Mathmos Lava Lamp running time

[Tiago]

Hello, I just got my first Mathmos lava lamp yesterday, and it's awesome :D.

The instructions that came with it say that I should only leave it on for no more than 6 hours at a time, but Lava Lite says no more than 10 hours, so I have some questions.

 

1. Do you guys only leave your mathmos lava lamp on for 6 hours at a time, or 10 hours is no problem?

 

2. This time of year my room is cold (about 15ºC), so I was wondering if that limitation of hours is just a precaution of operating time from mathmos or if we can leave the lamp on until they show signs of overheating.

 

Here's a video from a lamp just like mine :P

Mathmos Astro Yellow/Red

 

[Tiago]

I see, yes it was really expensive. But do you think that if I let it run for 8/9 hours and it doesn't show signs of overheating I can ruin it?

Thanks for the reply.
Marcel said:

I run my mathmos lamps as long as they overheat.

I run some mathmos lamps for more than 12 hours a day since 4 years and they still looking well. If you want to be sure that you will not damage the globe (maybe because it is a unique color or just because they are expensive) you should not run them longer than 6 hours.

[Gooboy]

Cool :) were did you buy it from?

[Tiago]

I bought it from a shop here in Portugal, although the price is the same from Mathmos online shop (also available here) :)

So, probably I can run them for about 8 hours without damage if they don't overheat, is this right?

[Johnny]

it depends on the room tempiture as well, my normal astro's i tend to run for upto 6 hours small lamps like the baby or jets i use a 25watt bulb they work fine and i leave em on for about 8 hours, you'll notice over heating if the wax tends to break up into small blobs at float near the top alot

Tiago said:

I bought it from a shop here in Portugal, although the price is the same from Mathmos online shop (also available here) :)

So, probably I can run them for about 8 hours without damage if they don't overheat, is this right?

[Tiago]

Ok guys, I think I understand how this works now :)

Thanks for your help.

[Josh Van Cleave]

When you guys talk about run time are you including the start up time or do you start the time when the lamp begins to flow?

 

Also, if the lamp is on a dimmer and not overheating can it be left on longer or should it just be shut off after 8 or 10 hours regardless of heat?

[Tiago]

I am talking about the run time as soon as you turn it on. I think everyone else is too.

Josh Van Cleave said:

When you guys talk about run time are you including the start up time or do you start the time when the lamp begins to flow?

 

Also, if the lamp is on a dimmer and not overheating can it be left on longer or should it just be shut off after 8 or 10 hours regardless of heat?

[Kempton]

Yeah what about dimmers? I have a jet on a dimmer and has been running all day

[Josh Van Cleave]

So can a lamp be run indefinitely so long as it does not overheat? 

Richard said:

Yes run time is the total time the lamp is on from switch on to switch off.

If a dimmer is used the lamp can be run longer as the bulb is not at full power making full heat