Grand with a big problem

[Jenny S]

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...

 

[Keith]

That sound right.  Like Gwen and Brad have already said it will need more time to heat.  Ambient temperature definitely affects time to flow, as does drafts, especially for larger lamps.  

Jenny S said:

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.

 

[Jenny S]

Thank you Tifany :)

lava luva ~ Tiffany said:

welcome to OG jenny :)

[Keith]

I overlooked the date, but the top picture looked like aluminum to me.  However, the other picture looks like it has black overspray on the inside of the base.  So I happily stand corrected.  I would love to have a Giant :)

The good news for Jenny is that a Giant is much more likely to be a great lamp than a Grande. :D

Gwen Williams said:

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.

[Jenny S]

My house is usually 72 degrees, can I throw a blanket over it to keep it a little warmer and get it started or will it overheat?

 
Jenny S said:

Thank you Tifany :)

lava luva ~ Tiffany said:

welcome to OG jenny :)

[Keith]

You can do that, but check it every 1/2 hour to hour, after the first few hours.

Jenny S said:

My house is usually 72 degrees, can I throw a blanket over it to keep it a little warmer and get it started or will it overheat?

[Jenny S]

It's silver on the inside and black on the outside if that helps?  Black thin cord with a rotating switch and brownish felt on the bottom that had the date stamped on it.

 
Keith said:

I overlooked the date, but the top picture looked like aluminum to me.  However, the other picture looks like it has black overspray on the inside of the base.  So I happily stand corrected.  I would love to have a Giant :)

The good news for Jenny is that a Giant is much more likely to be a great lamp than a Grande. :D

Gwen Williams said:

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.

[Keith]

I have put towels over smaller lamps that had unmelted gobs of goo stuck at the top.  It does keep the heat in the globe

:)

[Keith]

That's a Giant.  Good for you!!

Jenny S said:

It's silver on the inside and black on the outside if that helps?  Black thin cord with a rotating switch and brownish felt on the bottom that had the date stamped on it.

[Jenny S]

So far it's been on 2 hours and 15 minutes and nothing has budged or melted, still chunky, so I guess I'll let it stew for the night.  I'll leave a heavy towel on it for an hour until I go to bed, I never thought I was impatient until I got this lamp phew....

[Gwen Williams]

I would say it just need ran and ran and ran.  The seize up if they are not run for several years

[Keith]

I have a Grande that I will turn on at noon and it may be flowing at 7:00.  If I wait until after 5:00 there's no reason to start it because it will not flow before bedtime.  In the summer  it takes less time.

[Brad]

if the coil is anywhere but at the very bottom of the globe, it will take a really long time to heat up.  also, with an ambient temp. of 72 degrees F, it's going to take even longer!  the towel should help, but don't fall asleep with it like that as it could be a fire hazard. :)