Pre China??

[Susan Creger]

Can someone tell me what is a pre china lava globe? Im assuming this is a good globe considering the company I bought my lamps from stated it was made in the USA. I have never heard of Pre China tho.. Thanks

[Erin]

Lava Lite moved their production to China around 2003, so when someone says pre-China, they mean US-made globes by Lava Lite. The term "pre-China" is usually used when talking about lava lamps from Lava Lite (or Lava World). Hope that helps!

[Susan Creger]

Thanks for the info..Are these lamps now the ones you buy either thru planet lava or lavaworld made in china then? are there no more made in the USA? whats your opinion on these lamps? Any issues?  Thanks

[Erin]

All lamps made by Lava Lite now are made in China. Many of us here do not feel they are worth buying. I would opt for a vintage, pre-2002 lava lamp made by Lava Lite. There are always tons on eBay. 

 

To the best of my knowledge, there are not any major suppliers of lava lamps made in the US anymore. Mathmos is a British company and THEY make their lamps in the UK and they are beautiful. However, getting on here will set you back about $120. There are supposed to be opening a store for the US soon, but that remains to be seen. 

 

I would recommend new Mathmos or vintage Lava Lite. You'll be happiest with those, I think. :)

Susan Creger said:

Thanks for the info..Are these lamps now the ones you buy either thru planet lava or lavaworld made in china then? are there no more made in the USA? whats your opinion on these lamps? Any issues?  Thanks

[Susan Creger]

thanks again..ok so either buy on ebay,wait for mathmos,which I got my fingers crossed for them to come over here or just buy the goo kit and start experimenting on a couple 32 oz globes.. whats your opinion on the goo kit erin? Lot of gooheads here like the kit.

[Erin]

I've done three 32oz. globes and one Grande with a GooKit. Almost all globes that are Goo-Kit'd will need a dimmer. I had far better luck with Goo-Kitting a Grande than a 32oz. I like GooKits, for sure, but they will require a dimmer and your results may vary. 

 

At this point in my (short) collecting career, I prefer really nice-condition pre-2002 Lava Lites. I've had very good luck on eBay. Hard for me to find stuff locally. 

[Susan Creger]

Thanks again.. so if you buy on ebay,what about the worries if it is a genuine lava lite,shipping worries ya know cloudy water etc.? Do you have any ebay seller names that only sell lava lamps?

[Erin]

To tell if it's a genuine Lava Lite...look here:

http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/lamp-age

 

The ones with Lava Lite in red on the white bottlecap are genuine Lava Lites. The ones older than that, well, once you become informed and spend some time looking, you'll just know. :)

 

Some lamps will cloud a little in shipping, esp during hot months. If it's a genuine Lava Lite, 95% of them will clear up with use. Some of the older lamps are cloudy from the wax being shot, and those will usually not clear up. If it's clear in the picture on eBay, it will likely become clear again, even if it arrived cloudy.

There are resellers on eBay who sell the NEW Lava Lites, but I wouldn't recommend buying a new Lava Lite from eBay. If you're curious about the new ones and want to check out the quality, visit Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Spencers, Kmart, Sears...etc. There are no certain sellers on eBay who just sell vintage lava lamps. It's a free for all!

 

Always ask questions here if you have them! If you have a lamp you have a question about, let us know and we can help you.

 

Also, check out our Lava Library: http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/lava-library

Almost everything you ever wanted to know about Lava Lite is here. :)

[Jim]

You may be able to get a decent China-made Lava Lite, but its a crap shoot.  Bought the orange liquid, black lava, black base soon after they came out and its a great lamp.  Just recently picked up the new yellow liquid, pink lava as well a week or so ago.

 

Biggest thing - inspect before you buy and do NOT get it shipped.  Lamps shipped in bulk (to Spencers) tend not to get jostled as much - both lamps I referenced above came out of the tube crystal clear.  I inspected the yellow/pink while in Spencers and I would recommend you do the same. 

 

The yellow/pink does overheat so its definitely not the same formula as old school USA made lava (no matter what they say).  Flow may be an issue as well as they don't flow as they did with the US formula.  Experiment with bulbs though.  Threw a 40 watt reflector on my orange/black and it made a world of difference.