complete meltdown

first , ty for accepting me into your community.

ive been browsing the forums for a couple weeks now trying to find a solution.; the wax in my century just melts and sits motionless.

ive tried reducing the wattage of the bulb. i havent tried a dimmer yet, but even when the lamp is turned off and begins to cool nothing happens. the wax does melt really quick, and if you slowly tilt the glass, you can see movement, but nothing rises or bubbles up. ive added an epsom salt mixtuire, but that did not improve anything.

could this wax just need to be replaced?

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Permalink Reply by Dave on January 30, 2022 at 11:17am

from the last video i posted where i had a little movement, i changed nothing. the master fluid was poured out and saved, and replaced as is. when i coated the bottle with surf, drained everything out, did not rinse it.

IF there was too much surf left, would the option to fix it be replacing the master fluid again with 60 Propylene Glycol/ 40 Distilled Water mixture

maybe this sounds like a lot of work, but i learn by error, and am in this for the long haul. and being an heirloom, if i spend twice what this bottle is worth, its worth it for the learning experience

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Permalink Reply by Claude J on January 30, 2022 at 12:24pm

Trail error success and a lot of research is how I learned
this is the closest thing you will find to a lava school (lol)

I assume you have 40-watt appliance bulb in the base unit?

if you decide to adjust the specific gravity of the fluid, Try adding PG a little at a time
Wait between additions to the fluid so the master fluid regains its operating temperature

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Permalink Reply by Dave on January 31, 2022 at 6:30am

Yes on the bulb. Tried regular and frosted as well.

it’s still melts really quick. I think I will start over with a master fluid change again

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Permalink Reply by Claude J on January 31, 2022 at 7:27am

P.S> the MORE SLS/SLES you have the more iikey it will float due to the surface tension becoming weaker with every drop

Dave said:

i notices wax started sticking, so i took the steps to coat it with sls too prevent sticking, refilled with the master fluid and now im back to the wax melting but not rising. could that amount of sls left on the bottle have caused that?

Claude J said:

NO, do not use as is

dilute it until it flows easily

@20% distilled water