1970's Century 100 Lava Lite Wax Problems

[Judy Streit]

Hoping that someone could give me some advice on how to correct a problem with the wax sitting at the top of my 1970's Century 100 Lava Lamp. I have a 40 watt bulb in the lamp and I've ran it for hours with no results. I would appreciate any information on how to correct this problem.

Thank You

[Claude J]

i  believe that any addition should be prepared properly, but in reality, you are probably ok adding 1 tsp while hot, just let it vapor in the hot wax

please wait until you see any difference before modifying the master fluid or wax
it may not be needed

Judy Streit said:

I do have another century with a heat shield so I will give that a try. If I would try Vaseline, how much would you suggest and would I add it into the lamp when its hot and running or turned off and cold? Appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Have a nice day!

Judy

Claude J said:

Polyboost is a microcriystilene wax that has binding characteristics

you can try a teaspoon of vaseline (no need to do the removal with petroleum jelly) or a small amount of mineral oil.
Both will change the specific gravity/density of the wax and create flotation

Your wax has apparently aged and it lost its chemical properties

before you proceed with ANY More chemical changes,.you should be running a 40-watt appliance bulb.

Sometimes missing, a century should have an aluminum  ring-shaped heat shield that sits under the light bulb to focus heat up and direct some light down to the starlight base, If you do not have it, it will never get hot enough to make flotation  (125F)

If you went to a larger wattage bulb or a halogen reflector,  then you need to have a dimmer

[Judy Streit]

Thank You