming up? My plug on the bed is like the 6-20r but are you saying the 240v NEMA is another outlet that looks the same?

 

No, just reiterating that the NEMA 6-20 IS a 240 volt plug,
so although the manual says 220v the plug is supposed to be 240v.

The prior owner

 

I'm going to confuse things more, The NEMA 6-20 Plug and Receptacles are actually rated for up to 250V and are stamped as 250V. I don't know why manufacturers still use 110/220V today when listing voltage needs. Those voltage standards have been out of date for over 50 years.

 

That's a peculiarity about all of the tanning beds I have seen, they all have required 220 volts and have all had the same warning to not operate on voltages about 230 volts. I would attribute this to foreign design/engineering and manufacturing. Also, remember that 220 is a normal voltage in many countries, just not here in the USA.

 

If you do a search you will find some tanning beds are sold with buck and boost transformers built in.

You will also see mention that too high a voltage shortens the life of the bulbs and the ballast. Whether that will happen to you we can't say.

 

NOPE! I'm wrong.

Yikes, a tanning bed that needs 220V, and is void at 230V, but comes with a standard 240V plug. Yeah, that's a recipe for trouble.

Putting both tanning beds for sale on ebay is suddenly sounding like a solution to me.

 

Right, but IIRC, those 220V in European systems are measured earthed to mains,
while US 240V is actually 120v vots on 2 legs from ground.

Ugh, if' the sunbed is European voltage, does that means "earthed" is different from "neutral" or ground?

 

Your house is supplied with 240 volts. The 120v in your house is derived from a grounded conductor from a center tap on the supplying transformer and one leg of the 240 supplied to your house.Earth is not really used in the US. Neutral is the informal name for the grounded conductor from the center tap on the secondary of the supplying transformer.

Ground in reference to a receptacle refers to the EGC a low resistance path for clearing faults. Ground in reference to the panelboard (breaker box, fuse box) refers to the GRC, the ground rod for atmospheric faults. Earth can not be used as an EGC at the receptacle because of its often higher impedance (resistance).

 

You guys are getting mixed up with multi-voltage three-wire systems and the terms earthed, ground, grounded and most of all, voltage-to-ground.

In The US and (I think) north America, the nominal voltage delivered to residences is 240 volts from the secondary winding of the utility's distribution transformer. This secondary winding also has a connection mid-way between the ends of the winding called a center tap and this center tap is connected to the earth. A third wire, called the grounded conductor is run from the center tap to the residence.

From either of the secondary outer connections to the center tapped connection the voltage will be 120 volts nominal. The voltage from any of the three conductors to the earth will be a maximum of 120 volts nominal. This arrangement, first put into practice by Edison on his Direct Current system of distribution gives the consumer a choice of two voltages. ALL THREE CONDUCTORS ARE CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS!

The purpose of this system is to provide two voltages with only three conductors AND to limit the voltage between any conductor and the earth for safety purposes. The equipment grounding conductor, the bare or green-insulated conductor, has NOTHING to do with any of this.

Other countries use different voltages and some use only a two-conductor single voltage system to residences. It is almost, if not absolutely, universal that one conductor is connected to the earth for the purpose of limiting the voltage differential between the UNgrounded conductor and the earth.

Appliances may be made to utilize ANY voltage the manufacturer desires. Of course they make their products to utilize the common voltages in use where the product will be sold. If the tanning beds in question were made for an area where the nominal voltage is 220 (obviously NOT in the US) then they will require modification before using them on the higher voltage common to the US. The easiest modification is the use of the buck/boost transformer as has been previously stated. The transformer will be wired in a "buck" mode to lower the 240 volts to one of the following voltages depending upon which particular transformer is used; 228 (12 volt reduction), 216 (24 volt reduction) 224 (16 volt reduction) or 208 (32 volt reduction).

 

Problem there, the manufacturer of the tanning bed did expect earth.

This tanning bed expects a European 220V earthed system.

What happens if you plug it into a US 240V grounded system?
Does it work?
Does it fry?

 

Unknown. It will probably take awhile to know. It may just shorten the life of expensive bulbs and ballasts or they may not be affected. Not mentioned yet that voltage can be higher than 240 and still be within the 10% that is considered okay. That's 264 volts. Unlikely of course but needs to be considered.In the U.S. earth ground could mean a ground rod. That kind of earth ground is a code violation for a receptacle. A receptacle must have a low impedance Equipment Grounding Conductor.

Definitely this will be plug and pray. It will be interesting to see if it is still working in a year... and if the O/P has skin cancer yet.

 

Relieved to see you-all understand what I'm saying,
this is a "down periscope" situation
put on rubber boots, rubber glove, plug it in, and hope for the best...