Looks like I've got my first lamp that needs fixing

[Erin]

I got a 90s purple/yellow Silver Streak off eBay and it arrived today. Looks a little cloudy and it also appears that there is some crap in the coil. I see some brown chunks in the yellow lava. :( I am heating it up now, but lava isn't flowing just yet. To be honest, I can't tell if the lamp is cloudy or not - it looks like it hasn't been turned on in a looooooooooong time. Since I'm so new to lava lamps, I don't really know how clear a lamp *should* be.

So let's say I want to crack this open and filter out the water and replace the coil. Is this doable for a novice like myself? I don't want to spend $40 on a capper just to fix one lamp. Is there a hand capper that's cheaper? Can I filter out the water with a coffee filter and funnel instead of buying a Brita pitcher?

I'd like to save this lamp, but I'm wanting to save it as cheaply as possible (since my investment into it was nearly $40 :rolleyes:).

Will post pics later tonight once it's flowing and hopefully someone can tell me if this is cloudy lamp or not.

This makes lava lamp #3! Two more on the way. :)

[Erin]

Also, I'm trying to figure out what year this one is:

Big # is 25
010?2OP
033001B

What's weird is that the silver cap for this one is longer than the silver cap for my 1997 #10. Any idea why that would be?

[Erin]

Here's a pic. I had to edit a little in Photoshop. For some reason, I cannot get my camera to take a good pic of what this lamp really looks like, color-wise and cloudyness-wise.

[Autumn]

Crap on the coil doesnt effect the flow from what I have noticed. You can tell a lamp hasnt been on in years if the lava has a lot of bumps on it and looks like the color is trying to rise out of it. Sometimes the lava will also have a sort of glaze on it. Its really hard to explain but you will know it when you see it.
I would run it for a month or so before you try to open it and mess with it. A hand capper will not work on lava world lamps, it works on some china branded lamps and thats why I have one. To cap lava world lamps you need a bench capper. I bought one on ebay for $10 and it was from the 70's but it works fine. Check your antique stores for one because they are EXPENSIVE on ebay.

I tried the coffee filter thing and it does NOT work, dont try it. A water filter only clears some cloudiness, I have had success with it making a crystal clear lamp. I have not bought a better filting machine yet.

My advice is let it run for a few weeks then let it sit for a few weeks and dont touch it at all.

[Erin]

Thanks for the advice Autumn. I really appreciate it. This was one of my favorite color combos, but it looks pink and orange-y pink when turned on. Totally different colors.

There's a few little weird brown-ish chunks in the lava, but they are small. The coil had some brown crap on it, which is now what's floating around in the goo. I have no idea how old this lamp is, but I don't know if it's been used much. I didn't really look over the lava that much before firing it up, but it did look...weird.

Still trying to figure out the cap code...

 Thanks again Autumn.