Wax is too far gone in my new lamp.. can i simply swap the wax from a new lamp to it ?

[Jon]

My enchantress lamp i bought on ebay, is a dissapointment.   In the 10 pics the person posted of it being on the wax looks fine, but i guess thats an effect of the camera not being able to capture the bubbles.

The lamp is a 74, I loove the green liquid in it, it may or may not be redone im doubting it is because the advertisement pictures of this color have the same green liquid.  But who knows.. regardless i wanna save the liquid its clear and a great color.  The wax though has tons of powder in it ?  And the blobs have too many water bubbles in it to count.. Looks terrible.

The globe has a very light green wax color.  I would like to stay with that color if i can, but i dont think any of the spencers lamps have a very light mint green color.

So i was thinking of this lamp.  Its one of the 2018 lamps i think the picture on the box is a neon green but in reality its more of a green/yellow, on camera it looks more yellow so i dunno..  My mom bought this for my brother, and im thinking of going to spencers tomorrow to buy one and sacrifice it for my enchantress globe. 

How do you think this yellow/green wax would look inside this radioactive green liquid ?  Or do you think i should get a white wax ?  Or would regular paraffin wax from a hobby store work lol ?

[Jon]

Do you see the pic. Go up to the post with the close up of the wax.  See how its minty green like it should be.. but notice how it looks like it has calcium powder inside it ?   I know saying semen on a forum like this is bad to say.. but thats the only thing i can compare to how it looked  lol

[Claude J]

[Jon]

Here isa pic of my enchantress i did, and the background you can see the Alien lamp you were talking about, hasnt heated up yet but you see how the alien lamp has a much lighter green in it ?  Almost looks white/green,

[Jon]

Any idea why the wax isnt getting sucked in by the coil?  The lamp tosses a small ball or two up but when i lift the lamp up the wax has like 10 balls sitting there and they dont get sucked in the coil and the lamp doesnt have much movement.

[Claude J]

I see

Pictures are funny that way

Color isn't always as it seems
Jon said:

Here isa pic of my enchantress i did, and the background you can see the Alien lamp you were talking about, hasnt heated up yet but you see how the alien lamp has a much lighter green in it ?  Almost looks white/green,

[Claude J]

I'd try changing out the coil or boiling it

It may have a buildup on it
Jon said:

Any idea why the wax isnt getting sucked in by the coil?  The lamp tosses a small ball or two up but when i lift the lamp up the wax has like 10 balls sitting there and they dont get sucked in the coil and the lamp doesnt have much movement.

[Jon]

brand new coil from my donor lamp at spencers..  Maybe i put too much salt Or soap ? 

[Claude J]

Dish soap is NOT what you want to use.

You can use Dawn to clean the globe, but do not expect it to break down the contact resistance without issues
It has additives and such for marketing the product (soft hands=oils) and cleaning purposes (grease cutting) that you do not want in your lamp.

Use just the pure  basic element of soap = (SLES) SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE

Average Surfactant (SLES) amount according to globe size is as follows. 

If your unsure of what size globe you have please check out the section on Globe Sizes.
 8 oz. - Don't waste your time
 20oz. - 4-5 ml
 32oz. - 8-10ml
 52oz. - 15-17ml
 250 oz. - 55-60ml

** The more surfactant you use, the more round blobs will be produced.
** The less surfactant you use, the long stretchy type of blob you'll get.

Simple steps I use

Put in  1/2 the suggested amount of SLES with @1" of distilled water and shake to coat the globe

(do not let dry-work fast to next steps)

Then add goo and distilled water to the level of 1/2 to 3/4 and  fill to almost top leaving room for more Epson salt solution or propylene glycol

Run it

Run it until it is fully hot (125DegF++) until all Lava is melted and all air bubbles are broken (temporary Cap it without sealing it)

If you have problems getting the air bubbles out, put the globe in a water bath in a pan on the stove, bring it to boil then turn down to simmer and watch it until all goo is melted, all bubbles are gone, and all goo is floating.
If you go this route-BE VERY CAREFUL if you decide to move it.

you will be starting over

Best to let it sit and let it cool

Next Day (Provided you do not have to remove air bubbles)

The lamp is at an operating temp of 125DegF

How does it work?
no flow? add diluted and filtered Epson salts or propylene glycol until the lave flows

When using Epson salts, I heat distilled water in a clean pan, add salt, stir until it is dissolved, the put a cone coffee filter in a funnel and add slowly to globe while hot. Epson salts also have the tendency of making vintage goo (especially red) leach its color into the fluid. This is why I prefer propylene glycol to adjust the specific gravity.

Now, the lamp is hot and running

Got flow? good.

Now HOW does it flow,?
is it nice and stringy?

Leave it alone and fill the rest of the way with distilled water and retest

Got no flow?
SLOWLY add more salt or glycol solution to adjust specific gravity, let it reheat and see what it does.

Continue procedure until lava floats

Is lava too stingy with difficult breakoff?

Do you have one large mass column all the way to the top?

Want more lava blobs?
Add more SLES

Be careful when adding fluids to a hot lamp.

If added too fast, it will stir up the lava to a condition that will force you to shut it all down and let it get cold and settle before you can do a retest

[Jon]

I use clear shampoo not dish soap.. Its been working fine for my other lamps i fixed.. And i used aquarium salt.. but i probably put too much soap in it im guessing.

[Claude J]

See above
Shampoo -even worse with all the additives it has.

Change the fluid, follow directions above and add SURF only as needed

Jon said:

I use clear shampoo not dish soap.. Its been working fine for my other lamps i fixed.. And i used aquarium salt.. but i probably put too much soap in it im guessing.

[Jon]

your argument is flawed.. Sodium laurel sulfate IS a Degreaser.. one minute what you posted says degreasers are bad the next you wanna pour pure SLS in lol

[Claude J]

Did I say that your shampoo or dish soap USED SLES as a degreaser?
NO~!
SLES is NOT the only degreaser in soaps (read the ingredients)

But what do I know?

I've only done this procedure with over 200+ lamps (lost count)

I have a dedicated section of my home for a lava lab and have invested tens of thousands into the hobby

I have built custom lamps per clients request (See my photo section)

I build and design color change lamps

I own over 350+ lamps in my collection

I took over 1hr of my time this morning to assist you in your problems

But what do I know?

Use whatever floats your boat, but please don't ask for advice when it doesn't work