I have been asked several times over the years, but a recent email refreshed the question and I thought I would share it with everyone.

—-
Dear Tanningbeds.org,

I have a silly question. Do tanning lamps get old? I know someone who has a box of new lamps but the date on the box is 6 years old and I just wondered if they are any good. Is there a shelf-life or expiration date for tanning lamps?

Name witheld by request
—-

Lamps don’t technically get old, although cheaper grades of lamps may experience issues after several years. This is because lamps are pretty simple things really. A glass tube coated with phosphors, a few milligrams of mercury, and two cathode and anode sets, all in partial vaccum filled with inert gas, such as argon. None of these things go bad per se.

The only issue you might have is with the phosphor on the lamp. If you see that the phosphors (the white coating) is pitting, flaking or coming off the glass, then avoid the lamps. It is this phosphor that creates the UV when the mercury atoms are excited inside the lit bulb. No phosphor, no ultraviolet. As long as the coating is in great shape, they should burn more or less like when they were new.

Keep in mind, lamp technology moved forward all the time, and newer style lamps are better than old, but if you can get these for cheap ($5 or less each) or free, then go for it. They should give you a few years of tanning. Like many new lamps, you may need to let them run for 20 to 60 minutes before they tan right. Sometimes you can even see them “swirl” when they have set for a while, but this is nothing to be worried about as long as it goes away after being run a bit. Good luck!