Astro baby not flowing well

[KittenChops]

Hi all,

I have an Astro baby that doesn't want to flow too well. I basically get 1 small blob up and down. Doesn't matter how long I leave it on. I currently have it hooked up to a step up converter running at 220v.

Is there something I'm missing or did I just recieve a poop lamp?

[Silas Jordan]

I'm not terribly familiar with converters and how efficient they are, but that looks like it's running cool to me. There are a couple options potentially. To test if it is running to cold, and if more heat would help, try putting a shirt around it for a bit and see if it flows better once it's a little warmer. If it does, then you know what direction you need to go in.

Does it have a normal socket? It might be worth trying just a straight adapter, and using a 120v bulb and see if that does better. Or stepping up to a hotter bulb if possible, like go from 35w to 40w.

A very last ditch effort would be to adjust the fluid itself. Adding a small amount of something like Glycerin would increase the liquid's density, promoting more flow from the wax. But I don't think that should be necessary, and should be reserved as a last chance fix.

[KittenChops]

Thanks.

Ill try the t-shirt trick and see what happens. I know its not the converter because I use it to power an Astro lamp and it flows really nice. The bulb that came with the Astro Baby is only a 28w which seems too weak to me. It has  the European socket that comes with all Mathmos lamps. The picture I attached is literally all it does and I know from watching other Astro Baby lamps that its supposed to be much more active than mine is.

Thanks for the reply.

[KittenChops]

The shirt trick worked. Its flowing perfectly now. Im not getting enough heat.

Silas said:

I'm not terribly familiar with converters and how efficient they are, but that looks like it's running cool to me. There are a couple options potentially. To test if it is running to cold, and if more heat would help, try putting a shirt around it for a bit and see if it flows better once it's a little warmer. If it does, then you know what direction you need to go in.

Does it have a normal socket? It might be worth trying just a straight adapter, and using a 120v bulb and see if that does better. Or stepping up to a hotter bulb if possible, like go from 35w to 40w.

A very last ditch effort would be to adjust the fluid itself. Adding a small amount of something like Glycerin would increase the liquid's density, promoting more flow from the wax. But I don't think that should be necessary, and should be reserved as a last chance fix.

[Silas Jordan]

That's great to hear! It should be relatively easy to remedy. My older Astro Baby has a screw in e14 base, but the newer ones don't. They take that GU10 Halogen bulb with 2 prongs.

A quick look on google/amazon shows that a 35w GU10 220v bulb is available. I bet that would do the trick!

[KittenChops]

Awesome! I will check that bulb out. It's obvious the 28w isn't enough. Thanks again!

Silas said:

That's great to hear! It should be relatively easy to remedy. My older Astro Baby has a screw in e14 base, but the newer ones don't. They take that GU10 Halogen bulb with 2 prongs.

A quick look on google/amazon shows that a 35w GU10 220v bulb is available. I bet that would do the trick!

[Arne]

alternatively you could adjust flow with glycerin.

[Silas Jordan]

Yeah, I suggested that above as well. Though I tend to hold off making permanent adjustments like that unless I have to.

Arne said:

alternatively you could adjust flow with glycerin.

[KittenChops]

Yea considering it's a Mathmos I'd rather not tamper with taking the cap off etc. 

[Autumn]

Is this a clear/blue special fill? Mathmos released a clear/blue and clear/green special fill and both had issues with flow. Something is wrong with the formulation, but as you found they can achieve normal flow if you use a hotter bulb. I use 35w bulbs for these.

[KittenChops]

Hmm. I don't believe so. It's blue wax and blue liquid. It has a 28w bulb wich seems low to me.

Autumn said:

Is this a clear/blue special fill? Mathmos released a clear/blue and clear/green special fill and both had issues with flow. Something is wrong with the formulation, but as you found they can achieve normal flow if you use a hotter bulb. I use 35w bulbs for these.

[KittenChops]

Autumn said:

Is this a clear/blue special fill? Mathmos released a clear/blue and clear/green special fill and both had issues with flow. Something is wrong with the formulation, but as you found they can achieve normal flow if you use a hotter bulb. I use 35w bulbs for these.

[Claude J]

I found that step-up transformers need to be at least 100% overrated in wattage to work properly