Stupid cloudy LL's :(

Hi folks, my first post this is :)

I currently have 3 Lava Lamps (I always just call them "LL's" because I'm lazy).

Two I bought way back in the early 70's, when they made them well.

A few weeks ago, I got the LL bug and decided to buy a Grande (purple w/ yellow lava).

When I got it (from Amazon) I noticed, to my shock, that the liquid was so cloudy, I could

not even see the lava!!

I did a bit of reading, and all I could find was that I shoud just run the lamp a few hours every

day and it would clear up.

Well, it did clear a little, but its still cloudy.

Meanwhile, I bought a LL with (supposedly) clear liquid, and it was cloudy also!

I decided to use that one for experiments, so I opened it, and filtered the liquid through some

laboratory filter paper. No good!!

So now I am wondering, am I stuck with a permenently cloudy Grande?

Also, I have another Grande on the way, from LampsPlus.com (no more Amazon, they do not

know how to ship them) and I am really nervious that it will be cloudy also!!

I am so upset and dissapointed I could cry!! :(

Can anyone please help me?

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dr. WHAT?! on February 8, 2011 at 3:34pm

Just email customer service at LL. They are usually very good about replacing bad globes. Who knows you may even get to keep the bad lamp and gookit it.

Permalink Reply by Kempton on February 8, 2011 at 3:51pm

I got lucky with my amazon grande. It works well. When yours starts flowing you will love it. Just hang in there!

Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 8, 2011 at 5:08pm

I did!! I have sent 3 emails to LL and have never received a reply!!!

Dr. WHAT?! said:

Just email customer service at LL. They are usually very good about replacing bad globes. Who knows you may even get to keep the bad lamp and gookit it.

Permalink Reply by WeeboTech on February 8, 2011 at 5:17pm

I would start to call them.

It's true the current era does not have the quality of yesteryear, but you also should get serviced or get your money back.

I believe they are working on resolving these issues, but I'm not 100% accurate on that either as I have not bought a new lamp in years.

Stanley Post said:

I did!! I have sent 3 emails to LL and have never received a reply!!!

Dr. WHAT?! said:

Just email customer service at LL. They are usually very good about replacing bad globes. Who knows you may even get to keep the bad lamp and gookit it.

Permalink Reply by Johnny on February 8, 2011 at 5:24pm

it seems all you read is LL cloudy or dont flow, my question is does LL check batches before they get sent out, or do they just box the lamps with out any quality control

Permalink Reply by WeeboTech on February 8, 2011 at 5:30pm

Try Bodhan's solution first.
He provided a name and a number.
If you don;t get satisfaction then take it further.

Permalink Reply by WeeboTech on February 8, 2011 at 5:37pm

Stick around, ask lots of questions and check out the older American Lava lamps too.

There are many of us that can provide advice before a purchase or even sell you one that you would be satisfied with.

It's a great community here!

Permalink Reply by Josh Van Cleave on February 8, 2011 at 10:31pm

Stanly, sorry to hear about your trouble but you are in almost the exact situation as I was about a month or so ago.

I found my old lava lamp, threw a bulb in it and it began to flow.

Shortly thereafter I ordered a Red/Clear Grande directly from LavaLamp.com. Unfortunately when it arrived it looked pretty much like this: http://oozinggoo.ning.com/photo/img20110204174516-1?xg_source=activity

I began reading and researching and decided to try and fix the lamp myself. I dumped the liquid and replaced with distilled water, dawn clear dish-washing liquid, and Epsom salt. (you can find a guide on here for this restoration method) This worked pretty well, but was not crystal clear and I read the salt would corrode the coils. . . I had been reading about goo kits and decided to give that a try. . .

Like Astrobaby linked: http://cgi.ebay.com/Goo-Kit-Standard-Lava-Lamps-Magma-Tower-/140411...

I have now performed Goo Kits on 5 Grande Lava Lites and I am happy with them. Here they are: http://oozinggoo.ning.com/photo/img20110206112105-1?context=user

The sad reality is -- in my opinion Lava Lite is putting out a crap product. Most likely the shipping is the problem as the lamp is tossed around and dropped etc. Unfortunately I do not have a solution for that. . . The lamp I linked above is the second Red/Clear I purchased (the first from LaveLite.com directly and the one in the picture above from Spencer) they both looked like milk and you could barely see the Wax. I have tried to contact LavaLite.com (via e-mail only) and it is completely unresponsive.

When I buy a Grande I have the understanding I am paying for the stand and the globe, the contents are disposable. Sad but true. . .

On the bright side, installing a goo kit is a ton of fun and when you are done you really take a lot more pride in your lamps. They are no longer something you just bought, but something you created.

Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 9, 2011 at 5:57am

Wow! Thanks everybody for the excellent response, I knew I found the right place ;)

I do have a GooKit on order for the small globe, but I really dont want to take the Grande apart unless absolutly

necessary.

I will call Paula at LL as you guys suggest (I think talking to someone via phone is always better then email :)

Now, I am really nervous about the 2nd Grande I have on order but havent received yet!!

I guess it will be cloudy too!!??

I will just hang in there and bug LL to do the right thing :)

I have 2 older LL's from the early 70's and they are both nice and clear and still flow great.

One of them is the largest model I could get at the time, the other is a little smaller, purple, and looks like a black

rocketship (this one is actualy my favorite :)

Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 9, 2011 at 6:16am

Josh Van Cleave said:

Stanly, sorry to hear about your trouble but you are in almost the exact situation as I was about a month or so ago.

I found my old lava lamp, threw a bulb in it and it began to flow.

Shortly thereafter I ordered a Red/Clear Grande directly from LavaLamp.com. Unfortunately when it arrived it looked pretty much like this: http://oozinggoo.ning.com/photo/img20110204174516-1?xg_source=activity

I began reading and researching and decided to try and fix the lamp myself. I dumped the liquid and replaced with distilled water, dawn clear dish-washing liquid, and Epsom salt. (you can find a guide on here for this restoration method) This worked pretty well, but was not crystal clear and I read the salt would corrode the coils. . . I had been reading about goo kits and decided to give that a try. . .

Like Astrobaby linked: http://cgi.ebay.com/Goo-Kit-Standard-Lava-Lamps-Magma-Tower-/140411...

I have now performed Goo Kits on 5 Grande Lava Lites and I am happy with them. Here they are: http://oozinggoo.ning.com/photo/img20110206112105-1?context=user

The sad reality is -- in my opinion Lava Lite is putting out a crap product. Most likely the shipping is the problem as the lamp is tossed around and dropped etc. Unfortunately I do not have a solution for that. . . The lamp I linked above is the second Red/Clear I purchased (the first from LaveLite.com directly and the one in the picture above from Spencer) they both looked like milk and you could barely see the Wax. I have tried to contact LavaLite.com (via e-mail only) and it is completely unresponsive.

When I buy a Grande I have the understanding I am paying for the stand and the globe, the contents are disposable. Sad but true. . .

On the bright side, installing a goo kit is a ton of fun and when you are done you really take a lot more pride in your lamps. They are no longer something you just bought, but something you created.

Good Luck!

That first picture looks exactly like mine!! can barely tell there is any lava in there!!

Running it for 4 hrs a day for several days did actually help, and now I can see the lava fairly well from

across the room, but it's still cloudy and unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 9, 2011 at 6:34am

Thanks, I tried to order one of these but could not find a US base for Electric Planet.

There are a few other websites who sell them, but they are UK standard and you would need a UK plug

to US outlet adapter (which I actualy do have) and it will work provided it has about the same voltage.

Astrobaby I heart NY said:

Hey - I am not too sure but you can get Mathmos lamps in the USA via electric planet which may be an alternative for you please see the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zeGR0xqrJQ

Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 9, 2011 at 7:07am

I am going to follow your advise and call Paula today.

As for the smaller globe, it is colorless liquid w/ red lava and I bought it for experiment.

I figured it would be cloudy too (and it was).

I am a chemist, and love to play with a new challange. If I can figure out what is making it cloudy,

and know the composition, I can precipatate the cloudyness out of the liquid.

I have poured out about 200cc's of the liquid and have added a few different chemicals to it without

success.

I think something in the lava is seperating out into the liquid upon shaking (in shipping).

If its petrolium base, I should be able to remove it buy diatome filtration.

If I can find a way to clear it up chemicly without blowing it up when it heats, I will just fill it back up. ;)

If my GooKit comes in, I can better analyze what this stuff is actually composed of (I know its a trade secret,

but when you have a nosy chemist on the trail, you can forget about that!! :)

Bohdan said:

Do not buy anymore Grandes till Lava lite releases there new lamps with there new formula. You spend money and time on the new lamp then you have to fix it . This is not good. They said they would have a new formula in 2011 so I would wait and see. What may be happening now is they are selling the last of the old batch units to make room for there new improved ones. Give LL a call send them an Email with your problem and let us know what they said about your problem Grande.

Try this number call them. 630.315.3300 ask for Paula