Need help restoring my 1975 Century, various problems - Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate2024-03-29T14:36:39Zhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/need-help-restoring-my-1975-century-various-problems?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A509404&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noChunks are showing up again i…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-24:1566398:Comment:5094042014-01-24T04:25:33.685ZRich Chttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/RichCummings
<p>Chunks are showing up again in the wax in earnest. Dammit. Why must this old bitch keep fighting me? ;)</p>
<p>Chunks are showing up again in the wax in earnest. Dammit. Why must this old bitch keep fighting me? ;)</p> I found a lot of good archive…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-24:1566398:Comment:5093982014-01-24T03:48:07.702ZRich Chttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/RichCummings
<p>I found a lot of good archived data on the old OG site. Here is a sample that seems pertinent to where this discussion was going. Very detailed and very interesting, not sure what I'll do with this data and knowledge yet though!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oozinggoo.com/ll-form5.html" target="_blank">http://www.oozinggoo.com/ll-form5.html</a></p>
<p>I found a lot of good archived data on the old OG site. Here is a sample that seems pertinent to where this discussion was going. Very detailed and very interesting, not sure what I'll do with this data and knowledge yet though!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oozinggoo.com/ll-form5.html" target="_blank">http://www.oozinggoo.com/ll-form5.html</a></p> Propylene glycol is a surfact…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5088152014-01-22T05:43:27.983ZKeithhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Keith
<p>Propylene glycol is a surfactant. It may need to be enhanced with a lesser amount of additional surfactant to get the flow you desire.</p>
<p>Propylene glycol is a surfactant. It may need to be enhanced with a lesser amount of additional surfactant to get the flow you desire.</p> So "X" = Function of Surface…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5088132014-01-22T04:15:27.853ZTodd Millerhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ToddMiller
<p>So "X" = Function of Surface Coefficient.</p>
<p></p>
<p>This would be a third chemical to the mix, not DI or PG ?</p>
<p>What would it be ? Hey, I'm new to this as well, trying</p>
<p>to figure it out...</p>
<p></p>
<p>As far as neon goes, it's just an evacuated tube of glass, filled</p>
<p>with noble gasses and excited with HV. I do love it !!!!!</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p> </p>
<p>So "X" = Function of Surface Coefficient.</p>
<p></p>
<p>This would be a third chemical to the mix, not DI or PG ?</p>
<p>What would it be ? Hey, I'm new to this as well, trying</p>
<p>to figure it out...</p>
<p></p>
<p>As far as neon goes, it's just an evacuated tube of glass, filled</p>
<p>with noble gasses and excited with HV. I do love it !!!!!</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p> </p> From what I've been told, blo…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5088932014-01-22T03:44:32.851ZRich Chttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/RichCummings
<p>From what I've been told, blobbiness vs. stringiness is more a function of surf content than of the specific gravity balance between the fluid and the wax.</p>
<p>But I am far, far, far from being an expert on this stuff. I DO however want to learn and know more about this stuff whether I ever actually use it or not. It is never enough for me to know something is cool, I have to know how it works. I spent hours in a neon shop talking with the craftsman that make the tubes when I first got…</p>
<p>From what I've been told, blobbiness vs. stringiness is more a function of surf content than of the specific gravity balance between the fluid and the wax.</p>
<p>But I am far, far, far from being an expert on this stuff. I DO however want to learn and know more about this stuff whether I ever actually use it or not. It is never enough for me to know something is cool, I have to know how it works. I spent hours in a neon shop talking with the craftsman that make the tubes when I first got hooked on neon. I read quite a few books on it too. Sadly, there are no books on lava lamps. At least none I know of.</p> Let's remove the term "surf".…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5084922014-01-22T03:31:08.445ZTodd Millerhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ToddMiller
<p>Let's remove the term "surf"....my bad... The only chemicals I will use is</p>
<p>DI and PG. I saw the term "surf" used in reference, but I didn't realize</p>
<p>they had different functions. Also, I'm working with original fluid/wax no</p>
<p>gookit's.</p>
<p></p>
<p>As you mentioned, we don't know what the target is, but the only variables</p>
<p>we have to work with are;</p>
<p></p>
<p>run time/heat</p>
<p>wax (unknown)</p>
<p>specific gravity of the liquid. </p>
<p></p>
<p>We know we…</p>
<p>Let's remove the term "surf"....my bad... The only chemicals I will use is</p>
<p>DI and PG. I saw the term "surf" used in reference, but I didn't realize</p>
<p>they had different functions. Also, I'm working with original fluid/wax no</p>
<p>gookit's.</p>
<p></p>
<p>As you mentioned, we don't know what the target is, but the only variables</p>
<p>we have to work with are;</p>
<p></p>
<p>run time/heat</p>
<p>wax (unknown)</p>
<p>specific gravity of the liquid. </p>
<p></p>
<p>We know we have to balance the specific gravity</p>
<p>of the two masses but how do we solve for "X"</p>
<p></p>
<p>"X"= The tendency to blob or remain stringy.</p>
<p></p>
<p>This is what challenges me.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p> But surf isn't what is used t…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5086622014-01-22T02:13:10.573ZRich Chttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/RichCummings
<p>But surf isn't what is used to adjust specific gravity. It may affect it in one direction or the other, but the idea is to either add distilled water or PG to adjust the gravity in one direction or the other. I guess you could put a hydrometer in pure distilled water, then add surf and see which way the measurement goes. Not sure what that specifically would tell you. The specific gravity is what determines the buoyancy of the wax, not the tendency to blob or remain stringy (blob and…</p>
<p>But surf isn't what is used to adjust specific gravity. It may affect it in one direction or the other, but the idea is to either add distilled water or PG to adjust the gravity in one direction or the other. I guess you could put a hydrometer in pure distilled water, then add surf and see which way the measurement goes. Not sure what that specifically would tell you. The specific gravity is what determines the buoyancy of the wax, not the tendency to blob or remain stringy (blob and stringy are scientific terms you know). To really make this all scientific you'd also need to know the factors involving the wax too. I read in a history or Mathmos or Lava that when done right, they match the make up of the liquid to the make up of the wax in each batch to achieve the best results and thus no two batches are entirely the same. They are shooting with pinpoint accuracy, we are shooting somewhat blindly.</p> A Hydrometer to measure the s…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5084852014-01-22T01:14:36.377ZTodd Millerhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ToddMiller
<p>A Hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the liquid ???<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Rich C said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/need-help-restoring-my-1975-century-various-problems?x=1&id=1566398%3ATopic%3A506781&page=3#1566398Comment508704"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Know of any way to empirically measure how much surfacant is in the fluid (other than surmising by observation) and subsequently what a proper measure would be? (I think I'm…</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>A Hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the liquid ???<br/> <br/> <cite>Rich C said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/need-help-restoring-my-1975-century-various-problems?x=1&id=1566398%3ATopic%3A506781&page=3#1566398Comment508704"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Know of any way to empirically measure how much surfacant is in the fluid (other than surmising by observation) and subsequently what a proper measure would be? (I think I'm just going to leave well enough alone here but now I am curious.)</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote> OK, now were talking.
I have…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-22:1566398:Comment:5087182014-01-22T01:12:50.464ZTodd Millerhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ToddMiller
<p>OK, now were talking.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have the same issue, several mis-fit lamps that have leaked or perform poorly.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have just started toying with the balance of these lamps. I have a few that will</p>
<p>rise with a big blob head toward the top, while still connected with a column and</p>
<p>then fall back down.</p>
<p></p>
<p>They also share the chunks in the wax like yours. I did boil a few and one turned out</p>
<p>silky smooth, but the others did not. Maybe I didn't…</p>
<p>OK, now were talking.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have the same issue, several mis-fit lamps that have leaked or perform poorly.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have just started toying with the balance of these lamps. I have a few that will</p>
<p>rise with a big blob head toward the top, while still connected with a column and</p>
<p>then fall back down.</p>
<p></p>
<p>They also share the chunks in the wax like yours. I did boil a few and one turned out</p>
<p>silky smooth, but the others did not. Maybe I didn't boil them enough, too cautious.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I've toyed with distilled water and PG with some success, but I finally decided to quit</p>
<p>chasing my tail and get scientific. I ordered some 500ml flasks and a hydrometer.</p>
<p>A hydrometer measures specific gravity of fluids. I decided to measure the gravity</p>
<p>of my lamps cold and use that for a baseline as I add DI or PG. I figure if I screw</p>
<p>up, I can pour off some liquid and add distilled water to get the gravity back to the</p>
<p>baseline. You can get a hydrometer at a pet store, they use them for aquariums.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I like the 'chart' Brad and from what your saying is I need to add more surf / PG.</p>
<p>I have literally sat here for weeks watching these lamps warm up and studying</p>
<p>the flows.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p> You can with a goo kit since…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2014-01-21:1566398:Comment:5088022014-01-21T20:58:01.334ZBradhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/brad
You can with a goo kit since you add the surfactant yourself. Not sure otherwise without it getting difficult really quick.
You can with a goo kit since you add the surfactant yourself. Not sure otherwise without it getting difficult really quick.