Go with the Flo > sunbed mod at DVinfo.net

John Jay · November 27th, 2003, 12:30 PM

I came across a sunbed at a junk shop recently. Its the metal type with 8 tubes and rotates horizontal over a bed.

There it was at the back of the shop in a vertical position complete with its cantilever stand on castors and I thought....

Well you guessed right, what would replacing the tubes with some daylights types be like as a cool lighting unit

Its all there with individual reflectors per tube - has any one tried this - would it work??

Rob Lohman · December 2nd, 2003, 04:30 PM

From the lack of responses I doubt anyone has tried it. I would
also think that normal lights might get too hot for such a unit?

Rob Wilson · December 2nd, 2003, 04:32 PM

Not sure that heat would be a problem since the beds are usually fitted with fans. I would hate to be the grip assigned to your shoot though and have to move the thing around much! Also wonder if bulbs of the correct lenght and color are available.

Chris Sorensen · December 2nd, 2003, 04:40 PM

The fans on your typical bed are very loud. Of course, they're designed to keep people cool who are basically right on the light so maybe you could get away without them.

David Mesloh · December 3rd, 2003, 12:41 AM

If the tubes are 4' long you could replace them with Kino-flo 5500K or 3200K tubes.

The problem is more with the ballasts used to power the tubes. Kino's use approx. a 10Khz tranzformer to eliminate strobing or flicker from the tubes.

Heat won't be a problem for you. These tubes are more for visible light spectrum than the IR band that tanning boots use. They create heat just like the french fry lamps at McDonalds.

David Mesloh

John Jay · December 10th, 2003, 02:49 PM

thx for the input

I returned to the shop to discover that this thing weighs a ton - more like 40kg

also the 6 ft long tubes are impractical

nevertheless i like the design concept and am thinking about constructing a lightweight alloy frame (square section) and bolt on half a dozen 4ft strip light holders (very cheap) - then I can use 4ft kinos with the right ballast of course!!! --- target weight 6kg

seasons greets

November 27th, 2003, 12:30 PM	#1
John Jay Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: US & THEM Posts: 827	Go with the Flo > sunbed mod I came across a sunbed at a junk shop recently. Its the metal type with 8 tubes and rotates horizontal over a bed. There it was at the back of the shop in a vertical position complete with its cantilever stand on castors and I thought.... Well you guessed right, what would replacing the tubes with some daylights types be like as a cool lighting unit Its all there with individual reflectors per tube - has any one tried this - would it work?? __________________ John Jay Beware *PLUGGER-BYTES*

December 2nd, 2003, 04:30 PM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	From the lack of responses I doubt anyone has tried it. I would also think that normal lights might get too hot for such a unit? __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 3rd, 2003, 12:41 AM	#5
David Mesloh Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 94	cool lights If the tubes are 4' long you could replace them with Kino-flo 5500K or 3200K tubes. The problem is more with the ballasts used to power the tubes. Kino's use approx. a 10Khz tranzformer to eliminate strobing or flicker from the tubes. Heat won't be a problem for you. These tubes are more for visible light spectrum than the IR band that tanning boots use. They create heat just like the french fry lamps at McDonalds. David Mesloh

December 10th, 2003, 02:49 PM	#6
John Jay Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: US & THEM Posts: 827	thx for the input I returned to the shop to discover that this thing weighs a ton - more like 40kg also the 6 ft long tubes are impractical nevertheless i like the design concept and am thinking about constructing a lightweight alloy frame (square section) and bolt on half a dozen 4ft strip light holders (very cheap) - then I can use 4ft kinos with the right ballast of course!!! --- target weight 6kg seasons greets __________________ John Jay Beware *PLUGGER-BYTES*

December 2nd, 2003, 04:32 PM	#3
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	Not sure that heat would be a problem since the beds are usually fitted with fans. I would hate to be the grip assigned to your shoot though and have to move the thing around much! Also wonder if bulbs of the correct lenght and color are available.

December 2nd, 2003, 04:40 PM	#4
Chris Sorensen Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 61	The fans on your typical bed are very loud. Of course, they're designed to keep people cool who are basically right on the light so maybe you could get away without them.