Grande or Giant Identification Please!

[Emil D. Nguyen]

Hello all.

I just picked up a lamp from someone who said they bought it back '97. Is there any means of identifying this lamp? I asked him if he even opened it and he said no.

Thank you all!!!

[Mr MaGoo]

It's a giant.  They came in black cap/base and the brushed aluminum cap/base.  You can tell by the black shrink wrap on caps.  I have two black giants with the same shrink wrap configuration.  Congratulations, you own an American made Giant!  No problem!  Lava lite moved the processing to china in 2003, hence the reason you want to buy a pre-2003 lamp.  So you get the original formula vs. the china made crap they sell today.

[Emil D. Nguyen]

OMG!! Dreams come true! Thank you for the confirmation! 

BTW never owned a Grande size lamp before. They are have a pretty substantial feeling when picking them up! 

[Mr MaGoo]

So when you looking to buy a used lava lamp and you going for original, always ask for a picture of the cap so you can see the manufacture dates on it.  Remember, you want to buy pre 2003 lamps for best quality.

[Mr MaGoo]

Emil, put some pics of that bad boy running!  Would love to see it flowing!

[Emil D. Nguyen]

You bet I will. Curious that he had a 75watter on it. Should I just wait and test it out before swapping in a 100watt?

[Mr MaGoo]

Will probably run ok with 75 watt will take longer to heat up. You can always to the towel trick and wrap base in a towel, will help speed up the heating process and once warmed up and flowing remove towel.  Will want to do the dimmer modification to the base so you can dim power to get the perfect flow for that lamp.

[Emil D. Nguyen]

And 24 hrs later..... maybe that 100watter don't sound so bad after all haha 

[Keith]

No flow after 24 hours?  How cold is that office!  I have ran Grandes on 75 watts and gotten flow.  I would think the wax would at least be melted and trying to flow/doming.

Is the bulb a spot bulb?  These big lamps need all of the light/heat directed to them.  If it's a regular round bulb too much heat is lost to the side.

[Emil D. Nguyen]

Doh.......it might be just a regular 75 watter. Do I really need a 100watt r20?!

[Keith]

It helps a bunch!  Especially if the room is cold or drafty.

[Emil D. Nguyen]

But a 75 watter can make it run? I wrapped it with a towel and ordered a bulb. I'm crying waiting for it...

[Keith]

If it's a spot or flood bulb you should get flow at 75 watts.  My experience is 100 watts is much better.