Giant on the way - dented base and slightly low fluid - need help

[Erin]

I have a lovely Giant on the way from eBay. The base has a dent in it and the fluid is a tad low. 

I'm looking for help getting that dent out of the base, as it looks to be significant.

Also, and I'm not real keen on opening up a Giant, but the fluid is a little low, and I'd like to top it off. I know these were made in 1996/1997 and I am willing to find and sacrifice a globe to top this off. I'm always scared of using distilled in case it ruins the flow.

If anyone has any advice on either of these issues, please share! :)

Thanks in advance! 

[Erin]

We'll see. I'm taking Autumn's recommendation to let it run for several days and see what happens. 

If it truly is a flow issue, no surgery will fix that. :(

[Marley's Ghost]

No re-goo job?   I am seriously considering "trying" to do something with my Grande, it's doing the same thing.  Maybe I should run it for several days too.   It's on a dimmer, gets too hot.  But nothing but a complete surgery on mine will fix the "China" fog. 

[Erin]

I don't know that I'd re-goo a Giant. I don't have the best luck with GooKits. It could end up worse. Now if it was a Grande, I'd open it up, no problem. :)

[Marley's Ghost]

Yep, that's what I thought you'd say....lol    My poor Grande........ :-)     I wish it looked like that neon green one Jim did, that was gorgeous.

[Erin]

I'd dump the water and try and re-do the liquid!

[Marley's Ghost]

I might very well get adventurous and try it.   I can't hurt it much...poor thing.

[Metallica Man Trevor]

That's what I asked, and they said the liquid was different, from the liquid in the smaller globes.

Erin said:

OK, so what liquids aren't the same Trevor? The 32oz. lavas from 96/97 and the Giant lavas from 96/97? Thanks!

I fired it up today and lunch. I expect to come home to a giant blob of crap. 

[Erin]

OK, thanks. I have serious doubts about their lava history knowledge, but I'll take that into consideration. Thanks for asking Trevor - I appreciate it! 

[Metallica Man Trevor]

I have doubts as well lol. But like I said they don't smell the same. I guess the way to be sure is use a meter to measure the gravity

[Marley's Ghost]

Erin, I let my Grande run all day and night and it's still on.   Now I have all sorts of things happening, but they are not attractive things.......Looks like an atomic bomb with that huge blob in the middle on a skinny column, and tons of every size blob in the world just playing around in too dark liquid.  Drat.   I hope your Giant is doing better.   I think it's goo kit time for my Grande.   Where's KIRK????  :-)

[Kirk]

Libby - I'd be inclined to remove a cup of that Grande goo and replace it with a cup of the Magma Tower goo.  You may also need to replace some of the liquid with distilled water to compensate for the MT goo's propensity to flow at lower densities than LL goo.  I had such good luck using this technique on two of my Colossus - I wonder if it would work on a Grande.  The reason I like this hybrid approach so much is that I'm a "spike freak".  I love the pre-flow spiking that the Lava Lite wax does.  MT goo doesn't spike.

Erin - I hope running it will improve it.  If it doesn't, I think my first step would be to replace the coil(s) and check the flow again.  I wouldn't try to do too much at the same time.  To me, getting the flow right is the first step. 

[Marley's Ghost]

I'm a spike freak too, Kirk, and that's the only thing my Grande does very well.  Then it all goes to blobs, not stretchy ones either, just tons of blobs of every size.   I have a bottle of MT goo, and the liquid does need diluted, it's way too dark.  Looks green too, instead of blue.  UGH   Wonder what the MT goo would do to the color of the LL wax?    I remember you pulled the hybrid trick on two of your Colossus, we had a ball watching you!   If I can get that cap off, I'll try that.  I have distilled water too.  Thank you!!