heatmat.strip lava lamp

I want to create my own lava lamp, I have yet to find any glass housing to my likings but was going to suggest a solid wooden base with heat strip wrapped around center insided leaving at least a 1cm air space between strip and glass to prevent cracking. Also I would be able to use some Colour adjusting LED lights that are pretty crisp and for nothing :)
Can anybody poke holes in my plan?
I would need to find out where I can get some good quality wax from so if anybody has any suggestions preferably within the uk it would be greatly appreciated!
Oh and I was going to say I could always coat the outside of the wooden base with something like fibreglass if I wanted a different effect, Or I could look into making a base using wood for a mold.. that sounds best.
constructive criticisms please? :D

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Permalink Reply by RobWar on July 17, 2011 at 5:41am

I also considered a double glazed glass project, approx 1cm wide so the wax would be squashed and create patterns.. might not work but thought I'd throw the idea out there

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Permalink Reply by Dr. WHAT?! on July 17, 2011 at 4:25pm

I'm curious on where you can find heat strips that will get a globe hot enough to make flow?

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Permalink Reply by Kempton on July 17, 2011 at 4:39pm

you could use an alcohol bottle, and as for the wax you need special wax because it's density is less than water so it just will float.

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Permalink Reply by RobWar on July 18, 2011 at 2:05am

@Dr.WHAT?! average temp is approx 51ºC, I've never used heat cables before but i didn't think there would have been much of a performance gap from mats. even if that doesn't work I could always go for heat tape. http://www.briskheat.com/p-289-hstat-silicone-rubber-heating-tape-w...

depends how much I want to invest into this project because thats priced approx $140

@I_Eat_Spam I could yeah, I saw in the gallery the Absolut lamp which was pretty damn fine, I was thinking of using a large old fashioned jar and using some stone effect spray paint on the base :)

Only digging up info for different methods and styles I could use. I'm suprised this isn't a bigger market..
Depending on expense of the treated wax I could consider making a few custom ones, saw a large one going for £2000!

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Permalink Reply by Kempton on July 18, 2011 at 11:06am

Rob you are in the UK and the shipping might be expensive but a goo kit always gets the job done. You just add water and the wax flows in it fine. http://www.gookits.com/

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Permalink Reply by Dr. WHAT?! on July 18, 2011 at 2:20pm

Wicked! Let us know how it goes. This stuff will do wonders with UV gookits.

RobWar said:

@Dr.WHAT?! average temp is approx 51ºC, I've never used heat cables before but i didn't think there would have been much of a performance gap from mats. even if that doesn't work I could always go for heat tape. http://www.briskheat.com/p-289-hstat-silicone-rubber-heating-tape-w...

depends how much I want to invest into this project because thats priced approx $140

@I_Eat_Spam I could yeah, I saw in the gallery the Absolut lamp which was pretty damn fine, I was thinking of using a large old fashioned jar and using some stone effect spray paint on the base :)

Only digging up info for different methods and styles I could use. I'm suprised this isn't a bigger market..
Depending on expense of the treated wax I could consider making a few custom ones, saw a large one going for £2000!

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Permalink Reply by RobWar on July 19, 2011 at 1:36pm

Looks awesome from the site, gonna be late for work but have bookmarked it for when i get back :)

I Eat Spam said:

Rob you are in the UK and the shipping might be expensive but a goo kit always gets the job done. You just add water and the wax flows in it fine. http://www.gookits.com/