Crystal Skull Lava Lamp 1500 ML, Various Questions... Help please!!

[teresainacoma]

I was lucky enough to score a 1500 ML skull head bottle on Ebay and decided I'd make a lava lamp out of it. I've never used a MT goo kit and am having troubles. I used 49oz of distilled water, 15ml of surf and 11.5oz of goo and am running it on a 40w bulb.

First off I wish I would of searched content on this subject before I attempted this project. If I would of done that I would of seen that I shouldn't follow MT's instructions and followed Dr.What's. I believe this is the root to my problems. 

Problem #1: I'm not sure if I'm cycling for the proper amount of time. I've been doing it 4-6 hour on and then the same amount of time off for about a week now and have little to no movement which I believe is related to my second and third problem. How long should I cycle on and off with a goo kit? Typically how long does it take to get a good flow? I

Problem #2 & 3: MT's instructions. Their instructions say to put the screen/coil (which is problem 3#) into the bottle, then pour the wax and to let sit until solid, then add the distilled water and then the surf. I believe my wax is stuck to the bottle after reading Dr.What's tutorial. Would the wax being stuck be the reason I'm getting little movement? There is plenty of movement inside the blob , I can see it circulating and what not but it wont rise to the top. I'm thinking its either the screen isn't enough to separate the wax or it is stuck. 

All input is greatly appreciated!! Thanks 

I also have a couple of pics if needed...

[Brad]

you should get fairly good flow on the first run.  the wax should flow right out of the bottle if you used DI water.  the purpose of the screen is to catch "bubbles" that are trapped in the wax.  it should not have an effect on the flow of the globe, at least it has not in my experience.

side note - this is the second person as of late that is reporting poor or no flow with MT wax.

[Jeff]

I had some issues with mine but then I don't think it was getting hot enough.  Although I'm not so sure now, because it flowed beautifully for the 2nd though 5th cycles.  Last night it seemed a bit sluggish, and now tonight all I'm getting is a dome.  Same base, same bulb, same run time.  The first several times it'd be going at around the 3 hour mark. Tonight at 3 hrs its just domed.  It has gone white too, the first few runs were crystal clear, and it slowly turned a bit whiter each cycle. 

[Brad]

jeff - i would question changes in ambient temperature if everything else was the same during the runs.

[Jeff]

That must be it...it was maybe 2 degrees cooler tonight than the other nights, its flowing now.  Just took it a bit longer to get there.  Would have never thought a degree or 2 would have such an impact though.

I can't get over how white its gotten either...what makes it do that?  I mean I'm glad it did go opaque as I was a bit worried about that, but I don't understand what causes it.  I.E. how it was crystal clear when flowing (but white when cold) for the first few cycles then it looked like white "smoke" was forming in the wax on the next few, now its totally white, looks the same as when its cold and solidified. 

[teresainacoma]

Brad & Jeff-  I was starting to think maybe it was a bad batch but the fact that I can see the goo flowing inside of the blob makes me think not. I put a turbie twist towel over the top of it last night to see if maybe it wasn't getting hot enough and it didn't change a thing. I'm under the impression that the more you run MT goo the more opaque it gets. Mine is still clear as water and yes I used distilled. I decided that the lava is stuck and am going to start over tonight. I've never used a screen before but have heard the flow is better with a screen so I was thinking I'd get another piece and put it in the jaw since that's where the wax isn't flowing at all and seems to be stuck. Maybe I should go up to a 60w bulb and stick a coil in my piece?? It's been cold here too so maybe that's why.....ugh!! 

[teresainacoma]

Thanks lalalava I believe I'm going to need all the luck I can get!! This is my first custom, didn't think it through enough. Lesson learned!! I have a pin up girl bottle coming that I want to turn into a lamp also!  Hopefully I can get this figured out before she gets here!! 

[Rodrigo]

The MT wax has always flowed out of the bottle for me but it did start slow and get better with cycles. I run mine about 8 hours a day. Just once a day. This isn't the first case of no flow recently, and I have a jar on the way so I'm hoping it's good stuff..

[teresainacoma]

Once I get home tonight I'll take video of the circulation in the blob so yall can see why I think the batch is not the problem. The first time I turned it on the lava did rise to the top for a couple of hours and stayed in a stretchy blob form but then sank back down and has stayed there ever since. I'll try to cycle it for 8 hours, maybe I'm not patient enough. 

[Dr. WHAT?!]

For the wax sticking to the globe. You have to make sure you pre-mix the surf and water first and then take a little bit and swish it around inside the bottle prior to pouring in the wax. This makes a barrier that should prevent the wax from sticking. And then after the wax cooling, pour in the premix surf and water int he bottle. Never put the water in first and then surf. The surf has to be completely mixed with the water.

[Dr. WHAT?!]

Also I I have a smaller bottle of crystal skull and had it lava first and the flow was very subpar so I went to glitter. Heres a old post http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/the-crystal-head-project?com...

[teresainacoma]

Thanks Dr.WHAT......I read through your tutorial a couple of days ago and realized the mistake but was hoping MT's instructions would work for their own product......guess I was hoping for to much lol. Not really looking forward to it but I'm just gonna start over because I'm dead set on having a bleeding skull in my kitchen.

[Jeff]

I'd try putting a 60 watt bulb 1st before redoing it.  Mine was the exact same (dome w/ flow inside the dome) when it wasn't hot enough.  Worst case it cooks it...but you were going to do it over anyways, so might as well try the bulb 1st.