Mathmos Astro: too much bubble (hot) in a few hours?

[Luca Lovagnini]

HI! I'm an italian guy so sorry for my BAD english! I bought my first lava lamp this january, a Mathmos Astro. As often happens, the original bulb was broken, so I subsitituted it with a new one: a Philips 42W bulb that you can see in this photo:

However, after a few hours I can see that there too much smal lava bubbles, and I think that's because the lamp gets too much hot! I took some picture to show you what I'm talking about:

This is the lamp as soon as it is turned on:

After roughly one hour there are already the first bubbles:

This is the result after roughly 3 hours from when the lamp was turned on (and I think that there are already too much small bubbles, and so the lamp is already overheating):

And this is the result after 6 hours...I think that here the bubbles are really too much small and too many, and the majority of them is on the upper part of the lamp, so I think that the lamp is totally overheated:

So, my question is: what do you think about it? Is it a normal behaviour or do you think that I'm using the wrong bulb? And if it's the wrong one, which one do you suggest me (remembering that I'm from italy and it couldn't be easy to buy bulbes from outside of Europe!)?

I'm totally new to the Lava Lamp world, so maybe I'm "exagerating" the issue a little bit, but the point is that I'm not totally satisfied of my Lava Lamp, and the Mathmos should be the top of the top! So please help me in any way 

I want to thank the entire community for this amazing forum, and in particular everyone that will reply this post and will try to help my, thank you! 

[Mathmos Lover]

I think you are probably overthinking a bit. Every lamp has its own flow. Your lamp looks just fine. If you are truly concerned about it I would get another bulb from Mathmos as a replacement. I have my Mathmos lamps all rewired for USA use and I use 40W indoor spot bulbs in them. Remember, your lamp is only supposed to be on for about 6 hours anyways. Don't let it get too hot. You can always get a dimmer too if you think it's running too hot. So if you are so concerned about it, try to get a replacement bulb directly from Mathmos or get a dimmer. I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much as it looks fine. It may be running a bit hot but it's not catastrophic (meaning there's not a huge blob of wax just floating above the bulb or at the very top of the globe). Enjoy your Mathmos, they are great lamps!
For reference, my blue blue Mathmos lamp is my icon picture. It has a much more bubbling personality than my violet red lamp. I may try to get a dimmer for it because it is bubbling a lot (much more than yours), but it's nothing major to be concerned about. I still think Mathmos lamps are the best. You can also try to get a 30W bulb. I have read that they are better in terms of leaving the lamp on for longer durations of time. It will take longer to heat up but it will also not get as hot. You can also rewire your lamps for the USA following Brad's instructions. Simply type in rewire Mathmos lamp for USA into the search bar and you will find it. The instructional pictures and such are in the comments though so really read them.
Once again, I wouldn't sweat it. Your lamp is awesome! Just sit back and enjoy the show!

[Brad]

if you think it's getting too hot, you can try using a dimmer.  that way you have control over the flow.  nice lamp!

[Mathmos Lover]

Hey I just wanted to show you a picture of my violet/red lamp lit up and in motion. Here's a picture I took earlier. I use a 40W spot bulb in mine. I think your lamp is just fine but to keep your worries at bay you can look at the attached image. Just keep a eye on it is all and make sure to turn it off in about 6-8 hours or get a dimmer. :-)