Where do I get a replacement spring and should I avoid salt

[Steve Farber]

Hi all,

I am looking for a replacement spring.  I replaced my aqueous phase and changed the color. In order to get the wax to rise I added some salt -- this had the desired effect but the next day the spring got completely corroded.  So is salt a bad idea to alter the buoyancy of the wax phase?

[MagicLamp]

Yeah, it should be avoided if possible. I make my own lava lamps (4 so far) and only in the latest one I learned how to make a "saltless" one, but I had to devise a method to control over the goo's density rather than the liquid's.

You could try a water/prop glycol solution hoping that the goo's density is between 1.00 and 1.10 (that's the range of adjustment allowed), or run the lamp with an open cap and let some of its perc to leech out (you can add more perc later as needed) or put more pure wax inside the globe and mix the molten heavy goo with the lighter wax until the mix becomes light enough....but with so much work you'd be better off buying a complete refill kit, not just the liquid (unless this is a full DIY project)..