Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate

A friend gave me this grand without a bulb (1996?).   Finally found a 100 watt bulb, the shorty kind, and fired it up.  Didn't look very lava like so I went trolling the internet and found you guys.  HI!

I am a very stuborn woman and really want to make this thing work.  It's red wax is very intensly colored and the water is slightly tinted but not really cloudy.  The inside of the glass is a little smudgy but not bad. 

So I did the multiple repetitions of starting and letting rest, 8 hours on every day for a week.  Each time the lamp acts different but never really bloby.  Last time it made wax bubbles that would burst as they rose, full of hot water.  Before then it made red corpules, about the size of large marbles, vigorous but not really what I was expecting.  It's also done lava straws.  I'll post a picture of what it looks like cold with it's stalagmites...

 

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hey jenny - welcome!  can you show us a pic/link of the bulb you are using?  that may be the problem.  to me, it doesn't sounds like the wax is getting hot enough to flow.  regardless, this is the bulb that you need: http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Bulb-Grande-Lava-lamp/dp/B00AC8MSA0

First of all, Welcome.  2nd, you don't have a Grande, you have an even more desirable Giant, so it is a US made lamp, congratulations.  From the looks of it to me, it's not getting hot enough esp if your friend did not use it for quite a while.  I would try running it for longer periods of time (12-16 hours) for a while and see if it starts to do what it is supposed to like a good lamp.

Hi Brad thank you for the fast reply!

I got this from a specialty store and is a 100R20FL

I have been lurking your site before joining and saw that it was really important to get this right I hope its ok.

Not very computer savvy so this discussion will probably limp along, sorry in advance....

that's the correct bulb, so i agree with gwen.  also, if the lamp is in a relatively cool environment, it may take much longer for the lamp to warm up.  for instance, when i turn the ceiling fan on in the room with my grande, it takes much longer for the lamp to warm up than without it on.  just food for thought!

Bulb I'm using

 

Gwen, unless I'm missing something the base is polished aluminum.  That would be a Grande not a Giant.

Jenny, not all bulbs are created equal.  Some have a longer or shorter neck.  The one you have may not be close enough to the bottom of the globe thus not allowing enough heat to the globe.  Try to determine how much space is there.

Keith, based on the top picture and the year of make (1996) it is a giant, grandes were not in production till after 2002.  Like many of my Midnights I believe the inside of the cone on the Giants was not painted.

welcome to OG jenny :)

I just check that and it is just a hair blow the rim. Not even a quarter inch, I'm not sure how clost the glass gets to the rim though.

 

you have the correct bulb, so i would just run it for 12 or so hours like gwen suggested.  if the lamp is in a cool environment, move it somewhere warmer.  congrats on your giant.  i'm envious!

Wait until I get it working then I will welcome all applause and envy!  I think it will be beatiful when it gets going.  At the moment I keep eyeing the liquid and thinking about replacing it.  I'll try to run it all night first and see if it helps.  Maybe a couple of times to make sure.  I'll take some pictures of it's assorted girations too, so you can see what it's doing.

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