NEWB needs help with restoration of a globe

[E J]

I have a 32 ounce american globe that the coil has broken on.  I have been reading here for several days and have decided to open the top and pour out the liquid into a clean container.

then i will boil the globe in a pot setting on a plate and pour the wax into another clean container

then i will remove the coil

i will clean the globe good with alcohol and distilled water

then install a new coil, re-melt the wax and pour in with a funnel and straw, and pour the liquid back in and reseal it

i plan on getting a 40W frosted appliance bulb and a dimmer.

 

how do I know if my wax is burnt or bad?

what exactly is  perchloroethylene?

how do I know if i need it?

where should I buy it?

and how much should i use?

 

What else do I need to consider--i am concerned that the specific gravitys wont be right or that my wax is bad,  What else do I need to know about this process--what are the pitfalls?

 

Sorry for so many questions at once and thanks for any help

 

[Tim Gill]

I don't think you will need to add anything to the formualr, the way your planning on doing a fluid trandsfer sounds good and will work.

Perchloroethylene is known as perc and is a solvent which as I belive brakes down the wax enough to make it flow it is found in cleaners and often used by dry cleaners.

[Lukeonia1]

Perhaps a moderator can move the comments from here down in the other thread into this one?

As I mentioned in the other thread, emptying and refilling the globe is fairly drastic given how carefully-tuned the contents of a lava lamp are. As soon as you open the bottle, you'll begin evaporating water from the liquid, and evaporating perchloroethylene out of the wax. The more you pour liquids, heat them, pour them again, et cetera, the more water and perc you're going to lose. This WILL change the specific gravities of the two mixtures (liquid and wax) and may end up ruining the flow altogether, requiring major adjustments.

My advice is still to drain the liquid out of the globe and run it through a coffee filter to remove any rust or other crud, then put it back in. Heat the (full) globe until you can pull the coil out with a wire hook. If there's nothing else obviously wrong with the globe, like separated wax or cloudy water, chances are just fixing the coil will get it flowing properly again.

[E J]

ok Lukeonia  i will attempt what you say with the coffee filter and new spring install----thanks for everyones help

[Tim Gill]

If your just going to replace the coil then really the best way to do this is to remove the cap, heat up the lamp until the wax is fully melted then use something like a wire coat hanger bent into shape to fish out the coil then drop the new coil in - job done.

I have emptied and refilled lamps with no problem you don't need to add any more perc etc, if your doing it quickly and not letting the wax and master fluid hanging around.

Filtering the fluid using a coffee filter really doesn't work (I have tried) it only removes big particles.

[E J]

I am thinking now that when i go to remove those big black flecks of corrosion i will insert a small piece of aquarium tubing and siphon them out like cleaning a fish tank and then pour the liqiud that i siphon out back in-----and then i will do the spring swap------going to get the spring now ------may try all of this later today-----wish me luck

 

OH yeah  one more question----------I read where if you add epsom salts (by mixing up a small amount in distilled water) and then adding a very small amount of this solution to a warm lamp you can get the wax flowing better

Is this a good way to get the wax to flow a little better???

If i am remembering correctly it seemed to have a flow problem and mostly wanted to all set on the bottom-----of course i will try the spring swap first.

Thanks all

[Mr MaGoo]

Epsom salt will make ur water heavier. Causing wax to lift.