Help! I just bought a 1986 Century and the lava isn't flowing correctly.

[lana miller]

I am not an expert here but this lamp seems to be running hot. The lava is not staying in the coil and is either hovering over the coil or sits on the very edges. The coil looks to be in good shape. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would a lower wattage bulb help?

[lana miller]

Hi Bohdan,

Yes, it is a frosted 40w bulb.

[matt01165]

It is flowing correctly. That is how the older lamps are. I would suggest a dimmer switch. Once it heats up you can adjust the heat to improve the flow. Basically older lava lamps had shorter run times. In the old days the objective was to get the flow asap but the downside was the shorter run time. Those are old favs. hope you enjoy it I have an older one just like it! you did good there are hardly any airbubbles in the glass.

[lana miller]

It's roughly between 2-3 hrs, I know it hasn't been on for long and then I notice that it's not flowing and the lava seems to hover. Do you think I need a lower watt bulb? Do you think it's defective?

[jerrell maxwell]

Where can you buy these dimmer switches? Thanks.

[lana miller]

Hi Jerrell,

I know that Home Depot and Lowes have them. I haven't went out and got one yet but, plan on going either today or tomorrow.

Here is what it's called.

Lutron Credenza® 300 Watt Lamp Dimmer, White

[jerrell maxwell]

Thanks Iana. I will surely try. I am guessing a cheap fix for an expensive lamp.

Thanks again for your reply

[lana miller]

Your welcome Jerrell!

I actually bought my dimmer last night and tried it and I saw a difference in flow. Although, my Century still has thick globs of lava that seem to not want to melt together even at the bottom it just piles up into large balls and sits at the bottom and then cools. Most of the lava wants to hang out at the top of the globe. You have any thoughts to why it won't blend together? Anybody?

[BlueTrane2028]

I have a globe that totally separated, and you had to really overheat it to get any sort of flow at all. I was able to fix it with the help of this forum.

Here's the thread:
http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bluewhite-problem

I hope it helps!

[lana miller]

Thanks BlueTrane! I read your thread and it was great! I am so happy to see you got your lamp up and running w/out popping the cap! I loved the final pic! I will try what was suggested for you - Thanks for the help! :)