Lava Lamp restoration

[gonner]

WARNING!!!! ED IN TEXAS ESPECIALLY!!! IF OVERFILLED THE PRESSURE CAN BUILD TO THE POINT OF A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE !!! THIS WILL RESULT IN MINERAL OIL, WAX AND TINY GLASS SHRAPNEL TRAVELING AT HI SPEEDS IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS !!!
THE SPACE LEFT IN THE BOTTLE IS THERE FOR EXPANSION AND IT IS CRUCIAL !!
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFULL !!
I had one that had a screw top type and in a moment of genius I thought I would add some water to it since it seemed a little low, well, after it had warmed up and got going I decided to move it. As soon as I touched it, it exploded with the results described above, ruining a hewlett packard handheld graphing calculator, making a mess of my living room and peppering me with glass shards. Apparently the weak spot in the glass was at its breaking point and me touching it was all it took for it to let loose
P.S. yes I had the correct wattage bulb in it and yes, its mineral oil and parafin wax inside.

 

[Ed in Tx]

WARNING!!!! ED IN TEXAS ESPECIALLY!!! IF OVERFILLED THE PRESSURE CAN BUILD TO THE POINT OF A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE !!!

Wow if I had that happen I would warn people too.

No problem here though. It has operated for several years, thousands of hours afterwards. Not sure how you got yours so hot as to do burst, as mine at full brightness the temperature is about 115°F max. It's not full to the brim just to the bottom of the cap when it's screwed on, so it has a small amount of air space under the cap. Maybe your glass jar had some stress in it and broke when it heated up.

Been operating for a couple of days and it's running 109°F

Also the clear liquid in mine is water based, not oil. Maybe you had a different kind of lamp?

 

[gonner]

it was shaped like the one you have, maybe 10 inches tall, puke green wax. I only had a 40 watt refrigerator bulb in it, like the sticker recomended, so I dont think I overheated it. My guess is it had a fracture that let loose. From what Ive read, some are mineral oil, some are water, and some even use a hyperbolic solvent (brake cleaner) mixed with the wax to maintain a certain specific gravity.

 

[ecandle]

just saw myth busters today , they were heating up lava lamps on the stove , someone was killed by glass I guess , not on the show... but up in WA state

 

[ecandle]

Kent man killed by exploding lava lamp

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

A 24-year-old Kent man was killed Sunday afternoon when a lava lamp exploded, sending a shard of glass into his heart.

Kent police said Phillip Quinn put the lamp on a hot stovetop, causing it to explode. The King County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death accidental.

Quinn apparently stumbled into a bedroom in his Kent trailer home after the explosion. His parents discovered his body there Sunday evening after his girlfriend reported that she couldn't get in touch with him. Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.

 

[Ed in Tx]

Lessons learned from The Discovery video: Follow the directions, use only the proper wattage bulb, and NEVER place it or bring it to a boil on the stove!

Pt 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7_dVUx5lZU&feature=related

Pt 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azHzE-5cO3A&feature=related

 

[12ax7]

Ya know? Maybe I'll give up on trying to fix this thing.

 

[12ax7]

And then again... maybe I won't.

Did the boiling water thing again (just wax, no liquid) and got the "loofah" reduced back down to the bottom.

After reading your posts that LavaLamps were either 25 or 40 watts, I questioned whether the 15 watt bulb in mine was correct. Hey, who knows what may have happened in one of those "LavaLamp ( )" moments 40 years ago. So anyway, I picked up a 25W bulb yesterday and gave it another try. Within a half hour a couple of strings spewed out of the wax puddle and hardened. Crap! That's what it was doing 40 years ago. But a few minutes later a few small globes rose up and fell and the strings melted and fell. Within the next half hour more and more globes rose and fell and the globes were getting bigger and joining each other. There's hope for this thing after all!!!

Alas, it got going faster and faster and finally just formed one throbbing tornado like tube from top to bottom. I was waiting for Dorothy and Toto to fall out. The liquid got cloudier and there were lots of tiny drops rising from the spring. The top of the tornado had a lot of large air (oil?) bubbles in it which is why it wouldn't drop. Clearly, 25 watts was too much heat. I let it cool a bit and put the 15 watt bulb back in. After a bit it started to work almost like it should but couldn't quite get going plus a large mass of bubbles remained at the top.

To make a long story even longer (1$ to Arkay), this morning I turned it on with the 15 watter and after four hours a large dome has formed but it looks like a no go. As I mentioned earlier, the 15 watt bulb is dark and silvery like a blown bulb, but works. It probably isn't putting out enough heat, I'll try to find a new one this afternoon.

There's hope yet. Stay tuned. Or not.

 

[ecandle]

And then again... maybe I won't.

Did the boiling water thing again (just wax, no liquid) and got the "loofah" reduced back down to the bottom.

After reading your posts that LavaLamps were either 25 or 40 watts, I questioned whether the 15 watt bulb in mine was correct. Hey, who knows what may have happened in one of those "LavaLamp ( )" moments 40 years ago. So anyway, I picked up a 25W bulb yesterday and gave it another try. Within a half hour a couple of strings spewed out of the wax puddle and hardened. Crap! That's what it was doing 40 years ago. But a few minutes later a few small globes rose up and fell and the strings melted and fell. Within the next half hour more and more globes rose and fell and the globes were getting bigger and joining each other. There's hope for this thing after all!!!

Alas, it got going faster and faster and finally just formed one throbbing tornado like tube from top to bottom. I was waiting for Dorothy and Toto to fall out. The liquid got cloudier and there were lots of tiny drops rising from the spring. The top of the tornado had a lot of large air (oil?) bubbles in it which is why it wouldn't drop. Clearly, 25 watts was too much heat. I let it cool a bit and put the 15 watt bulb back in. After a bit it started to work almost like it should but couldn't quite get going plus a large mass of bubbles remained at the top.

To make a long story even longer (1$ to Arkay), this morning I turned it on with the 15 watter and after four hours a large dome has formed but it looks like a no go. As I mentioned earlier, the 15 watt bulb is dark and silvery like a blown bulb, but works. It probably isn't putting out enough heat, I'll try to find a new one this afternoon.

There's hope yet. Stay tuned. Or not.

let me know k , im listening ...

 

[pmsummer]

I run a 15W in the summer, and a 25W in the winter. No one makes a 20W that will fit.