Bubbly and Grainy

[Anson Cheung]

As some of may know, I bought a new fluidium.  But, it has a severe problem. One, it has bubbles in the lava, and second, the lava is extremely grainy.

And also, sometimes the 'bubbled-up' goo would rise to the top, and stay there until I shake the lamp a bit, popping one and making it come down again.

[Erin]

Bubbly lava is a problem no one's really managed to solve. Some have tried spinning the lava. vibrating the lava and poking the lava, but it seems the bubbles all come back.

 

Grainy lava seems to happen when the wax starts to separate. I notice this most on older lamps, though sometimes I'll see it on 90s lamps. Kinda looks like the wax has chunks in it. Usually, once the lava is fully heated up and running, those go away. 

 

Lava can be fussy. ;)

[Anson Cheung]

The graininess is there the second the lava completely melts... :(

[Anson Cheung]

Is there any way to fix it???

Anson Cheung said:

The graininess is there the second the lava completely melts... :(

[Tim Gill]

It could be 'chunky wax' - check this out on ways to fix it http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/chunky-wax

As for the bubbly flow - the best way to fix that is to use a dimmer and change the power to what works best for the lamp when its flowing.

[Anson Cheung]

is the lamp that originally came from the lamp the same with the replacement lamp?

also, is this considered 'faulty'?

[Tim Gill]

Replacement lamps are the same as the lamp it came with

If you think it may be faulty - contact mathmos and explane the issue and attach some pictures of it.

[Ouija]

A couple of new bottles I have had from Mathmos had grains in it, like shards of darker/lighter colour through it, all of them went away withing a few weeks of running. I have never had a problem with bubbles in my Mathmos laps though, but then, I have never owned a fluidium.

[Anson Cheung]

So fluidiums are actually badly designed...

Ouija said:

A couple of new bottles I have had from Mathmos had grains in it, like shards of darker/lighter colour through it, all of them went away withing a few weeks of running. I have never had a problem with bubbles in my Mathmos laps though, but then, I have never owned a fluidium.

[Ouija]

I personally, don't like them, they heat fast at the bottom and the wax raises quickly into cold water, unlike the other tapered designs where the cold water at the top is minimized. I am not a scientist by any means, but I feel that the wax in the Fluidium wont live as long as other designs, again, this is just a personal opinion of mine, but I have read some things that confirm my suspicions, best lava lamp by Mathmos has to be the Jets, I wish they would bring them back! They flow for hours without signs of over heating, and have the best snaking motion EVER! Which I am a big fan of... sorry I am rambling a bit...lol

[matt01165]

The way that seemed to work for me was to get the lamp flowing and then dim the light as low as you can and it stil flow and just let it run like that.  I call this lava rehab.