Mathmos US Rewire and Bulb Question

Hi everyone, first post!

I've always loved lava lamps when I was younger and fortunately I hung onto a good Lava Lite from the 90s. It's got blue liquid with light green lava. It's been in the basement for years and I brought it upstairs and it's totally re-ignited my love for these things.

I wanted to get a second lamp, and after doing some research decided to go for the Mathmos and have it shipped to me in the US from the UK via a third party. (I wish they would build and ship for the US!) I am going with the Astro, copper base, clear liquid with black/plum lava. I can't wait to see it in action.

After looking into some options for the voltage difference, I'm thinking a rewire may be the best option, assuming I can find the bulbs. This way I won't have to deal with voltage and plug conversions or need find an E14 bulb in the US.

Can anyone recommend a rewire guide?

I'd also like to know what bulb I would need once running on 120V in the US. The stock bulb is a 35 watt halogen, and I think that is kind of an odd wattage in the US? Any tips on buying a bulb would be great too.

Thanks all.

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Permalink Reply by ash-hole! on April 13, 2019 at 9:52am

Mathmos Conversion instructions

These are some steps I have saved in case I ever decided to rewire my Mathmos lamps.

I also have a couple Astro bottles on US bases and they are using the basic 40 watt E26 bulb but you probably want to invest in a dimmer.

I have a plum and it's beautiful, Great buy! Mathmos lamps are next level!

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Permalink Reply by Claude J on April 13, 2019 at 4:42pm

Go the easy way and just buy a plug-in converter

I feel its best to keep the lamp original

If you plan on only a couple mathmos lamps, then just buy this and a UK power strip.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/100W-Power-Converter-Adapter-AC-110V-120V-...

I couldn't help myself and have @15 Mathmos now, so I invested in one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-2000W-Watt-USB-Voltage-Converter-Transf...

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Permalink Reply by Ray J on April 14, 2019 at 7:58am

That's what I was thinking at first. I appreciate the desire to keep the lamp original but I'm never going to sell the lamp, and I'd rather not have to hunt for bulbs in the future. I'd also rather not have to use voltage and plug conversion if I don't have to. I'm not familiar with any of these manufacturers and in my experience quality control on power supply things can be hit or miss, and I'd rather not mess with it for something that runs for extended periods.

Also I really love the dimmer idea. My current lamp is great for a couple of hours but then you can tell it starts to get overheated. I'm not sure if it's actually the case but it feels like it gets much more bubbly at that point, too. I think having control over the temperature would be a great way to keep the lamp running better both in the long and short term. Any incandescent bulb should work with a dimmer, right? And I think I'll just get a lamp rewire kit that has the dimmer right on the switch.

Thanks for the rewire guide, I should have looked a little harder on the website. I saw Mathmos actually does have a USA-ready website so hopefully it won't be too much longer before I can buy direct. The UK one will tide me over until then :) I'll let you know how everything goes once I get it set up!

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Permalink Reply by Claude J on April 14, 2019 at 10:44am

Ive only had a problem with ONE small converter failing

The large one has been no problem at all and I have 3 small ones for particular lamps

I bought replacement bulbs for each lamp when i purchased the lamp to avoid additional shipping charges through a third-party shipper

220V Light bulbs can be brought on eBay

Any incandescent for halogen amp is capable of dimming

It would be awesome if MAthmos shipped direct, maybe that will be possible now that Shilling owns lava lamp, perhaps their exclusivity agreements went away with the purchase?