Best way to ship a Colossus???

[Jethro]

Need to ship to prevent breakage.  Yes the 110lb vessel is a bear.

I was thinking of draining most of the liquid out to make the vessel less fragile, but I've seen comments not to open it. Is the cap a real bear?

Also if I can put the liquid into 3 different boxes then I can ship it UPS.

I am also thinking of wrapping the vessel in bubble wrap and then double boxing.

PLEASE HELP...thanks!

[Autumn]

Ship it freight, then you dont have to worry about anything getting broken.

[Jethro]

Thanks.  it will still have to be packed up by someone and even brought to a shipping place.  anyone know of a service that might come to a residence to pack it up for them then ship it?.

Can the liquid be drained then shipped?  Is it worth keeping the liquid or just keep the goo and make new liquid?

THANKS!

Autumn said:

Ship it freight, then you dont have to worry about anything getting broken.

[Jim]

Congrats on the new addition to your collection Jethro!

[Mattmos]

Since water weighs approximately 8.35 lbs a gallon, and a Colossus being 10 gallons, you would be dropping around 80 lbs. But if there is nothing wrong with the liquid, as far as being cloudy, I wouldn't drain it, I would ship it full. If I had a Lamp that was $1000 plus, I would spend the extra money to have it packed properly.

Jethro said:

Thanks.  it will still have to be packed up by someone and even brought to a shipping place.  anyone know of a service that might come to a residence to pack it up for them then ship it?.

Can the liquid be drained then shipped?  Is it worth keeping the liquid or just keep the goo and make new liquid?

THANKS!

Autumn said:

Ship it freight, then you dont have to worry about anything getting broken.

[Jethro]

Thanks Mattmos,

If the liquid is mostly distilled water with a little surfactant, I might be best off draining the bottle and just replacing it.  I'd still keep the goo.  Is there a problem I'm not seeing like the cap or something?

Any suggestions on a freight company?  i can go to the yellow pages, but if anyone has some experience then I'd love the advice.

Cheers,

J.

Mattmos said:

Since water weighs approximately 8.35 lbs a gallon, and a Colossus being 10 gallons, you would be dropping around 80 lbs. But if there is nothing wrong with the liquid, as far as being cloudy, I wouldn't drain it, I would ship it full. If I had a Lamp that was $1000 plus, I would spend the extra money to have it packed properly.

Jethro said:

Thanks.  it will still have to be packed up by someone and even brought to a shipping place.  anyone know of a service that might come to a residence to pack it up for them then ship it?.

Can the liquid be drained then shipped?  Is it worth keeping the liquid or just keep the goo and make new liquid?

THANKS!

Autumn said:

Ship it freight, then you dont have to worry about anything getting broken.

[Jethro]

Well....not exactly

Jim said:

Congrats on the new addition to your collection Jethro!

[Wile E. Coyote]

If you mean United Parcel Service, the brown company, for the love of lava DO NOT SHIP UPS!!!  They could give two shits about you or your shipment.  Fragile means underhand toss to them!!  Seriously, they are the cheapest for a reason...  Had 3 shipments over the holidays that all arrived damage.  All were packed sufficiently, that they really had to punt them around to break what was in them.  All had insurance, and the shipper and I are still battling for the insurance claim.  Plus, there is no coverage on glass or liquids.  I also work in a music store, and atleast a few times a month, we have to file a claim with UPS for the damaged instruments we've received via them.  I'd hate to see a colossus destroyed by them!!  I'd cry, and it's not even mine!!  I believe when these were originally available, they were palleted and shipped that way.  The only way to go.

 

PS, I've goo'd numerous non functional lava lamps, and they all have had more than distilled water and surf judging by the smell, so I wouldn't empty it.  Ship intact.  I have a red Colossus, and it flows great!!  I lucked out, and got it locally, and drove him home, seatbelted in the front seat!! :-)

[LampHead]

 Your looking at pretty specialized shipping and not many companies do it. This is probably your best option but be prepared to pay... http://www.cratersandfreighters.com

 

 

[Tim Gill]

I think Lamp Head's idea is the best - if your shipping something like a colossus then the best thing is to let the professionals do the packing and shipping for you. Yes it will cost but they know what there doing and if anything goes wrong then you can go directly to them. Where as if the seller packed it and / or emptied the water and it goes wrong then you may have a bid problem on your hands.

Where are you shipping it to and from, what's your budget for this and why can't you go and pick it up yourself?

[Autumn]

Dont drain the lamp. When you ship freight weight isnt the biggest cost factor, size is.

[Jethro]

WOW THANKS MUCH!!!  Lamphead, Marcel and Coyote you guys are life (lava) savers.  

This is exactly the information I was looking for.  I'll keep the liquid and try to ship it intact on a pallet.  I dont want to damage the lamp and i should try to keep it all original.

[Jethro]

Well I checked with several places and one place wants $1200 to ship.  Fed Ex freight wants $600 and insist on shipping it by air because it's on a pallet.  Otherwise it can be shipped by regular ground but wont remain upright.

I also checked with Crate and Freight but they have limited locations across the US and not close enough.

Still looking...open to suggestions