ok, so I bought one of these on ebay, not a homemade, it came in an actual bong vodka lava lamp box. It was cold when it was delivered, so I let it warm up, then turned it on. The wax melted, and snaked upwards. YAY!! soon this turned to dissapointment, and now it's outright frustration, as it will not do anything now!! The wax just sits in the bottom, does nothing. the water was pretty cloudy when I got it, but I chalk that up to poor handling....and cold. that's clearing up nicely now, but the darn thing still won't flow. the most it has ever done is snake up, then settle down in the bottom, doing NOTHING! I like this lamp, I've wanted one for awhile, but darn it, I'm frustrated as hell with it. It's got TWO coils in it, so maybe that's the problem, or the weird shape of the bottle? I know someone has to have had this problem, so I came begging for help. FYI my 52 oz clear/lime I got at spencers does the same thing, but I know that problem is that the lamp is just a piece of junk.....