Im thinking about popping the cap off:tears: , and slowly pouring out the liquid though a screen to filter out the floaters , maybe just replacing the wax :scratch2:, then pouring the old liquid back in ??
Same boat. I have a cylindrical one from the early 70's. One day while it was operating, a friend of mine, in a "lava lamp" kind of mood ( ), walked over to it and shook it up. That was the end of that. I've tried overheating it to see if I could get the wax to reform into one mass, but no luck.
I assume you've visited www.oozinggoo.com . I haven't really seen much on actual repair of originals.
The lamp may go to the curb this week, along with the dehumidifier in the thread below.
keep the lamp base it's worth money .... is it gold ?
Same boat. I have a cylindrical one from the early 70's. One day while it was operating, a friend of mine, in a "lava lamp" kind of mood ( ), walked over to it and shook it up. That was the end of that. I've tried overheating it to see if I could get the wax to reform into one mass, but no luck.
I assume you've visited www.oozinggoo.com . I haven't really seen much on actual repair of originals.
The lamp may go to the curb this week, along with the dehumidifier in the thread below.
Find a newer one and swap out the ooze.
The fluid is colored mineral oil, and the "ooze" is a paraffin wax. Smaller flocs (or globs) have a higher surface tension per particle weight than larger ones, and thus tend to rise or float better. I suggest temporarily putting a lower wattage bulb in to allow the smaller globs to "re-agglomerate" without being heated sufficiently to keep rising. Should do the trick with a long re-melt at the lower temperature.
That might not be a bad idea. I wonder if they used different formulations for different wattage bases.
Remember to replace all caps.
Same boat. I have a cylindrical one from the early 70's. One day while it was operating, a friend of mine, in a "lava lamp" kind of mood ( ), walked over to it and shook it up. That was the end of that. I've tried overheating it to see if I could get the wax to reform into one mass, but no luck.
I assume you've visited www.oozinggoo.com . I haven't really seen much on actual repair of originals.
The lamp may go to the curb this week, along with the dehumidifier in the thread below.
i had that happen to one of mine..
i had to get the spring back to the bottom of the glass so it would heat back up like it should..
i eventually got it going again..
and to kill the idea of opening them.. there is pressure inside. even when not heated..
i cant think of a way to get that pressure back..
the lamp will still work.. but not as well..
not as much lava will arrise.. it will be more pathetic..
The fluid is colored mineral oil, and the "ooze" is a paraffin wax. Smaller flocs (or globs) have a higher surface tension per particle weight than larger ones, and thus tend to rise or float better. I suggest temporarily putting a lower wattage bulb in to allow the smaller globs to "re-agglomerate" without being heated sufficiently to keep rising. Should do the trick with a long re-melt at the lower temperature.
Found some interesting info from a 1988 "The Straight Dope" about Lava lamps, when the factory in Chicago where they were made was still in operation...
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/568/how-do-lava-lamps-work
More info I came across that might help restoring one
http://www.ehow.com/how_4523962_refill-liquid-lava-lamp.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5856138_restore-lava-lamp.html