Lets figure out the original lava lite formula..I have a good start - Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate2024-03-28T08:12:26Zhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A697562&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noHi there,
Yes propylene Glyco…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2019-09-21:1566398:Comment:6975622019-09-21T17:24:35.387Zteltrashttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/teltras
<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>Yes propylene Glycol is about 1036 KG/m3 at 25 celsius, but the problem I have is when you heat the PG the density lowers a lot, I am experiencing goo staying still and do not go up or down when hot.</p>
<p>I have used about 70% PG and 30% RO water and 10ml of SLS on a 52oz lava lite from 1998, the model is 100 and has a starlit base.</p>
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<p>Im running another test and this time I ad 20 ml of pure PG, to get higher density...lets wait and see.</p>
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<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>Yes propylene Glycol is about 1036 KG/m3 at 25 celsius, but the problem I have is when you heat the PG the density lowers a lot, I am experiencing goo staying still and do not go up or down when hot.</p>
<p>I have used about 70% PG and 30% RO water and 10ml of SLS on a 52oz lava lite from 1998, the model is 100 and has a starlit base.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Im running another test and this time I ad 20 ml of pure PG, to get higher density...lets wait and see.</p>
<p></p> I haven't read all of this th…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2017-10-30:1566398:Comment:6627312017-10-30T23:24:15.074ZAdamhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/AdamBurdsall
<p>I haven't read all of this thread, so some of this may be old news, but I thought I might add my two cents to this conversation. I work in a Geochemistry lab and I have worked with carbon tetrachloride (CTC) before because it's a common environmental contaminant. If it was merely to weigh down the wax, I would think there might be another type of parafin wax they could use or another, less hazardous, additive they could use. It may have been used for its high specific gravity, but it has…</p>
<p>I haven't read all of this thread, so some of this may be old news, but I thought I might add my two cents to this conversation. I work in a Geochemistry lab and I have worked with carbon tetrachloride (CTC) before because it's a common environmental contaminant. If it was merely to weigh down the wax, I would think there might be another type of parafin wax they could use or another, less hazardous, additive they could use. It may have been used for its high specific gravity, but it has other properties that make it useful as a solvent and degreasing agent, which might also make it useful in the construction of lava lamps. Other chemicals in the same chemical family have also been used as plasticisers, making rubbers and plastics more flexible. I've seen many posts here on Oozinggoo about how the modern lava lamps "don't flow right" or how the modern ones just form bubbles instead of streams and other various interesting shapes and flow patterns. A plasticizing effect would make the wax less rigid and flow more easily when melted, improving without emulsifying the wax. </p>
<p>Also, while it's true that CTC is poorly soluble in water, it is quite soluble in other organic solvents. It's therefore difficult to determine exactly how much CTC was used in the old formulas. It could be much greater than the solubility of water would allow because it's dissolved in a wax, which may also contain kerosene and other organic compounds. I would consider to be likely as there is no way to completely prevent all interaction between the organic components and the water based components. I would also caution those who frequently remove the contents of older lamps that over time, the CTC would also partially dissolve into the aqueous components in dangerous concentrations in the same way that dye bleeding from an old lamp with red lava will eventually turn the water slightly red as well. This is why I don't open lava lamps.</p>
<p>CTC's health risks alone are no doubt the reason why Lava and any other lava lamp manufacturer would remove it from their formulas in more recent years. From the late 70s on, greater awareness of the risks of CTC and other chlorinated hydrocarbons has caused many industries to expend great resources looking for safer substitutes, many times with somewhat disappointing results as we've seen in lava lamps. </p>
<p>I've seen pure CTC dissolve part of a container when someone tried to store it in plastic instead of glass, so I would guess that it does have some of the plasticizing qualities of other members in its chemical family. I would also guess that in small quantities, it might be responsible for the more liquid behavior that people have come to love from the original lava lamps. It would no doubt have been difficult to find a substitute that would do the same job and be safer to work with as has been the case in many other industries using similar chemicals. The one thing I don't understand, and that might negate some of my suppositions in this post, is how it's possible to open the lamp, drain the liquid, and heat the wax on a stove top without volatilizing all of the CTC (and for that matter the kerosene) in the wax. CTC evaporates at a much lower temperature than water and I would think that its removal would change the wax's properties. <br/> <br/> <cite>Autumn said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original#1566398Comment224624"><div><div class="xg_user_generated">I believe carbon tetrachloride is what weighs down the wax. CTC is not soluble in water so I don't see what else it could be used for.<br/> <br/> <br/> <cite>Kempton said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A224894&xg_source=msg_com_forum#1566398Comment224894"><div>Okay i think we have a problem. Like I said paraffin wax's density is 0.9. Well it is wrong. It ranges from 0.82-0.96 (found here <a rel="nofollow" href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_specific_gravity_of_paraffin_wax" target="_blank">http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_specific_gravity_of_paraffin_wax</a>). The density of water is 1 and polyethylene's lowest is 1.08. This means the wax will float to the top of the globe and never come down. How do i know this? I put candle wax (paraffin wax) in a 52 oz globe and distilled water in. Heated it up and all the wax floated to the top and is now stuck there to this day.</div>
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</blockquote> Ok so I am trying to find out…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-10-25:1566398:Comment:4902102013-10-25T17:35:33.191ZJoannehttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Joanne
<p>Ok so I am trying to find out what to add to make my wax more "stringy " less just round blobs . I am thinking from the sounds of all of this that Microcrystalline Wax will help</p>
<p>Ok so I am trying to find out what to add to make my wax more "stringy " less just round blobs . I am thinking from the sounds of all of this that Microcrystalline Wax will help</p> Another ingredient found at A…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-03-13:1566398:Comment:4470422013-03-13T16:26:59.241ZJack Rylehttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/JackRyle
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 167.92px; top: 28.7999px; transform: scale(1.07317, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">Another ingredient found at Advance auto Parts. Add to wax to make it heavier.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 167.92px; top: 28.7999px; transform: scale(1.07317, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">CRC Brakleen® Brake Parts Cleaner…</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 167.92px; top: 28.7999px; transform: scale(1.07317, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">Another ingredient found at Advance auto Parts. Add to wax to make it heavier.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 167.92px; top: 28.7999px; transform: scale(1.07317, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">CRC Brakleen® Brake Parts Cleaner</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 13.36px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 174.64px; top: 164.56px; transform: scale(0.991713, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">Tetrachloroethylene (PERC) 95%</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 13.36px; font-family: sans-serif; left: 214.4px; top: 188.48px; transform: scale(0.971942, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;">Carbon Dioxide 5%</div> I have also found propylene g…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-03-13:1566398:Comment:4471302013-03-13T16:18:04.670ZJack Rylehttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/JackRyle
<p>I have also found propylene glycol at Tractor supply.</p>
<p>I have also found propylene glycol at Tractor supply.</p> MiraLAX is polyethylene glyco…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-03-13:1566398:Comment:4471262013-03-13T16:07:51.441ZJack Rylehttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/JackRyle
<p>MiraLAX is polyethylene glycol 3350 mixes with water and is clear and it does raise the specific gravity of water. depends on how much you put in just like salt does. I use a hydrometer for saltwater fish tanks to measure how much.<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Autumn said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original?id=1566398%3ATopic%3A223798&page=1#1566398Comment224315"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Here is some information…</p>
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<p>MiraLAX is polyethylene glycol 3350 mixes with water and is clear and it does raise the specific gravity of water. depends on how much you put in just like salt does. I use a hydrometer for saltwater fish tanks to measure how much.<br/> <br/> <cite>Autumn said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original?id=1566398%3ATopic%3A223798&page=1#1566398Comment224315"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Here is some information about polyethylene glycol. You can get several densities of this stuff and from PEG 200 to PEG 600 it is a clear liquid. From Peg 630 to 1500 it is a paste. Anything above that is wax like. </p>
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<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/POLYETHYLENE%20GLYCOL.htm">http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/POLYETHYLENE%20GLY...</a></p>
<p>This site lists all of the densities for several types of PEG.</p>
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</blockquote> I found microcrystalline wax…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-03-13:1566398:Comment:4470392013-03-13T16:00:23.587ZJack Rylehttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/JackRyle
<p>I found microcrystalline wax at <a href="http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/Wax/Micro.htm#micro" target="_blank">http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/Wax/Micro.htm#micro</a></p>
<p>I found microcrystalline wax at <a href="http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/Wax/Micro.htm#micro" target="_blank">http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/Wax/Micro.htm#micro</a></p> Some more clues I found onlin…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-11-02:1566398:Comment:4218892012-11-02T06:17:47.565ZMorbiushttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Morbius
<p>Some more clues I found online, regarding the composition.</p>
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<p>"<span>During the manufacture of Lava Lites, the density of the waxy liquid is measured extremely carefully. It is made up of 11 different secret ingredients, and each batch is matched exactly to the water solution it will float in. Water-soluble dyes will color the water solution and not the wax or oil. Oil-soluble dyes will color the lava and not the water. This is how the two solutions can be made up of different…</span></p>
<p>Some more clues I found online, regarding the composition.</p>
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<p>"<span>During the manufacture of Lava Lites, the density of the waxy liquid is measured extremely carefully. It is made up of 11 different secret ingredients, and each batch is matched exactly to the water solution it will float in. Water-soluble dyes will color the water solution and not the wax or oil. Oil-soluble dyes will color the lava and not the water. This is how the two solutions can be made up of different colors."</span><span><br/><br/>Read more: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.soyouwanna.com/chemical-information-lava-lamps-1111.html#ixzz2B2ionJZa">Chemical Information on Lava Lamps</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.soyouwanna.com/chemical-information-lava-lamps-1111.html#ixzz2B2ionJZa">http://www.soyouwanna.com/chemical-information-lava-lamps-1111.html...</a></span></p>
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<p><span>"</span>Water and wax, which the original patents name as main ingredients, remain components of the commercial recipe, says Tom Spain, vice president of sales, marketing, and product development for Haggerty Enterprises, the official U.S. manufacturer of Lava brand lamps. Additional agents, he explains, help the wax gently plume upward instead of breaking apart into bubbles as it is heated and keep wax from sticking to the sides of the container.</p>
<p>Walker's U.S. patent mentions additives such as dye, mineral oil, carbon tetrachloride, and polyethylene glycol (PEG), but the exact formula of commercial lamps is a trade secret. Spain tells C&EN that only five or six staff chemists know the formula and are in charge of occasional reformulations. Densities must be recorded for each batch of wax that Haggerty makes, which is mixed in 5-foot-tall vats in factories in China.</p>
<p>Last but not least, the water layer is added to the cooled wax very slowly so as to avoid creating emulsions, which are cloudy-looking oil-water mixtures. In fact, the recipe for the water layer is carefully adjusted to perfectly complement the density of each unique batch of wax."</p>
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<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/86/8607sci3.html">http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/86/8607sci3.html</a></p>
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<p></p> With regards to paraffin bein…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-03-24:1566398:Comment:3824662012-03-24T22:44:26.224ZD Newnhamhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/DNewnham
<p>With regards to paraffin being kerosene here in the UK, let me give you the ingredients as listed in a tub of paraffin wax: Paraffin, Paraffinium Liquidium (Mineral Oil), Cera Microcrystallina (Microcrystalline Wax). Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>With regards to paraffin being kerosene here in the UK, let me give you the ingredients as listed in a tub of paraffin wax: Paraffin, Paraffinium Liquidium (Mineral Oil), Cera Microcrystallina (Microcrystalline Wax). Hope this is helpful.</p> Hmm well that pretty much tel…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2011-04-23:1566398:Comment:2254292011-04-23T14:33:09.623ZAutumnhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Autumn
Hmm well that pretty much tells you exactly whats in the wax. I have a feeling they went back to something like propylene glycol in the liquid due to how toxic aroclor is. They also probably changed the wax formula and removed the aroclor and replaced it with something else. This gets us several steps closer! We need to find more patents.<br></br>
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<cite>stevemo said:…</cite>
Hmm well that pretty much tells you exactly whats in the wax. I have a feeling they went back to something like propylene glycol in the liquid due to how toxic aroclor is. They also probably changed the wax formula and removed the aroclor and replaced it with something else. This gets us several steps closer! We need to find more patents.<br/>
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<cite>stevemo said:</cite><br />
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/lets-figure-out-the-original?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A225311&xg_source=msg_com_forum#1566398Comment225311"><div><p>There is an apparently lesser known Crestworth patent, applied for in 1965, no.1,168,625, entitled "<img src="http://v3.espacenet.com/images/point.gif" height="8" width="1"/>Improvements in and relating to Compositions for use in Display devices which Employ Liquid Components", <a rel="nofollow" href="http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=1168625A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19691029&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_gb" target="_blank">http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&a...</a>. This seems to have abandoned the Carbon tetrachloride/mineral oil composition, and instead gives very specific details of a formula including a Chlorinated Diphenyl or Polychlorinated Diphenyl - An "Arochlor" product is mentioned. These are quite nasty chemicals, and have been out of production for some years (late 1970's), by international agreement. I also have a Crestworth Astro from the early 1980's with a sticker on the top which states "The contents of this vase are harmless, basically water, also some paraffin and chlorinated paraffin wax". (This would have been made around the time of the safety scare caused by dodgy glitters, and all liquid filled lamps were being viewed with suspicion at this time).</p>
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