Problems with a modern China LL, not sure what to do

[Rich C]

This is the first time I've had a real problem with a lamp.  I couldn't help myself and bought a new rainbow, I think they call them ColorMax.  Anyway, fired it up about 4-5 hours ago and then left it alone.  I was out of the house most of the day.  No idea if it ever really flowed, but a small blob is stuck at the top so it must have done earlier.  Now it is just doming.  That means it is too hot, right?  I've got it on a different base with a dimmer to see if it can improve.  If not, am I better off just returning it or is there any easy fix?  Being a cheap lamp and a China one to boot, I'm guessing I should just return it.

[Erin]

Is this the first time you've run it? For some reason, the first run can take FOREVER. I'd leave it on overnight and see what you have in the morning. 

[Keith]

New lamps should be ran several times to break them in.  If you are still having problems after 5 or so runs then you can decide if it is worth keeping or not.  Personally, I really enjoy my rainbow lamp.  Hope yours works out!

[TomK]

I'm missing something here. Did you let the overheated lamp completely cool down so that the lava is back on the bottom? If it is cool but stuck at the top then try to rotate or gently shake the bottle to loosen it so it sinks to the bottom.  You need to do that so you can start up again with the cooled lava on the bottom of the bottle. Also, it is not a good idea to ever leave a running lava lamp unattended for long. You are courting disaster or at least an overheating.

[Rich C]

No, no, there was just a little blob stuck at the top like with any normal running of a lamp.  It is up and running again, just has streamers sent up so far.  My point was, if all it had done was dome, nothing would have been stuck at the top.  It must have been running normally at some point.

TomK said:

I'm missing something here. Did you let the overheated lamp completely cool down so that the lava is back on the bottom? If it is cool but stuck at the top then try to rotate or gently shake the bottle to loosen it so it sinks to the bottom.  You need to do that so you can start up again with the cooled lava on the bottom of the bottle. Also, it is not a good idea to ever leave a running lava lamp unattended for long. You are courting disaster or at least an overheating.

[TomK]

Oh, I got it now. Streamers is a good sign of normal operation. Usually, the next stage will involve the streamers collapsing and melting down into lava which should start rising more and more towards the top as the liquid heats up. You might get little balls of lava which increase in size as time goes on. I hope your lamp will run well now.

[Rich C]

Nope, second run and nothing but doming.  After the streamers melted down it was dome city and nothing else.  I think this one is a bust.

[TomK]

Unless you want to remove the cap and void the warranty, I think the lamp is not fixable and should be returned. If it has indeed overheated, the lava may be damaged--possibly it has separated into 2 components, one too light, the other too heavy. And they need to be recombined in order to have one lava mass that flows normally again. If there is no more lava at the top then something else has obviously malfunctioned in your lava. Either way I think I'd go for the refund or replacement.

[Rich C]

It was the last rainbow they had so it would be a return.  Bummer.

On the other hand, it really didn't cost me much so it might be fun to play around with it.  What would I add to try to rebalance it, some polyethylene glycol?

[TomK]

If you are going to open it, I would try the more simple, easy fixes first. If the liquid is murky in any way...cloudy or has little bits of stuff in it, I would replace the liquid. Distilled water is best. If the liquid looks ok, then try adding a few drops of Dawn dishwash soap--it is usually blue--2 or 3 drops at a time. This liquid is a surfactant, more concentrated than gookit surf. It should loosen the surface tension of the dome and encourage it to flow ( Note: If you do ever change the liquid you need surfactant added too because it will prevent the lava from sticking to the glass, promote smooth flow and break up air bubbles in the liquid and lava).

Another way to go instead of treating the liquid is to liven up the lava by melting a small amount of pure beeswax into it. What I do is pour off the lamp's liquid (save it to put back later) so only a little covers the cool lava in the bottle. Then add a couple chunks of wax the size of a dime ( a gram or so)--be careful--a little makes a big difference! Run the lamp that way until all wax and lava is melted together--an occasional swirling of the bottle will mix the wax in well with the lava. Then let it completely cool down, add the saved liquid back in, and give the lamp a good run to see if you added enough wax to flow well. Remember it is way better to do this two or three times rather than put too much wax in the first time and blow the whole deal! If you add too much wax, all the lava will rise to the top --FOREVER!

There are other methods that you can use to achieve the same ends. I just gave you 2 of my tried & true tips using readily available household items and your own time & ingenuity! There is also a Lava Library section on this site along with other fixes and trouble shooting tips as well as many experienced gooheads lurking around here who would be glad to asist you---myself included!

 

[Rich C]

But wouldn't surf be the answer if flow was an issue?  It seems to me the issue is buoyancy, or lack thereof, so don't I need to "heavy up" the fluid?  I suspect adding beeswax does the same thing in the opposite way, making the wax lighter overall?  The fluid is clear, the lava just doesn't go anywhere.  I put my other China globe on this base and it ran just fine.  I put the rainbow globe on the other base and it domed.  I put it on a base I could dim and it domed with the dimmer down or up.  It is a nice looking lamp, I'd just like it to work!

Since the store doesn't have any more rainbows, I wonder if contacting LL directly would do any good.

[TomK]

It all depends on what is causing the lack of flow. If it is too much surface tension, then the surfactant will help. If buoyancy is the problem, then adding some non-iodized salt to the liquid will make the lava more buoyant--as will the added beeswax. I shy from using too much salt because it can make the liquid turn hazy.

As far as contacting LL regarding your situation...hey, it can't hurt to try.

[Keith]

I still say give it several runs before you decide it's a goner.  Hopefully you will start seeing better results.  You can always make changes later, or return it.