Goo Kit - Houston we have a problem!!

[kero48]

All,

I goo kitted a century bottle a few days ago and all was right in the world. The first two days the lamp ran beautifully.

Third day it seems as if a lava plug formed up top, maybe 1/8" thick same diameter as the bottle top.

Ran it a forth day added a tad more color to go from really light blue to medium blue and now the plug is maybe 1" thick.

Lava at the bottom only goes up half way now no matter how long lamp is run.

I have a suspicion. The colored wax provided with the kit, in this case, blue is contaminating the lava and causing some of it to be way to buoyant.

I will attach a photo tomorrow which will show the problem. I fear this bottle has to be redone.

What else could cause this. Right now the lamp looks like an old 70's model that has separated top and bottom when you find them used.

Thoughts?

[kero48]

Interestingly enough, after a few hours or running, the liquid is crystal clear again, odd but happy.

Now, my next question the two lamps run different. The blue one is very gooey and heats very quickly then gets very bally quickly and I turn it off after about 4 hours as the balls start to stay towards the top more. The green one can run for longer and and never really breaks up into alot of small balls. I think the green one has less surf.

Is this a matter of different surf amounts? I wonder if the blue one needs to be adjusted down and have some water and surf taken out and fresh water put in it's place?

The run time difference is very obvious as I run them side by side.

[Claude J]

yes

[kero48]

Thanks, I'll adjust the surf down in the next day or so and report back.

[Claude J]

just change al the water

[kero48]

Claude, need your help again. I emptied out the bottle, just poured out the water and surf. Refilled with fresh distilled water and put 4 drops of surf form a small syringe. The lamp warmed up and most of the melted wax remains at top and drips very gooey down to the bottom. It's like the lamp is working in reverse.

I just turned it off and it all settled back down to the botton.

What is the deal now, nice clear fluid and the lamp prefers to run from the top down, not bottom to the top.

[Claude J]

it was too hot

dim it down

you probably didnt need to add more surf, the old stuff was already impregnated into the lava but is it's nice and stringy, all the better

[kero48]

To hot, it was only on less than two hours.

Oh, I didn't know the surf can leave residue. I am going to empty again when cold and put no surf in and start from there. It makes sense now.

What happens if there is to much surf residue left period. Do I have to melt the wax into a mason jar and clean the bottle  from scratch??

[Claude J]

They say, too much SURF will make it like a china lamp, small balls of wax and not stingy. UGCH

but IMHO its a hit or miss, sometimes it goes the other way, 

Are there bubbles in the wax that sits on top?

that might account for the rising goo 

My most recent grande is a bust, the goo rises to the top due to the bubbles that will not go away, and the remainder sits in bottom and does nothing but overheats to the point it became clear. They are sending a replacement quart.

Also, it isn't the same amount of volume

[Claude J]

try just turning it back on now and see what happens, run it for th eveneing

Claude J said:

They say, too much SURF will make it like a china lamp, small balls of wax and not stingy. UGCH

but IMHO its a hit or miss, sometimes it goes the other way, 

Are there bubbles in the wax that sits on top?

that might account for the rising goo 

My most recent grande is a bust, the goo rises to the top due to the bubbles that will not go away, and the remainder sits in bottom and does nothing but overheats to the point it became clear. They are sending a replacement quart.

Also, it isn't the same amount of volume

[kero48]

No bubbles in the wax, wax looks great in terms of solidity and consistency. Just seems like there was surf left over and I added more to the new water. I'm gonna try again tomorrow. Should I add distilled water a few times and then just dump out to reduce the residual surf amount?

[Claude J]

water is cheap

[kero48]

Okay so I guess the answer is yet, I will fill and empty a two or three times and start the lamp up and then go from their. If to much surf is washed away during the rinses, can sticking of the wax to the bottle occur?