(Lava Chat)

Water filter pitcher for cloudy lava lamps

I have heard several folks say they cleared their cloudy LL's simply by running them through

a Brita (or equivalent) water filtration pitcher and it works great!

So, instead of a Brita, I decided to give this one a try since it has much higher ratings:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U50QQQ/ref=s9_simh_co_p60_d0_i...

This experiment is kind of expensive since I am sure to go through a few filters just for one

Grande lamp, so if it does not work, all you guys who say it does, are going to be in trouble :) LOL!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kempton on February 20, 2011 at 10:57am

Stanley I personally dont know. I think Rici knows she was talking about it on chat yesterday

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Permalink Reply by Rici Faulkner on February 20, 2011 at 11:03am

You need a PUR. Nothing else but a PUR. And it does relieve a great deal of the cloudiness. It wont be sparkling clear like the older US lamps, but it will be a hell of a lot better than it was.

The PUR pitcher costs about 15 bucks and the replacement filters run about $15 for two on Amazon.

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Permalink Reply by Kempton on February 20, 2011 at 11:07am

Rici how did the 20 oz goo?

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Permalink Reply by Rici Faulkner on February 20, 2011 at 11:14am

Well...like I said...it is not 100% clear, but then again, it was EXTREMELY cloudy and I only filtered it once....but now instead of the liquid looking like skim milk, it is pretty clear and I can see my hand through it....so I would say it was a success for someone who is ok with a tiny bit of cloudiness....or just doesn't know any better. The movement of the lava is great...or at least as great as a 20 oz flow will ever be.

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Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 20, 2011 at 11:57am

Did you try running it through a 2nd time?

These all have the same basic filter chemistry, just different shapes to fit their machine.

I dont see any reason why one brand would work and better, or less, than any other, unless

this PUR has a different type of filter from all the rest!?

Anyway, I already have a unit on the way from my friends at Amazon.

Rici Faulkner said:

You need a PUR. Nothing else but a PUR. And it does relieve a great deal of the cloudiness. It wont be sparkling clear like the older US lamps, but it will be a hell of a lot better than it was.

The PUR pitcher costs about 15 bucks and the replacement filters run about $15 for two on Amazon.

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Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 20, 2011 at 11:58am

What exactly is a MSR pump? :\
Marcel said:

With the MSR pump you get a 100% crystal clear lamp ;) Buts its a bit expensive :/

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Permalink Reply by Rici Faulkner on February 20, 2011 at 12:39pm

I really should have looked at the filter you ordered a little closer before I replied, but I know that PUR is way better than Britta because of the two-part filtration. It claims to remove many more impurities than the Britta does. If I can find the website where I saw the comparison chart on what impurities each brand of filter removes I will post it. So that is why I am biased toward PUR, and I do know for certain that the PUR works. However, I am sure the filter you ordered was fine, so I retract my previous "PUR only statement." and I wish you much luck in the process. Personally, I would LOVE to get my hands on one of those pumps but the least amount of money I have seen them go for is about $50. I would not mind spending the money for the pump if I had an important project like a Grande...but I was only dealing with a couple of 20oz China lamps, so I didn't really care about them much. If they were not given to me as gifts, I would give them away to someone

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Permalink Reply by Modulo '70 on February 20, 2011 at 2:52pm

I tried my cloudy purple Astrobaby through a Brita water filter and it actually ended up much Cloudier and no longer flows properly!

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Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 20, 2011 at 3:22pm

Oh no, I didnt need to hear that :(

I was thinking that the charcoal in the filter may actually filter out some of the surfactant, since they are large

molecules. I dont know what the particle size filtration it does, so you are right, it may do more harm then good!!

Oh well, I have my GooKit ready, 3 gal of distilled water, and more goo colors in the mail ;)

ALPHA CENTAURI of the LAVAERIONS said:

I tried my cloudy purple Astrobaby through a Brita water filter and it actually ended up much Cloudier and no longer flows properly!

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Permalink Reply by Rici Faulkner on February 20, 2011 at 4:58pm

Stanley....I just looked really hard at your water pitcher...and it is a REALLY good one...but I also kind of said to myself...maybe too good. I will tell you this....I did two 20oz lamps through the PUR and they both are much clearer, and they both work very well. The lava flow, like I said, does not seem to be reduced, and I did not need to "top off" the globes after I returned the water back into the globe. Everyone who posted about using a water pitcher on this site always go with the PUR filter, so I followed suit and had pretty good results. But if you are nervous about doing this procedure with your precious Grande (and I would not blame you at all)...then at least you have a top of the line water pitcher and you can enjoy some fresh, crisp H20. I am so sorry i could not give you any better advice, but I don't have experience with the pitcher you bought, so I can't really say what the results would be, you understand? That is why I was pushing the PUR filter because I KNOW for certain that they don't remove the surfactant significantly. Sorry I couldn't help more.

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Permalink Reply by Gooboy on February 21, 2011 at 5:11am

You mean one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/PUR-CR-6000-2-Stage-Oval-Shaped-Water-Filtrat...

These are pretty cheap, I could just send the other one back since I prefer to use exactly the same method as

everyone else.

You may be right about the more expensive being TOO good! :) That's okay, Amazon is great about returning stuff :)

Rici Faulkner said:

Stanley....I just looked really hard at your water pitcher...and it is a REALLY good one...but I also kind of said to myself...maybe too good. I will tell you this....I did two 20oz lamps through the PUR and they both are much clearer, and they both work very well. The lava flow, like I said, does not seem to be reduced, and I did not need to "top off" the globes after I returned the water back into the globe. Everyone who posted about using a water pitcher on this site always go with the PUR filter, so I followed suit and had pretty good results. But if you are nervous about doing this procedure with your precious Grande (and I would not blame you at all)...then at least you have a top of the line water pitcher and you can enjoy some fresh, crisp H20. I am so sorry i could not give you any better advice, but I don't have experience with the pitcher you bought, so I can't really say what the results would be, you understand? That is why I was pushing the PUR filter because I KNOW for certain that they don't remove the surfactant significantly. Sorry I couldn't help more.