Is that on the 127v leg? Even so, that would still be over 22a on 121v (what you should be seeing if the legs were balanced)
What kind of plug is on this thing? (what was it when you bought it)
The other posters are correct, it should be a 30a plug.
It may depend on how the Kilowatt meter works. In the last few days I have been playing around with a meter similar to it that I got from China. It displays the voltage, amperage, power.. The first thing I was testing was an amplifier for my ham radio that puts out about 750 watts. The meter on th eAC line was showing 118 volts 12,9 amps, 1216 watts. If you multiply the volts and amps you get 1522 for the watage. I then hooked a heat gun that is mostly resistive and was getting 117 V , 15 A, 1753 power, and by multiplying Vand A I get 1755 for the wattage. Doing some more playing just hooking a 50 mfd capacitor across the line it was drawing about 2.33 amps and showing only about 1.5 watts.
I did check the meter with some Fluke meters and with the heat gun it shows the same current and voltage so the China meter is accurate with in a small percentage.
That tanning bed may be drawing current that is out of phase and you are getting a current that is not really accurate compaired to the RMS or average value.
That was on the 125v outlet. The plug had a older standard 15 amp plug on it but I recently changed it to a heavy duty 20 amp plug because the old plug was getting a bit warm (not hot). The new plug stays very cool. The interesting part is that the cord on the bed is only #12. This is an older Sun Industries bed that we purchased used about three years ago but it appears that the cord is definitely original as well as the timer, fans, etc. Of course the bulbs had been replaced and had approximately 300 hours on them when we got it.
Actually, the more I think about it and without going out and looking I think that each bulb is only 105 watts but the two fans would be drawing a little bit.
I will check the voltage of various outlets with a couple of my meters and see if they match the Kilowatt meter. If they do I will check in the box. I also have a clamp on meter that I can check and see how many amps the whole thing is really drawing.
In the meantime I need to have lunch and then complete a few other projects before these holidays are over.
With higher voltage on one circuit the current draw may also be different - depending on the load involved.
A motor would likely (or at least possibly) draw less at the higher voltage, while a resistive load would draw more
Do you or a member of your family get depressed in the winter, due to lack of sunlight?
Who said anything about 3 phase? And all 3 legs of 3 phase should also be balanced.
How would 24 100 watt bulbs have any reactive load component that would change the power factor???
I think you are grasping at straws.
Aren't most tanning beds using the gas tubes that require a ballast of some sort ? I doubt they are using common resistive bulbs.
Not at all, in fact we will be leaving for Naples, FL very soon for the winter and just try to get a head start on the tan.
Does the tanning bed have a power usage plate on it somewhere?
If so, how much power does it say it's supposed to use?
Either way, 23+ amps is too much for a standard 20A circuit with 12 gauge wire.
Anthony Watson
A couple guys from my church have done that, and say it's very satisfying. I don't have the money for air fare, vaccinatons, etc.
Doesn't seem to be in the plan, for me. But, thanks for the nice suggestion.
No
I realize that it is a bit too much for a standard 20 amp circuit and #12 wire. In fact, I stated that in my first post. OTOH - it has been working fine for over three years without even popping a 20 amp circuit breaker until I switched outlets. I need to try it in other outlets on other 20 amp circuits to see if by chance the breaker on the original circuit might be bad. Of course I might just change breakers to check the same thing.
Before next year's tanning season I no doubt will simply purchase a bed that runs off of 220 and just put another outlet in the line that runs to my 220 air air compressor as both will never be on at the same time.
Why not just remove a few bulbs for now.... I'm sure it will still work, maybe just a little slower. So then you stay under it for an extra five minutes....
Tanning? Oh, My! Never in my life other than by sun.
Possibly. Some use ballasted gas discharge, some use fluorescent, some use incandescent - and some of the newer ones are all LED. All they need is an ultraviolet emitter of some sort.
The point is you are pushing the circuit beyond it's design limits. Hopefully, all is well with no bad side effects. On the other hand, you "might" be overheating the cables. I would seriously check all of the connections at the panel and the outlets to make sure there are no burned wires.
Most of all, replace that breaker that is obviously not protecting the circuit.
I don't know anything about tanning beds, but a roll of 10 gauge wire and a
30A socket seems like it would be a lot cheaper than a new tanning bed.Take care,
Anthony Watson
If we lived in a perfect world, this would be true. A friend got a new winter coat yesterday. The zipper broke today. And things made on Mondays are often made by hangovers.
Also, except way out of the country, most transformers serve multiple buildings, and who knows what the neighbors are running. That neighbor may have a huge welder or who knows what else.
Possible!!!
Mysogynist = woman hater Isolationist = starving children hater
Starving children lives matter!
Not even for a minute as long as people like you are not actively engaged and their leaders don;t give a shit. Pack a bag, gather your wives and go knock on some HUT doors for 3 years then we can talk.
If I was seeing this kind of imbalance at the service disconnect, my PoCo would be getting a call and if it was not corrected, I would escalate it up through the state resources we have available.
My bet is there will be a neutral lug somewhere along the line that is cooking.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.