clear/pink lava sits at bottom

So I got this clear/pink zebra lamp and it doesnt flow right. It starts like any other lamp and it sends fingers of lava to the top but after about 2 minutes it all falls back to the bottom. Once all the lava melts a few small blobs start flowing then it stops and it all just sits at the bottom. The lava is still connected to the coil but all it does is extend about an inch above the rim of the base.

It flows awkwardly when I put a 60 watt in the base but once I put a 40 watt back in the base it stops flowing. I have tried swapping a 60 watt in it several times since that usually gets stubborn lamps flowing again but this one just doesnt want to flow.

Does anybody have any suggestions on what to do with my lamp. I dont want to mess up my clear/pink since its a hard color to find.

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Permalink Reply by Autumn on August 15, 2010 at 4:39pm

Hmm it does have a small area about the length of an inch that isnt fully in contact with the coil. Twisting the globe causes it to flow a little but the lava does not reach the top. It floats about halfway up and the lava separates and then it falls back to the bottom.

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Permalink Reply by Autumn on August 15, 2010 at 5:39pm

I tried to find another coil but I couldnt find one at the hardware store. Is there any way to fix the current coil?

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Permalink Reply by Autumn on August 15, 2010 at 9:14pm

I managed to fix the coil. I cleaned it with dawn soap and then rubbing alcohol but that didnt seem to change anything. I then rubbed the coil with sand paper and now I am getting 100% coil connection and its flowing again.

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Permalink Reply by Autumn on August 19, 2010 at 7:30pm

I thought I would update my results with the lamp. The sanded coil and cleaned seemed to have work for a little while but it quickly stopped flowing again.
I thought the coil was dead so I replaced the coil with the exact spring I saw listed in another thread and it still didnt flow so I thought I would try to fix the original coil again. I gave the coil another sanding but I was a lot more thorough this time and then I took the coil and put it over my stove top to burn off any residue on the coil. Certain parts of the coil burned with a green flame, I am not sure why but it may be chemicals from the lava lamp or rubbing alcohol. After I did this I accidentally changed the shape of the coil because it gets hot enough to melt fast and I fixed its shape again with a little cigarette lighter. Now my lamp flows great...for now anyways.