electrical question......

[PistolBob]

two things....skin cancer sucks and isn't worth the look of a stunning tan and even more stunning tan lines. If you must, you really need a 20A dedicated circuit.

 

[bwframe]

...the look of a stunning tan and even more stunning tan lines...

 

[Fargo]

Mmmmmmmm Randy Tan Lines, sounds kinda naughty but intriguing....

 

[printcraft]

two things....skin cancer sucks and isn't worth the look of a stunning tan and even more stunning tan lines. If you must, you really need a 20A dedicated circuit.

Just tan naked like me. No tan lines.

 

[indyjohn]

Just tan naked like me. No tan lines.

 

[Fargo]

Just tan naked like me. No tan lines.

Just because it is caused by wookie back hair doesn't mean it isn't a tan line.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Just tan naked like me.

Though we've never met in real life, I get a feeling this is impossible.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

You should "NEVER" share anything like this with your electronics. "NEVER".

I'm not familiar with these things but why?

 

[CHCRandy]

You guys are funny, I aint gonna lay in no tanning bed. I appreciate the info and link to wire I need. I am gonna call my electrician buddy in the morning, if he can't get to it soon....I just may give it a try. The only part I am not comfortable with is hooking into the breaker panel, I get a little nervous when I can't kill the power. I am by no means an electrical type guy, and since mistakes in that stuff can kill, I like to have pro do it.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm not familiar with these things but why?

They are sensitive and do weird things when they dont get the clean power they expect.

Things like motors cause noise on the circuit that messes with the sensitive electronics. They need a clean sine wave, and the motors and other high draw gadgets can do nasty things. (especially when they cause a power sag (brownout) as they draw lots of current during start)

Even a loose screw can be enough to throw a sensitive component into panic. My Mom's fancy computer controlled furnace for example. It freaked out. Check the voltage with a meter, everything is in spec. 120v, correct polarity. Turns out a loose screw on one wire in the breaker panel was enough of a disruption to make it freak out and report a bogus error. Took her original company 6 trips, a new circuit board, new thermostat, and new thermostat wire. She fired them and asked a senior tech from another company to come look at it. They found the loose wire in the first trip.

EDIT: In this case however they know they are pulling more than 15a but less than 20a. A shared 20A circuit doesnt guarantee that they wont blow the breaker when somebody else on the circuit is running a space heater, xbox, TV, etc. resulting in >the 80% sustained load rating of a 20a circuit referenced above. When the bed is the only device on the circuit, it doesnt have to worry about other devices exceeding the load.

 

[churchmouse]

Just out of curiosity what size wire is used on the cord that plugs it in? If have a tanning bad in my basement said the same thing 20 circuit etc but it has a 14 gauge wire coming out of it.

The wire on the cord/plug is "Stranded" and it will carry more load than a solid wire. Electrons travel on the outside of the wire. 1 large wire has "X" amount of surface area. Several smaller wires in a bundle have far more surface area therefore will handle more currant. Look in the charts for wire size/current load. Solid wire say 12 will handle less that a stranded 12 will.

 

[Fargo]

The wire on the cord/plug is "Stranded" and it will carry more load than a solid wire. Electrons travel on the outside of the wire. 1 large wire has "X" amount of surface area. Several smaller wires in a bundle have far more surface area therefore will handle more currant. Look in the charts for wire size/current load. Solid wire say 12 will handle less that a stranded 12 will.

I would guess it also has higher temp rated insulation and higher rated connections at the appliance than NM into a outlet.

 

[churchmouse]

I would guess it also has higher temp rated insulation and higher rated connections at the appliance than NM into a outlet.

Exactly.
When I add circuits I use stranded if I can. Romex pulls out easily enough but being an industrial tech for so many years solid core wire is just not right in my mind.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

They are sensitive and do weird things when they dont get the clean power they expect.

Things like motors cause noise on the circuit that messes with the sensitive electronics. They need a clean sine wave, and the motors and other high draw gadgets can do nasty things. (especially when they cause a power sag (brownout) as they draw lots of current during start)

Even a loose screw can be enough to throw a sensitive component into panic. My Mom's fancy computer controlled furnace for example. It freaked out. Check the voltage with a meter, everything is in spec. 120v, correct polarity. Turns out a loose screw on one wire in the breaker panel was enough of a disruption to make it freak out and report a bogus error. Took her original company 6 trips, a new circuit board, new thermostat, and new thermostat wire. She fired them and asked a senior tech from another company to come look at it. They found the loose wire in the first trip.

EDIT: In this case however they know they are pulling more than 15a but less than 20a. A shared 20A circuit doesnt guarantee that they wont blow the breaker when somebody else on the circuit is running a space heater, xbox, TV, etc. resulting in >the 80% sustained load rating of a 20a circuit referenced above. When the bed is the only device on the circuit, it doesnt have to worry about other devices exceeding the load.

No. I’m talking about tanning beds in particular. What is it about their load profile that’s particularly disturbing?

I’ve seen bad ballasts out in the parking lot cause very high currents to flow in a neutral of a EDM machine 100’s of feet away. I understand the issues in general of how different failures can reck havoc on a system but we didn’t have too many tanning beds at the plant. . (Maybe in the womens’ locker room...they had a spa up there at one time. )

 

[Cameramonkey]

No. I’m talking about tanning beds in particular. What is it about their load profile that’s particularly disturbing?

I’ve seen bad ballasts out in the parking lot cause very high currents to flow in a neutral of a EDM machine 100’s of feet away. I understand the issues in general of how different failures can reck havoc on a system but we didn’t have too many tanning beds at the plant. . (Maybe in the womens’ locker room...they had a spa up there at one time. )

See my edit you quoted. It prevents overloading the circuit.

 

[JettaKnight]

The wire on the cord/plug is "Stranded" and it will carry more load than a solid wire. Electrons travel on the outside of the wire. 1 large wire has "X" amount of surface area. Several smaller wires in a bundle have far more surface area therefore will handle more currant. Look in the charts for wire size/current load. Solid wire say 12 will handle less that a stranded 12 will.

Mmm... currants. I miss my black currant bushes, but I digress.

Wait, what charts are you looking at that show this?

At 60 Hz the skin effect depth is somewhere around 9 mm; so that's a moot point in any wire in a home.


For 12 ga. the ampacity is the same. Stranded wire will appear bigger because there's air gaps - the 12 ga. is based on the same cross sectional area. Surface area doesn't factor in at all.

The wire in your walls is governed by NEC code, the cord on the appliance is governed by UL (or CSA). Most of the time they're going to align, but not always. The appliance maker can show test data for that specific device to prove it's OK; you can't do that with your home.

 

[Fargo]

Off the top of my head, alot of the stranded 12 does have a higher rating but I believe it is a function of a 90c insulation rating vs. 60c for Romex.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

See my edit you quoted. It prevents overloading the circuit.

Yeah...no. Maybe we read CM's remarks differently. You're answering a different question than I'm asking. But that ok. It's not worth beating this to death any farther.

 

[patience0830]

You will need a dedicated 12-2 romex NM circuit for this tanning bed its the yellow color kind in your hardware stores. Outlet should be a 120volt 20amp device. Breaker will also be Q120 breaker for your panel. Make sure you get the correct type for your panel as well. Existing stuff can sometimes be used but its all depending how much is on it and what kind of wiring is in your current house. I will say this I have seen many accidents over the years in this field when stuff was added too already overloaded circuit. Last one I saw the homeowners had two window A/C units that were on the same circuit. Wiring was also old the early knob and tube stuff with an old fuse panel. Kept blowing the 20 amp fuse they had. Their solution put a 30 amp fuse in its place. Burnt the wire up and caused a fire in the living room and dining room.

Been a long time since i saw any knob and tube wiring.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Mmm... currants. I miss my black currant bushes, but I digress.

Wait, what charts are you looking at that show this?

At 60 Hz the skin effect depth is somewhere around 9 mm; so that's a moot point in any wire in a home.


For 12 ga. the ampacity is the same. Stranded wire will appear bigger because there's air gaps - the 12 ga. is based on the same cross sectional area. Surface area doesn't factor in at all.

The wire in your walls is governed by NEC code, the cord on the appliance is governed by UL (or CSA). Most of the time they're going to align, but not always. The appliance maker can show test data for that specific device to prove it's OK; you can't do that with your home.

Off the top of my head, alot of the stranded 12 does have a higher rating but I believe it is a function of a 90c insulation rating vs. 60c for Romex.

The NEC covers appliance wiring as well. Stranded wire is usually more flexible than its solid counterpart. This is especially helpful when pulling it through conduit and when used as flexible cord. The type of insulation will have a big influence on the stiffness and overall diameter of the conductor.

It's been awhile but I believe (in part anyway) that appliance cord gets to be smaller than the circuit conductors because it is going to feed a dedicated load with a given, certain amount of load. (Think tap rule too). The one requirement I remember the NEC has is the cord has enough ampacity so that if it were to get damaged and the conductors short together, it could cause the breaker's instantaneous trip function to operate correctly. Take a lamp cord for example, it's much more likely for you to mash the cord (a short out the conductors and cause a short circuit than it is for you to load it up to twenty or more amps.