Looking for cap coding chart

[LavaMeister]

I mixed up a couple of caps from my globes and was wondering if anybody can help me figure out which cap goes with which globe.

 

One cap is gold tone in color and the lettering is very faded.  It reads as follows.  Note:  Question marks appear where there might be letters/numbers but could also just be scratches.

 

24  02128??

      12280?? (could be 39)

 

The second cap is painted white with the Lave Lite logo and reads as follows.

 

03  961055lV

      1014A

 

I've included pics of the globes showing the lava inside.  That will probably help in figuring it out should anyone know the coding.

 

Thanks!

[LavaMeister]

Thanks Doc. Let me see if I have this straight. The cap that starts '03' is an 8403 blue/white and the cap '24' is an 8424 in blue/yellow. Correct?

Are the next two digits the year? ie. 02=2002, 96=1996?

[LampHead]

The year is on the bottom of the globe also molded into the glass ( 2 digit ) "96" "02"


LampHead

[LavaMeister]

Hey LampHead! That's some very powerful information to have in one's head. Who needs a cap anyway? LOL. I looked at your post and said to myself, 'You gotta' be s#i*ting me!! I never thought to look on the bottom of the globe. By the way, do you know what the other coding means? It would be nice to know that as well. Also, what was the first year of Chinese manufacturing? With all you guys help it seems I am driving a little faster on the learning curve. To hell with the brakes. LOL. Here are the codes in full from the bottom of both globes.

33 (Letter 'I' with a circle around it?) 96
6 CH-5

and

33 K 02
13 CH-14 A

[LampHead]

The molded numbers in the bottle freaked you out...LOL, I can see you saying WTF is this guy talking about until you seen them..LOL. I know the "33" is the bottle size in ounces ( 100% full ) the "I" with the circle signifies Owens Illinois, I always thought the "CH" was the bottle mold type design ( LavaLite design bottle), the other letters or numbers are maker marks. They had 2 different bottle makers, Owens and Kimble.

The cap codes are all alittle different but they all tell you what day it was made, your # 24
24 02128??

12280?? (could be 39)

First line 24= yellow wax/ blue water
02= 2 digit year
128?? is usually the time of day xx:xx but not always, sometimes the first line will be stamped AM or PM after the time.
Second line 12= December
28= day of month
0??= is usually the 2 digit year again with either a 1,2 or 3 which was the shift that made the lamp.

Your # 03
03 961055lV

1014A

First line 03= white wax/ blue water
96= 2 digit year
1055= time of day
lv= ?? I have seen the lv alot
Second line 10= October
14= day of month
A= either line A or shift A

Chinese manufacturing started March 2003 but they still filled some globes here until April 2003, the biggest misconception here is a gold capped globe is China made when they did in fact fill most of them here, they simply ran out of LavaLite caps and ran golds from roughly December 2002 till April 2003. You can tell if its US made for sure by the number on the bottom of the globe they all should be "02" . Im not into the China made lamps ( I have 5 total ) and I have not noticed any consistent coding on the bottles ( or any at all in most cases ) , the glass is made in China now.


LampHead

[LavaMeister]

Lamphead:

One word for you. Fascinating. Where did you learn the info you have given us here? Are there any books out there on the history of the lava lamp? I've never looked for one but this has certainly peaked my interest in learning some more. Also, it seems I may have popped the top on one of the last lamps made in the USA. That's only slightly unfortunate since it was cloudier than a caribbean hurricane. Also, the yellow lava in that globe was very transparent looking. Wasn't appealing to me at all.

I've heard people talking about bottle capping tools but haven't seen a listing of any manufacturers. I understand they are around $40. I've also heard one should get a table mounted version of the tool to get a more consistent crimp. Seems to me that $40 is a deal even if you only use it one time. You can hardly buy a USA made globe for that kind of money, assuming you can find one in the first place. I know endoftherainbow had some at one time but I haven't looked lately.

Thanks,

Bill