Fed up with the cloudiness in my Midnight, what are my options?

[Rich C]

What can I do about the Midnight?  The Century is nearly 40 years old and clear as can be.  Even my cheapie Classic is clear.  The Midnight clears somewhat when it has been off for a while but clouds up when running. Is there anything I can do short of opening the bottle and filtering it?  I've been cycling it for a while now and it isn't improving.  Can I expect filtering to fix the problem permanently?  It flows well, I just hate the cloudiness.

[Rich C]

It looks better in person than the photo above.  Here is another photo, but it hardly looks cloudy here.  Reality is somewhere between these two photos.

[Tim Gill]

Filtering should fix it if cycling hasent worked, I know that filtering takes time and a fue goes to get it clear but it should be ok

Have you looked at the wax when cold - there may be some muck that is getting mixed up when you turn it on causing it to cloud - if so you could just drain that away.

[Rich C]

No muck I can see, but there appears to be some dirt or corrosion on the coil but I figure that is probably left alone.  Or is it possible to filter the wax?  My Century still has white chunks in the wax.  It doesn't appear to affect the flow, it just looks crummy.  Sometimes the worst of the chunks are left in the bit that hardens at the top of the fluid so I might just try scraping that out each time it cools off, but I fear by the time I get all the chunks out, the wax volume will be noticeably depleted.

Anyway, the wax in the Midnight looks fine, just the fluid looks bad.

Are the filters expensive?  If so, any chance someone might loan me a set up since I doubt I'll be doing this more than once or twice.  Could I just replace the fluid?  It doesn't seem clear in color anymore anyway, it looks rather like faded yellow but it is clearly marked on the cap as 18 which is clear/cranberry.

[Rich C]

I got a dimmer and timer last night.  I'm going to cycle the crap out of it for a while and see if it helps.  Going to do six hour on-off cycles so it can run twice a day.

[Jus]

I filter wax with a double layer of clean old pantyhose...works great, and won't soak up lots of your wax.  Something I bet would also work great, but I've yet to try, is the type of filter they use at auto-body shops to filter their paint when mixing.  I bet they'd either give or sell a few cheap.  They are basically a cone of paper with a super fine filter at the tip of the cone.  Gonna try one of those, someday...

Good luck!

[Rich C]

How exactly do you go about filtering the wax?  I assume you heat the wax so it is fluid, but how do you get the wax and fluid separated?  If you drain all the fluid first, would you make a mess of the wax when pouring it out of the globe?

[Jus]

The lamp must be completely cooled before separating, then all you do is pour the liquid out.  To get the wax out, melt it.  Safest way is probably just placing the globe on its own base, and let the heat from the bulb melt the wax.  Common way is to get a saucepan, place a saucer/small plate in the bottom, place the globe on top of the plate, add water to sauce pan, then heat slowly on stove until wax is melted.  The stove method can certainly cause your globe to crack/break if not done carefully and slowly-and sometimes even then the globe winds up making that PING noise that tells you it just cracked. The ill-advised method (the one I use, of course) is to melt the wax in the microwave.  First you must remove the coil from the bottle, and the best time to do that is at a time when the wax is already melted.  Use a straight piece of a wire coat hanger with a small hook bent into the end to reach inside the bottle and snag/remove the coil. Let the lamp cool so the wax hardens and you can pour the liquid/water out.  Then just microwave until wax is melted-and that doesn't take long at all. This method is NOT recommended!  But it does work, and fast. How you melt your wax will basically depend on how much patience you have.  But again, for the record, the safest way is to just set the globe on its own intended base, turn the light on, and wait for the wax to melt.  To filter wax is easy!  Have a clean container large enough to hold all the wax w/ room to spare, cover the top with one or two layers of clean pantyhose (secure with a rubber band around the circumference of the container), then slowly and carefully pour the melted wax right through the pantyhose and into the container. The Grande I bought had a corroded coil which had caused lots of nasty debris in the wax; filtering solved the problem very well.  Here's what filtered out:

Hope this helps!

[Rich C]

So, the only remaining question is:  control top or regular?  :D

[Jus]

LOL either!

[Rich C]

Does the wax pour of the bottle cleanly or does the bottle need to be scrubbed and such before returning the wax and later the fluid?

The more I run the thing the fluid gets slightly clearer so I may be able to save it.  I might filter the wax on my old Century though to get rid of the white chunks it has.  Though the Midnight is clearing, the fluid has a slight yellow cast to it.  If it clears and I save the fluid, I might end up dying the fluid a nice contrasting color.  What would go well with cranberry wax?

[CRASHSUNDAYGUY]

Two words....

Goo Kit.

[CRASHSUNDAYGUY]

I have bought the filters. I have cycled lamps for WEEKS on end. I have filtered again. What a mess and waste of electricity. I was afraid to try a Goo Kit, nothing to it. Once I did it I will NEVER EVER go back.

I will make anyone a bet....

You mess around and cycle your lamp, filter it, do what ever you think works.

I will take a similar lamp, have it cleaned out- rebuilt in 15 minutes, and my lamp will be FAR superior to anything you can come up with.  My lamp will be so crazy clear you will toss your filters in the trash and buy a Goo Kit.