Pam, I am once again going to post and say that most likely your problem is that you have one of these new lights with ELECTRONIC ballasts as opposed to magnetic ballasts that we have all been used to. These lights WILL NOT WORK with the bulbs that you are used to purchasing. You have to use these cheap bulbs and IMHO you don't even get two months out of them. Check your light, if it is very light, it has electronic ballasts. If it is heavy, you have the old style and your issue is something different.
If you put the bulbs you have been buying for years in an electronic ballast light, it will not work. No light, no flicker, nothing. I have two of these lights and I finally gave up on them. They just do not give a good end service. Bulbs last about 200 firings, which is ridiculous. They are both in my closet and will be going into the trash in the new year. I think the thing that ticked me off the most about this is that I was sold the light (second one was a replacement, in case the first one was defective since I was getting poor bulb use from it) thinking it was like another one that I had purchased six month prior (it was a magnetic ballast and it's awesome). R On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 3:43 PM, Katherine Fahrig <[email protected]>wrote: > What brand is the lamp that will not light? Some brands ( CND Shellac lamp > for one ) will not turn on after the "bulb life timer" has run out. You > must replace the bulbs AND reset the "bulb life timer" ( I'm not sure of > the real name for the timer ) before it will work again. Directions are in > the manual and on line. > > Katherine > St. Louis, MO > Sent from my iPad > > On Dec 2, 2011, at 5:14 AM, "Laura Merzetti" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Pam, I’m pretty much strictly a gel tech now. A couple of things caught > my attention as I read your rant (and I swear I read it fast so it sounded > like one! LOL).**** > > ** ** > > Have you ever changed your bulbs in the 18 months you’ve had these lamps? > Even using them part-time, after 18 months they need to be changed. Or at > the very least, take the bulbs out, give them a good wipe, turn them > around, and insert them back in. Bulbs collect dirt, dust and gel over > their lifespan and if you’re not using your lamp that often, all this > debris can make a difference too. Depending on the brand of bulbs you’re > using, the UV they emit may be very, very low by now. **** > > ** ** > > Secondly, that pinky that didn’t cure – in conjunction with what I > mentioned about the bulbs, it’s possible the light just didn’t hit the > pinky nail for some reason, and if the bulbs are old, it’s double trouble. > I see this mostly on thumbs to be honest, when clients don’t position their > hands in the lamps properly. And if it keeps happening I just change the > bulbs and that generally takes care of it.**** > > ** ** > > I would hate to see you give up on gels because of a lamp issue. Those > are the easiest to fix J**** > > ** ** > > Laura **** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *[email protected] > *Sent:* December-01-11 11:35 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* NailTech:: Why are my Gel Lamps JUNK!? (A Furious Rant on > Gels!)**** > > ** ** > > I don't know why I bothered to pay a pile of money for these stupid gel > lamps! I've only been doing gels now for 18 months and neither one of them > will work! I tried replacing the bulbs. I tried checking the fuse! I > shook it, pleaded with it, lightly tapped it on the table! prayed over it, > Threatened to THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW!!!! NOTHING! I am going to have to > have my son the electrician look at the dang thing and see if HE can figure > out why it won't work! Suddenly! WIth NO warning! Just KAPUT! I went to > turn it on and NOTHING! Not even a tiny little flicker! Leaving me in > quite a jam with clients sitting at my station staring at me! Gawd! > Here's why I don't like gels! Now.. acrylics? No problem! I sculpt them, > they set, I file, they are DONE! no questions! No problems! Not ONE dang > bead of sweat pops off my forehead like when I do gels! Grrrrrrrrr..... > I just plain ole do NOT trust gels! Or lamps! Or any other magical > potions! I have a bottle of Iced Cappuchino Shellac that will NOT cure in > the lamp! NOT AT ALL! WTF!? (which stands for Wednesday/Thursday/Friday in > case you were wondering... lol!) **** > > Then I bought some Artisan Gels. Nice colors, but does NOT soak off! > Says they are SOG, but trust me, they are NOT! Shellac at least has the > decency to peel up and flake off after 5 minutes in the foil! Not this > stuff! It softens a teeny tiny bit after soaking, but I had to file the > stuff off! Bleh! **** > > I just get so stressed out when I have gels on my book! Will it set > up? Will it just all wipe off when I take off the tacky layer? I had a > client last week whose ONE little finger kept wiping off one the last > step! Did I do anything different to this one little finger!? NO! I did > all the prep just like the other 9 fingers! After gelling and wiping the > whole shebang off twice, I polished her and sent her on her way, with me > scratching my head wondering what the heck I did different to cause this > one stupid finger to not cure! honestly! **** > > Will it set? Will it bubble? Will it wrinkle? Will it wipe off!?? > Who knows! Spin the wheel and see what it lands on! I'll take my good ole > fashioned acrylics ANYDAY over these unpredictable gels! **** > > I had to run to the beauty supply and buy a lamp till the one from PNI > could get here. When it arrived, I admit I felt a glimmer of hope because > it weighed about 3 times what the other lamps did. It feels a LOT > heavier! Maybe its built better, maybe it will last longer. I taped the > dang receipt to the bottom and will see how it goes. I wouldn't mind > replacing them every 2 or 3 years, but after just 18 months of part time > use? Really!? Thats the life expectancy? Am I the only one with these > issues? **** > > Then there's the clients who complain if they get even a TINY little > chip out of the gel! After 3 weeks! "Ohhh..... LOOK! Its not holding up > very well on my nails, is it!?" Grrrrr.. I explain that they have 9 > perfect nails, and just ONE tiny chip out of ONE nail after 3 whole friggin > weeks, and they act like the next set should be free because of the > inconvenience this tiny little chip has caused them! Seriously!? I > explain its not meant to last indefinately, and certainly not for 3 or 4 > weeks! 10 days to 2 weeks, tops! C'mon people! I'm under a lot of > stressure! (stress + pressure = stressure!) **** > > **** > > Thanks for letting me vent.. I feel better already! **** > > Pam**** > > Living in Gel Hell in Ohio **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "NailTech" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en.**** > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "NailTech" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "NailTech" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. 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