Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate

Hi All. I got a nice big (3L I think) floor standing lava lamp for my Christmas. It was going fine, but one time when it was just warming up I switched it off. It stopped in a wierd position. Anyway, it wouldn't heat up after that. It was stuck. Being a total idiot I shook it a bit to get it started. The saking became compulsive and now I have a big bottle full of microscopic red balls in cloudy water. They are all floating at the top.

Is it beyond saving? I was thinking about cooling it, filtering out all of the blobs, putting them in a pan, heating it up until it all joins together again and then making a salty water mix and putting it all back together again. Is that the worst idea ever? There seems to be a big spring resting at the bottom. Should I just try to replace it as it was? Thanks for any help - I feel like a right numpty.

Views: 563

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

WOW this is to bad. Can you call Lava Word and see if thay can replace the globe.


Roger
Thanks for the replies everyone. Yes - it has a sun on top and a slanted lid. I need to get it sorted somehow... it was my mother's and I asked her to get me one like it for Christmas. When she couldn't find one she gave me hers. Two weeks later and I have broken it! I am going to search for a replacement globe. Otherwise there is no way to reclaim the goo? I have plenty of filtering equipment etc. If it is screwed anyway I might as well give it a go! :s I am in Scotland, and the only place I could find in Europe selling the lamps is here: tops-import in Belgium. I am waiting for a reply on the price for shipping (probably huge).
I drained all of the water, leaving the wax in place. I then put the globe in a pot of water and brought it up to the boil. The whole lot (even the big spongy chunk that was floating around at the top) has reunited into a red soup. I am guessing that the wax had somehow mixed with the air and water and had changed composition slightly? I hope that the heat will force the water and air back out of the mixture. I am going to let it cool and maybe reheat it a couple of times to make sure, and will let you know how I get on.
IAfter heating and cooling it a few times and skimming the water off the top each time, it was was looking really nice. I cleaned out the globe and decided to put the wax back into after it was dry. To dry it a bit quicker I put it back onto the stand and switched the light on. Just my luck, it then broke because it was empty and too hot. I am kicking myself for not foreseeing that happening. No way can I fix it now - I am not going to find another clear glass bottle of the same size. I am totally gutted!
I will look on ebay if I see one will let you know.


Roger
Thanks again guys. I just found one on Ebay with 2 hours to finish. Being in the UK I reckon they prob come up less often than in the US. I got it for £25 inc. postage (just for the globe). Hard to swallow as the original one was £20 new! But anyway, at least I will get it sorted! I have kept my jar of reclaimed wax but think I should throw it out to avoid the temptation to tinker with it. Bad things always happen! :s Dug
I am glad you found one.


Roger
My new globe arrived today, so I put it on the stand and switched it on. 20 minutes later I heard a loud noise and when I looked closer the glass had cracked and was leaking fluid down over the lamp. I think it was very cold from being outside or something and the temp. difference stressed the glass. £25 down the drain... not a great way to start the weekend. :(

I am going to keep the base and watch for someone selling a globe at a good price. Or maybe I should just throw it out. I think it is cursed!
Sorry to here this. I hope ther nexed one works good.


Roger
oh boy what a story. but very interesting to me as I succeeded in repairing my (first) old lamp just rihght now. thumbs up I hope you will succeed in fixing yours!
I had similar problems with airy wax on the top of the liquid but it was not so much so I removed it.
Replacing the liquid was quite easy, I will try to add some colour the next days.

lets keep in touch. nighty!

Reply to Discussion

RSS

About

Autumn created this Ning Network.

GooHeads

Groups

© 2024   Created by Autumn.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service