making a lava lamp

[Diin]

just a question, ive been wanting to try my luck at making my own lava lamp.

and i was just wondering if the "poor mans lava lamp" formula on the lava cave actually works.

opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[LampHead]

Try this link for some older lava formulas http://www.oozinggoo.com/howto.html
Just to let you know "lava cave" is a bunch of disenchanted members from here so no one will answer questions about the "cave", the 2 sites are like enemies.

Success with the homemade formulas are hit and miss with alot of trial and error. Good luck and keep us posted.


LampHead

[Diin]

okay, awesome. thanks for the info.

i will keep you posted.

ive been told that the mineral oil used for the "lava" is kerosene. is that true, or am i wrong?

[Charles]

Ohhhh, I'll defer to the much more senior members here, but kerosene sounds like a very very dangerous thing to get that hot.


Unless you work for the new Lava World, and are making the Molotov Grande model....

Charles

[LampHead]

Kerosene was only used to thin the wax in older lamps, it does not replace the mineral oil in the poor mans lava lamp, 2 completely different subjects.


LampHead

[Diin]

oooh, okay. i looked up mineral oil, and theres quite a variety of it. what would you recommend that i use?
(sorry for all the question, im a curious newbie :))

[Diin]

anyone at all? haha

[Diin]

alright, so far, my mission goes as follows:
ive come across a 20 oz bottle, and 70% alcohol
i think 90% alcohol is pretty much impossible to find in this city haha
the closest i can find is 99%. would that still work?

[LampHead]

Shoot for the highest % alcohol you can find, the rest is just water. I never seen 99% just the 70% and 91%, start as pure as you can.


LampHead

[Diin]

awesome :) now, would i still need to mix the 70% with the 99%? or just use straight 99%?

the next part of my mission is to find the oil. i saw glycerin (or something like that, i cant remember exactly what it was called), baby oil, and olive oil in the pharmacy. im not sure which one i should get o.o
i'm kinda leaning toward the glycerin. that sounds like what i should use. but i may be wrong.

[Diin]

awesome :) thanks for the tips. i still need to find springs and such, before i can start making one.

[Diin]

cool, i never thought of that. ive just been browsing hardware stores looking for a bag of springs.
I also may need to make a base. the bottle im going to be using is a little smaller than a regular globe. and i think it sits almost directly on the bulb. i imagine that cant be good

[Diin]

cool, i might give that a go as well. they look awesome