Is this behavior normal?

[Josiah]

Hi

About a month ago I got a "lava lite lamp" made in the USA from goodwill, one of the "new HOT elek-trick colors", it looked to be new in the box and never used as the tape was still on it. The model is 9413 if that matters. It said to use a 40 watt appliance bulb, which i've used many kinds, frosted clear ect ect. I find that it takes about 1-1.5hrs to get a decent flow going, but after that it only flows for about 1.5-2hrs until it forms one big blob on the bottom. I also tried a 25w bulb which was frosted and it didn't even separate.

I know this is not how they all act because I recently picked up an old starlite with a tiny bulb and though after a few hours it turns into a bunch of blobs going up and down as opposed to one or two long snake like blobs.

Is the behavior for the lava lite lamp normal, am I doing something wrong or is this the nature of the beast?

Thank You.

[Josiah]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I tried spinning it and it almost looked like it was working...for about 2 minutes, now it looks like the attached picture, and occasionally shoots like one or two bubbles up every now and again.

[Marley's Ghost]

Hold the lamp up and look up at the bottom, Josiah.   Is "all" the coil covered by lava?   Or is just part of it?

[Josiah]

Here's a picture

[Marley's Ghost]

That's looking from the side and I can't tell.   Just hold it up and look up under the very bottom.   Make sure "all" the the wax is "on" the coil and there are no bare spots showing.   If the coil is covered, then in my humble opinion, I think you need to try that 30 watt bulb Kirk sent you the link to, and the adapter I sent the link for.   Someone else might be able to come up with a better idea.  The change in bulb fixed mine.    But you must make sure the wax is covering the coil first.

[Josiah]

it looks like the wax is not touching the coil evenly, I compared it to the starlite I have and it looks like the starlite has a more even spread. I tried to take a picture of the elektrick hopefully it is informative.

If the coil is the culprit how do I address it? I have tried rotating it in all sorts of fashions but to no avail, is there a secret technique?

[Brad]

that looks fine to me.  i would run the lamp on a dimmer.  start it at full blast, then as it flows, turn it down a small amount.  i know you tried this before, but perhaps you should adjust it much less.

i've also tried the following with mixed results.  when the wax is completely melted, gently turn the globe upside down and let the coil fall toward the cap.  then gently turn it back and let the coil return to the bottom of the globe. 

[Josiah]

I've tried that, I may try it again but the thing that confuses me is the fact that it reacts the same way in no matter what wattage bulb I use. Currently I have a 30w porch light kind of deal.

[Brad]

you may also try cycling it since it sounds like the globe might be brand new and fairly old.  leave it on 6 hours, then off for 6.  repeat for 3-4 days to see if that fixes the issue.  good luck!

[Josiah]

I've seen some people mention things like that on similar posts, does that actually work?

[Brad]

cycling is usually recommended to clear up a cloudy globe, but in your case i'm thinking it may just need to be cycled (i.e. heated, flow, cool) since it sounds like the globe is new and has been sitting in a box for over a decade.

[Josiah]

ok i'll keep at it before I throw it up on ebay. I'll probably put the 40w back in.

[Josiah]

Heres a bit better picture of it hot, it is barley attached to the coil at all, is this what it is supposed to look like? What can I do to get it onto the coil? I've tried 25, 30 and 40 watt bulbs so I don't think the issue is over heating even though that is what it looks like.