Lava eventually collects in ball at bottom

[planza3000]

Hi, all-- I recently bought a new lava lamp, 5200 series. After it warms up, it goes through 3 distinct phases. When the hot wax first breaks through, it shoots in a chimney to the top of the lamp, then cools in this stalagmite/stalactite formation . Then the cooled wax collapses to the bottom again. After more warming, it starts to flow up and down in large droplets--for a little while. Eventually the wax all collects in the bottom of the lamp and just "churns" in a ball. How can I get it to flow normally?

[Wile E. Coyote]

I have a decent sized collection, 40+ lamps most of which are USA made. These one's you turn on, sit back and enjoy. No problems. I keep the run time on each lamp under 8 hours though. The few chinas I have, mostly grandes as I took a lava break during the giant era, are all on dimmers. They overheat WAY quick!! What's worked for me, is run them full until you have a good flow for about 10-15 minutes, and then cut the power by about 20%. An hour or so later, I cut the power to about 70%. I can let them go for 8-10 hours and they flow nice the whole time. You loose some brightness in the lamp obviously, but I am rarely home during daylight, so at night I don't notice as much. If I leave the chinas on full, or do not use a dimmer, I get the churning ball at the bottom too. I give them the gently spin, turn it off, and the next day all is well again. Providing I use the dimmer. Like I say, this has worked for me. I hate having to fix my toys before I play with them, but could be worse I suppose. I've only had to crack one to replace the coil, and it fixed it quite nicely. I've also been extremely lucky that all my chinas were ordered online, and with the exception of 2, have arrived clear. If you can find USA made lamps, BUY THEM!! Can't speak for them all, but all my USA's work flawlessly.