Defective Century? Or am I doing it wrong?

[Reed]

Several years ago I purchased a vintage 60s Century lamp.  The cap broke in shipping and the fluid all leaked out. The wax was still there, but there was no other fluid in the globe.  I found a recipe online for making replacement liquid using water and baking salts.  Well, the baking salt recipe didn't work.  I am fairly certain the globe is beyond salvaging, but that isn't my problem.

I have tried using several different globes on this Century base but none of them work properly.  I first tried the Century base and a standard appliance bulb.  The wax got warm quickly enough and began to flow, but never really got flowing properly.  I tried using a bulb that had a long next and put the bulb in contact with the base of the globe.  The lava flowed a bit better, but still never got moving properly.  Finally I tried a new normal appliance bulb.  Still no good flow.

Did the Century bases work better with a different bulb?  Are they known to to run cooler than Aristocrat bases?  

Thanks for any advice.

[Rich C]

What wattage bulb are you using?

[Reed]

Sorry- all bulbs have been 40 watt.  I should have included that in the original post.

My two Aristocrats work beautifully.

[Rich C]

40w is correct for a Century base.  Are the globes you using fit well into the base?  It sounds like you might be mismatching pieces which may not be retaining enough heat into the globe.  I certainly wouldn't use a bulb that physically touches the bottom of the globe.

Some photos might help.

[Jeff]

You are probably missing the heat ring.  The older ones had a removable ring that went in before the bulb and basically hugged the bulb so that the heat went upwards and didn't get lost in the base.

[Reed]

Jeff wins the prize!  My beat up old Century is indeed missing the heat ring.  Is this something that I can fabricate or purchase new?

[Jeff]

I would try this bulb 1st...it might work well enough.  If not, add some foil around it. This is the bulb we used to get the new heritage ones going...those don' t have a heat ring. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-40-Watt-R16-Spot-Light-Bulb-4154...#

[Rich C]

How old?  My original Century from 1975 never had a heat ring and I've had it since it was new and it pretty much has always flowed okay.

By the way, could someone post a photo of a heat ring or provide a link to such a photo?  I don't think I've ever seen one.

Jeff said:

You are probably missing the heat ring.  The older ones had a removable ring that went in before the bulb and basically hugged the bulb so that the heat went upwards and didn't get lost in the base.

[Jeff]

[Jeff]

Interesting the '75 didn't have it.  Mine was from '89 and still had it.  Maybe they only used them in the 80s and 90s?

[Rich C]

I've no clue.  Maybe some had a base design that worked better than others and didn't need the ring?

This is what the inside of my 75 Century base looks like.

[Reed]

The long necked bulb I tried was like the one in that Home Depot link.  No luck with flow.

Looking at this page (http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/century ), I believe my lamp is actually from the early 70s (faded gold finish, plastic feet on the base).  Here is what the inside and outside of my Century base look like:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/slantsixgoon/lava%20lamp/IMG...[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/slantsixgoon/lava%20lamp/IMG...[/IMG]

It certainly looks like there COULD be a heat shield in the bottom of the top cup, there even seems to be a corrosion ring around the inner circumference.  The plastic base is cracked an the inside is rusty.  It is obvious that this lamp has had a hard 40 years so it is very possible the ring was there originally and has gone missing.

Just for kicks, here are some glamour shots of my two Aristocrats:

This one works beautifully:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/slantsixgoon/lava%20lamp/IMG...[/IMG]

This guy has to be run with a dimmer so he takes a while to wake up:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/slantsixgoon/lava%20lamp/IMG...[/IMG]

Any info on where I could find a heat ring for my Century and a new globe would be greatly appreciated.

Hmmm.  Looks like my photobucket links aren't working.  If you click on them the picture will pop up.  :(

[Nancy]

I found some poached egg cups, stailess steel. Cut the bottoms out and fitted it, need to remove a little around the edges but they work fine.