Mathmos Lunars, not rare.

[fog rider]

Pardon me while I gripe a bit here. It really irks me when I hear somebody say how rare their Mathmos Lunar lava lamp is. "Rare, ultra rare, one-of-a-kind" are terms that are regularly used to describe Lunars. And yet, there are 6 of them for sale on e-Bay today. Lunars are not rare, they're very common.

Speaking of rare lamps, has anybody scored any truly rare lamps lately. I see that a Crestworth Princess glitter recently popped up. Cool.

[Tribble]

There a three for sale atm, two by greedy idiots who want ridiculous money (which is why they've been on a BIN for 6 over months) and one on auction. All the rest are just replacement bottles. Not ultra rare but still quite rare, desirable and collectable. I'd like to own one but won't pay through the nose.

[Johnny]

think i got my original sales invoice for mine Now thats gotta be rare as its a one of LOL

[Tribble]

Nice, hopefully yours still has the nose cone tip, a non cloudy bottle and isn't covered in dents like some of the overpriced tat I see on that auction site. I know where there's one gathering dust in a garage but haven't been able to get in touch with the guy who's selling it.
*one off. :)

[MileHigh]

I would not say that Lunars are VERY common, but yeah if you can afford one you should have no problems still finding one ;)

[andy ross]

If I was trying to buy one, I reckon I'd be agreeing with Fog.... yep, they're common as muck...

[The Lamp Caretaker]

I purchased a HUMONGO in Las Vegas, Nevada and it ROCKS. It was listed on ebay as a giant lava lamp 4' tall. I left my office at 3PM and was in Las Vegas by 1AM.   Drove all the way overnight to pick up bright and early.  I thought it was a COLOSSUS until the seller lifted the globe from the base and it read - HUMONGO 200 W 120V lamp.  It had a 150 watt lamp in it. I paid 900.00 for it.  It's worth every penny.  The flow was ok when I first fired her up but when I finally scored the correct flood lamp which is a 200 W 130V it flows beautifully and I've never seen so much wax flow in my life. It's so unbelievably heavy.  At times it's like looking at a jellyfish tank.  The color is RED with a slightly gold liquid.  The globe put a  small dent in my sports cars leather seat but it was worth the haul. I was afraid the base was not going to fit since my car only has two seats and the trunk is only for small items and the convertible top. Now that's what I call an ULTRA RARE lamp. I got pulled over by a policeman heading back home thinking I was speeding but he said it was because he thought the tank was some sort of illegal rocket bomb or something. When I told him what it was he freaked out and said he was a collector of Lava Lamps and insisted on taking a few pictures of the globe sitting in the front seat. He then said said good bye but not before thanking me for informing him that 4' lava lamps exist. I actually have our encounter on 3 of my cars six cameras.  I'll post pics soon when I fire it up.  Problem here is that it's hard to photograph the wax in flight since it lights up all red once it gets going.  I tried taking pictures the other night but it was hard to see the red wax against the glow of the vintage liquid in the photos.   I'll try again.

[Modulo '70]

Lava Lite Kaleidolite with blinker bulbs inside. The globe reads 'BAR' in Old West style writing. Now that's rare!

[Tribble]

Congratulations Modulo :) great find.

Says in the link below that it should be fitted with a 100w R20. Wouldn't want you to crack the globe by putting too much heat into it.

http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/humongo

[MileHigh]

I think that link is wrong as a 100 watt bulb is not going to make the lava flow in a Humongo

A Humongo is the same size as a Colossus that originally came with a 200 watt bulb.

I use a 300 watt Phillips bulb with my Colossus lamps as It get's them running in less than 8 hours and then I just dim them down a little.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-300-watt-BR40-Flood-Light-Bulb-/322...

[The Lamp Caretaker]

You are so correct.  When I was running the HUMONGO on the 150W lamp it came with it took almost a day and a half to begin flowing. And the flow was boring like a 32oz globe.   When I placed the correct specified lamp in which it clearly states on the interior label 200W 120V it heats up fully during the day and by evening it's R-O-C-K-I-N-G like a LAVA Hurricane. Absolutely stunning.  It makes a perfect addition to my lamp collection.  I think TRIBBLE was talking to Modulo about his lamp because there is no way a HUMONGO or COLOSSUS is ever going to heat up using a 100W bulb. No way. 
 
MileHigh said:

I think that link is wrong as a 100 watt bulb is not going to make the lava flow in a Humongo

A Humongo is the same size as a Colossus that originally came with a 200 watt bulb.

I use a 300 watt Phillips bulb with my Colossus lamps as It get's them running in less than 8 hours and then I just dim them down a little.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-300-watt-BR40-Flood-Light-Bulb-/322...

[Tribble]

No, was looking for some information on the Humongo (don't think they were available here unless it was a private import) and noticed the OG database said it used 100w R20. :/

[The Lamp Caretaker]

The next time I have to remove the globe from the base I will gladly take a photo of the interior label that specifies HUMONGO - Light bulb size and volts.  I use 130V instead of the recommended 120V since 130V gives the same results with less effort on your electrical box. My best friends an electrician and explained it all to me before I purchased the light bulb from a local professional lighting company. They in turn purchased the light bulbs from a company in Chicago.