Bob Marley lava lamp & Hello

Hey All,

New to the community so firstly hello to everyone. I'm not new to lava lamps/lights but its been a while since I actually had one, maybe late 90's hahaha.

Went to a flea market and picked up a nice Bob Marley model (see photos) with original packaging. Was $3. Can't tell if it was actually used or not as I am not an expert. Fired it right up after getting a new bulb and works beautifully with no issues.

The original tube packaging says "www.bobmarley.com" and model/item no.2307 and 2010 lava lite LLC.

I did a little research and couldn't find info on this model anywhere. I only saw one other in a photo using google image search, the other ones seemed to be newer models I assume with his face on the bottle.

Is this model rare? Is it something special hahaha? Any info would be helpful. I just like to learn about the things I buy.

Now, onto other things, I read a lot of interesting info on this site including learning about the earlier models. I also read the new ones are quite crappy. Did they ever move production back to the U.S. as stated somewhere else on this site? I checked a few local stores and saw some new models from around 2015 in home depot. They are only $15 near me. Not bad if they actually worked well. Anything to keep an eye out for or to avoid?

I have seen many older models at flea markets and now wish I looked more closely at them as there could have been some nice stuff that I passed up. I have seen older stuff with the original packaging as well, but again, wasn't really looking for that stuff at that time.

Am I right in assuming about 1995 was the last year good for these lamps before production move to china.

And DAMN, I would love a mathmos but good luck with that from all my reading unless someone here sells one and that would probably be out of my budget. Wouldn't mind one of the smaller models astro models if I could get one at an affordable price.

Anyway, that's it for now, looking forward to your replied

Oh in case anyone is interested, the glass in the first photo is vaseline glass which glows under black light. I used to collect very rare pieces but now just keep a few cool pieces and or buy a small piece here and there if the price is right and it's a nice piece.

The ones that look like broken glass as called "slag" pieces. Really nice when the black light hits them.

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Permalink Reply by Keith on April 16, 2017 at 8:01pm

Hello and welcome!

I can't speak to the rarity of this lamp, but I don't remember seeing that model in quite a while. I look on ebay regularly, it can be a good source (you can use the link at the top of the page for quick access).

Production moved to china in 2003 so lamps from 2002 and earlier are USA made. Lamps from throughout the 90's are a pretty good bet.

Actually lamps in the last 5 years or so haven't been all horrible. I have several that are just fine, but a couple that had major problems. It just seems hit or miss sometimes.

As you read more on here you will notice a lot of talk about "flow". Most seem to prefer a stretchy, drippy flow as opposed to a blob type of flow. That is where a lot of people think Lava Light has failed. But in the end it comes down to personal preference. Another topic is cloudy globes. That is where the fluid clouds the globe so the contents become hard to see. I noticed the box picture of your lamp shows the globe kind of cloudy so that particular one would seem to be that way on purpose. As you collect more lamps (and since you have shown that tendency already, you will collect more!) you will find which type of flow you like better. It's about to making yourself happy.