VINTAGE LAVA LAMP TROUBLE

[BRENT HENDERSON]

HI EVERYBODY.....NEWBE HERE!!!

MY NAME IS BRENT....I LIVE IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

I INHERITED MY GREAT GRANDMOTHERS LAVA LAMP....IT HAS BEEN A PRIZED POSSESSION OF MINE FOR MANY YEARS!!!!  IT HAS TO BE AT LEAST 50 YRS OLD!!!!  I SET IT ON MY GUITAR AMPLIFIER AMD ADMIRE IT AS I PLAY.

IM VERY WORRIED I MIGHT HAVE RUINED IT TODAY.....I PUT A NEW BULB IN IT TODAY......A FROSTED 60 W BULB.    IT DIDNT BUBBLE AFTER 2 HOURS.   I TURNED IT OFF.   I PICKED UP THE GLOBE, AND NOW ALL THE RED STUFF INSIDE LOOKS ALL CHUNKY AND IS FLOATING TO THE TOP!!!!

DID I RUIN THIS LAVA LAMP????

CAN IT BE SAVED????

THANKS!!!

BRENT

[BRENT HENDERSON]

I AM JUST ABOUT READY TO CRY!!!!

HERE ARE SOME PICS FOR THE EXPERTS TO SEE, HOPEFULL THEY WILL HELP TO SEE IF I RUINED THIS FAMILY HEIRLOOM....

]

[BRENT HENDERSON]

WHERE ARE MY MANNERS???

THANKS FOR LOOKING AT MY LAMP AND ALL THE EXPERT ADVISE!!!

[BRENT HENDERSON]

THANKS ANALOG!!!

HERE IS MY COLLECTION

[Claude J]

I have to see this happen to people and their family heirlooms

Especially a lava lamp

The floating goo is a result of air bubbles in the goo prior to overheating improperly and/or the coil losing contact with the bottom of the globe.

It appears to have been shaken?

You can open the globe when cool, empty the fluid in a clean container, put the globe with lava in it, in a pan of boiling water on the stove to reheat it (or back in the base if you have tons of time to wait), when completely melted turn off heat.

(DO NOT RAPIDLY MOVE IT), '

LET IT COOL.

If fluid is not cloudy, Add filtered liquid back to the globe (Coffee filter will work)

If its still cloudy, send it to me and I'l fix it for you,

I also have clean red vintage Lava lite lava from my Humingo if yours is totally toasted

To do a restoration, I'll empty and clean the globe with boiling water, add a new coil, reinstall the original lava,  add a bit of suffecerent, and try to salvage the original fluid.

I have proper lab equipment to measure the specific gravity and the proper fluid to recreate it if its unsalvageable

Unfortunately, recreating that golden color is a bit difficult but not impossible

I will try to keep everything original for you.

I'm in Illinois so shipping wont be too expensive.

Although, at this time of year, I suggest a foam lined box or disposable cooler to ship it in so it will not freeze.

PM me

[BRENT HENDERSON]

So the top cap screws off? I'm a pretty handy guy. I might try this myself???

[BRENT HENDERSON]

Thanks for the reply Claude!!! Sounds like you know your stuff.

[Critter]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM.

It is definitely bit a 50 year old lamp. But it is vintage 70s-80s. Fixable.

[Claude J]

Your welcome let me know how it goes.

PM me for my phone # and i can walk you through the process

BRENT HENDERSON said:

Thanks for the reply Claude!!! Sounds like you know your stuff.

[andy ross]

You're lucky, Brent - both those two really know their stuff - I can attest to that...

[BRENT HENDERSON]

I'm so glad I found this place!!! Thank you all!!!

[Claude J]

Your Welcome

Enjoy

[Keith]

Have you tried running it with the proper 40watt bulb since this happened?  That would be my first suggestion.  You definitely don't want to shake a Lava Lamp globe, but you can jostle it a little to see if the wax will drop down.  It looks quite stuck though.  If it is really stuck at the top you can put a towel over it while it heats, check it after the first hour and every half hour after that until the wax is getting melted.  With any luck the wax at the top will drop down and melt properly.  To keep the globe from overheating don't run it for more that 4 hours or so, this process may have to be repeated a few times.  

That being said, the globe does look quite cloudy also, but vintage globes have a good track record of clearing up with continued use.  It may take a while though so be patient.  The main thing to look for is if the wax is flowing properly, the way you remember it.

If this process doesn't work then you can try methods that involve opening the globe.

Claude and Critter both have good track records of fixing globes and have both been shown to be trustworthy!