Gave a new lamp a try - bubbles galore ugh

So for shits n giggles I was near a Walmart and picked up a brand new lava lamp to try out as I was curious as to how new ones work.

For $14 I said why not. They even have the baby one for $11, was red lava clear liquid.

interestingly enough, the lava flow itself is not bad sometimes but DAMN the amount of what I assume are air bubbles in the lava is just crazy. The bob marley lamp I posted a few days ago i got at the flea market is damn near perfect in terms of no bubbles in the wax.

Also noticed, not sure if this is accurate, but the wax seems much less DENSE and or is more translucent than opaque.

The packing was meticulous and seemed to have never been used. You never know at walmart as used things go on the shelf all the time.

I assume it's not worth the hassle to de bubble it if there really is a way.

Not a big deal to return it, i was gonna go to Spencer gifts near me and see what they have and give one of those a try. They always have a big selection.

That's it for now, hahaha. Can't wait till I hit more flea markets to look for the good oldies :)

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Permalink Reply by Keith on April 20, 2017 at 8:35pm

So, new lamps. They can do weird things. Clear wax the first couple of times isn't unusual, as well as other things. By the way, the bubbles aren't air, they are the fluid in the globe. Actually I think after the wax goes opaque you may not even notice the bubbles as most of them will be hidden.

I'm not saying the bubble will go away, they may or may not. No one to my knowledge has solved the "bubble problem". Some globes just have them, even vintage ones.

I always suggest to let a lamp run daily (not more than 8 hours though) for a week to see if it "settles in" and runs right. If it hasn't by then there is no reason to not return it.

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Permalink Reply by Zachary on April 21, 2017 at 10:59am

it looks like they have changed the formula sometime in December? ive bought three 52 ounce lamps from spencers and they start out with TONS of bubbles! just give it about five runs and the bubbles will disappear. btw the flow in these newer lamps are pretty close to 90s flow!

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Permalink Reply by kero48 on April 21, 2017 at 3:56pm

Thanks for both for you reply, I will give it a week and see how it goes.

Zachary, agreed the flow is pretty good even with the bubbles hahaha. Def different than the Bob Marley version I have from 2012. That one is more ball like, this new one is more lava like if that makes sense.

Got it one right now warming up :)