Wax sticking to glass. Toss globe and/or lamp?

[vegamanx]

hi. i just found this site and thought i'd ask about my "lava lamp." i got it a few years ago as a gift, but it has never worked correctly. and, it's been shaken a few times by ignorant ppl (so there are air bubbles in the wax).

the lava does flow. but there is a thin layer at the top of the globe that sticks to the wall. in the past, i have managed to spin the globe so that the wax does not stick along most of the body of the globe. however, if left on for a long enough time, the wax will trail down to the base of the globe, which creates a path for the wax to travel up and down, leaving no opportunity for the wax to bubble up like normal.

according to the packaging, of which there is no name, the lava lamp was made in china. it has been sitting on a shelf boxed up the last few years because it didn't work before. but i thought i'd give it another try.

my only thoughts are to open the globe and clean the top of all the wax buildup (which leaves me w/ figuring out how to reseal the bottle cap at the top) or simply tossing the globe or the whole system and purchasing another lamp and globe.

i thought lava lamps were supposed to be fun and relaxing, but this one hasn't.

i've attached a few pics for anyone who has any idea of what to do. THANKS!

[Mark Goo]

Hi Vegamanx,
I know what you mean about a broken LL being more annoying than relaxing. The lamp you have is what we call a knock-off - it is made in china by a company copying the official Lava brand company who is based in Chicago. Your lamp has probably bit the dust. That kind is known for "dying", especially if treated poorly (like when those ppl shake it.) You cannot just purchase a new globe (that's the glass and liquid part), so you'd ahve to purchase a whole new lamp. You can do that through this site and Oozing Goo will get a small commission which helps support the site (and it costs you nothing extra.) Take a look here http://oozinggoo.com/shop.html . In my opinion, there is no harm experimenting with your lamp. I'd open it up and try to scrape the lava from the top. How to seal? maybe you can find a rubber cork at a hardware store... or find someone who is a home beer brewer - those guys have bottle cappers... Anyway, have fun and good luck. Welcome to OG where everyone is addicted to lava - I hope you catch the disease too!

MG

[vegamanx]

thanks for the quick response. i think i'll mess w/ the globe a little and if nothing works, i'll just get a new one through the shop. i'm eyeing the 52oz one already! :P

now, would the easiest way to clean up the wax at the top be to uncap the globe, empty the liquid and just heat up the globe till the wax melts and drains to the bottom? and then refill w/ the liquid and cork it? i'm just wondering how much wax i'll be able to remove through scraping. so i'm thinking of heating the globe w/ the lamp or maybe if that doesn't work, putting the EMPTY globe (i'm not planning on winning a darwin award sequel here) and wax in a pot w/ water on the stove and heating it enough to melt the wax.

vgmnx

[Brian]

wow, that looks like one i bought at a yard sale. I tried to fix mine as well. I popped the top, drained the liquid out Put in a container to reuse), heated it up to get the wax out (put in a metal messuring cup), cleaned the heck out of the inside to get the wax out that was stuck to to sides, heated the wax back up (poured it back in using a funnel so not to touch the sides and let cool, placed the liquid back in it, put a rubber stopper at the top to seal it, and turned it back on. you know what? the dang thing did the same thing all over again! as I was watching it I noticed that the wax was shot cause of the way it was trying to bubble up. it looked really cheep and warn out like. i got fed up and just tossed the thing. sorry that this don't sound optomistic. I realy wish you the best of luck. i probably did something wong, who knows.

[Mark Goo]

Hey Veg, I wouldn't look at it like it is *bad* news - I think you just found your way into an incredibly cool world... of lava! Go get another one, or two or three! Next thing you know you may end up with 300 like some of the folks here at OG!

MG

[vegamanx]

haha. no, it is not at all pessimistic. thanks for the heads up. now i know that if it does the same thing, i'll just grab some friends who are trying to get me into airsoft to take out my frustrations w/ my new useless target. HEHE.

as for the wax itself, it turns transparent, which if i remember correctly, isn't what most wax looks like in other LLs i've seen.

i think i'll pass on 300 LLs, since i don't have the $bling$.

thx for the heads up!

[Brian]

LMAO Make a video of you shooting it and post it. I sooo wanted to do that with mine LOL

[cpu2hot]

The glass needs to be cleaned inside. till absolutley spotless. That is actually the hardest part of fixing the lamp because it is easy to get the fluid and wax out but getting the wax back in without it splashing "Anywhere" on the glass is tricky but your liquid is clear so save it and clean the globe and refill and cap it there are some sites that outline how to do this I use a funnel and a fat long straw to do it so you can do it if you are ready to put some effor into it. One more thing you will have to melt the wax twice once to get it out of the globe and once to get it in. This is important There is a chemical in the wax to make it heavier than water and it will evaporate out of the liquid wax and your wax wont SINK if enough evaporates Soooo heat the wax very gently and keep it in a liquid state for as short a time as possible also make sure spring is OUT when you clean and IN when you pour the wax back in Good Luck