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?

[KittenChops]

Ok. So what does that mean exactly?

Claude J said:

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

[Claude J]

In my experience, Step-up transformer ratings do not supply the same voltage and current(amperage) when near full wattage ratings.
I've owned many of them in different wattages
For example, 6+ 40-watt lamps will not flow when applied to a 500-watt step-down transformer.

Remove 2 lamps and they will flow fine.
As the collection grew, I used wattage ratings that were overkill to eliminate flow issues

Transformers (like household invertors) are rated at peak wattage and not 100% constant duty voltage/current.
this is due to many factors including marketing ploy, power factor rating, continuous current draw, components heating up losing value, voltage variations, etc

Just because they are rated for 500 watts, that doesn't mean they can be run effectively when under a constant load of 500 watts for an incandescent bulb that requires a fixed voltage and current to supply the proper Lumunem to heat a globe.

When I designed the setup below, I used 2-1000-watt for each tower and 500-watt for the top bridge so I did not have these issues
Although they light up, they are getting less voltage
and do not receive enough to reach the full potential required.

[KittenChops]

My current setup is 2, 200w converters. One for my Astro and one for the Astro baby. There is no sharing involved. The Astro flows perfect, the baby does not. Doesn't make much sense to me, however, wrapping the baby in a shirt for 30 minutes corrected the situation. I'm not getting enough heat. The bulb is not sufficient. I know this because I've switched the converters out. It behaves the same. It's a factory issue.

Claude J said:

In my experience, Step-up transformer ratings do not supply the same voltage and current(amperage) when near full wattage ratings.
I've owned many of them in different wattages
For example, 6+ 40-watt lamps will not flow when applied to a 500-watt step-down transformer.

Remove 2 lamps and they will flow fine.
As the collection grew, I used wattage ratings that were overkill to eliminate flow issues

Transformers (like household invertors) are rated at peak wattage and not 100% constant duty voltage/current.
this is due to many factors including marketing ploy, power factor rating, continuous current draw, components heating up losing value, voltage variations, etc

Just because they are rated for 500 watts, that doesn't mean they can be run effectively when under a constant load of 500 watts for an incandescent bulb that requires a fixed voltage and current to supply the proper Lumunem to heat a globe.

When I designed the setup below, I used 2-1000-watt for each tower and 500-watt for the top bridge so I did not have these issues
Although they light up, they are getting less voltage
and do not receive enough to reach the full potential required.

[Claude J]

That makes sense
It probably needs a density adjustment

KittenChops said:

My current setup is 2, 200w converters. One for my Astro and one for the Astro baby. There is no sharing involved. The Astro flows perfect, the baby does not. Doesn't make much sense to me, however, wrapping the baby in a shirt for 30 minutes corrected the situation. I'm not getting enough heat. The bulb is not sufficient. I know this because I've switched the converters out. It behaves the same. It's a factory issue.

Claude J said:

In my experience, Step-up transformer ratings do not supply the same voltage and current(amperage) when near full wattage ratings.
I've owned many of them in different wattages
For example, 6+ 40-watt lamps will not flow when applied to a 500-watt step-down transformer.

Remove 2 lamps and they will flow fine.
As the collection grew, I used wattage ratings that were overkill to eliminate flow issues

Transformers (like household invertors) are rated at peak wattage and not 100% constant duty voltage/current.
this is due to many factors including marketing ploy, power factor rating, continuous current draw, components heating up losing value, voltage variations, etc

Just because they are rated for 500 watts, that doesn't mean they can be run effectively when under a constant load of 500 watts for an incandescent bulb that requires a fixed voltage and current to supply the proper Lumunem to heat a globe.

When I designed the setup below, I used 2-1000-watt for each tower and 500-watt for the top bridge so I did not have these issues
Although they light up, they are getting less voltage
and do not receive enough to reach the full potential required.

[KittenChops]

Probably, but I'm not cracking open a Mathmos. It was so expensive just getting it here to Michigan. I'm not going to risk messing up the formula permanently. I'll either get a hotter bulb or use a shirt.

Claude J said:

That makes sense 
It probably needs a density adjustment

KittenChops said:

My current setup is 2, 200w converters. One for my Astro and one for the Astro baby. There is no sharing involved. The Astro flows perfect, the baby does not. Doesn't make much sense to me, however, wrapping the baby in a shirt for 30 minutes corrected the situation. I'm not getting enough heat. The bulb is not sufficient. I know this because I've switched the converters out. It behaves the same. It's a factory issue.

Claude J said:

In my experience, Step-up transformer ratings do not supply the same voltage and current(amperage) when near full wattage ratings.
I've owned many of them in different wattages
For example, 6+ 40-watt lamps will not flow when applied to a 500-watt step-down transformer.

Remove 2 lamps and they will flow fine.
As the collection grew, I used wattage ratings that were overkill to eliminate flow issues

Transformers (like household invertors) are rated at peak wattage and not 100% constant duty voltage/current.
this is due to many factors including marketing ploy, power factor rating, continuous current draw, components heating up losing value, voltage variations, etc

Just because they are rated for 500 watts, that doesn't mean they can be run effectively when under a constant load of 500 watts for an incandescent bulb that requires a fixed voltage and current to supply the proper Lumunem to heat a globe.

When I designed the setup below, I used 2-1000-watt for each tower and 500-watt for the top bridge so I did not have these issues
Although they light up, they are getting less voltage
and do not receive enough to reach the full potential required.

[Arne]

Hmm I can somehow understand that you wanne leave it like it came from mathmos but adding small amounts of glycerin until it flows like desired doesnt do harm in any way, running it hotter on the other hand might reduce the overall lifespan of the bottle...do as you like though, this is just my 2 cents.

KittenChops said:

Probably, but I'm not cracking open a Mathmos. It was so expensive just getting it here to Michigan. I'm not going to risk messing up the formula permanently. I'll either get a hotter bulb or use a shirt.

Claude J said:

That makes sense 
It probably needs a density adjustment

KittenChops said:

My current setup is 2, 200w converters. One for my Astro and one for the Astro baby. There is no sharing involved. The Astro flows perfect, the baby does not. Doesn't make much sense to me, however, wrapping the baby in a shirt for 30 minutes corrected the situation. I'm not getting enough heat. The bulb is not sufficient. I know this because I've switched the converters out. It behaves the same. It's a factory issue.

Claude J said:

In my experience, Step-up transformer ratings do not supply the same voltage and current(amperage) when near full wattage ratings.
I've owned many of them in different wattages
For example, 6+ 40-watt lamps will not flow when applied to a 500-watt step-down transformer.

Remove 2 lamps and they will flow fine.
As the collection grew, I used wattage ratings that were overkill to eliminate flow issues

Transformers (like household invertors) are rated at peak wattage and not 100% constant duty voltage/current.
this is due to many factors including marketing ploy, power factor rating, continuous current draw, components heating up losing value, voltage variations, etc

Just because they are rated for 500 watts, that doesn't mean they can be run effectively when under a constant load of 500 watts for an incandescent bulb that requires a fixed voltage and current to supply the proper Lumunem to heat a globe.

When I designed the setup below, I used 2-1000-watt for each tower and 500-watt for the top bridge so I did not have these issues
Although they light up, they are getting less voltage
and do not receive enough to reach the full potential required.