It's my own stupid fault. I see cheap lamps and I get excited. Every single one I bring home is disappointing. I don't know why I even bother. If I get one that's clear, the flow is crap (well, they all flow like crap). Residue on the bottom. Residue on the inside of the glass. Horrible flow. Cloudy. Hazy. Overheats quickly.
They're all getting returned...except one I'm keeping to test out pinholes on the base.
My very first "new" China Lava Lite. Got this summer of 2010. It didn't flow. Returned it the next day.
Next up, my China blue/white. Sent the base to Mike (blindfaith) this week. Globe is clear, flow is boring:
I think we all remember this one. I wrote up a huge thread about it. What a shame. Returned for full refund to Lava Lite.
Orange/black 52oz. Horribly cloudy. Residue on inside. It was nasty to look at.
Exchanged for this:
^^ This one is clear, but has gunk in the coil/wax, which I just discovered this week:
Bought five of these for $8/each. The blue/white wouldn't stick to the coil, the purple/red was so cloudy you couldn't see through it. I returned those two. I might keep the remaining three for experiments or glitter, but they are pretty depressing to look at (pretty awful flow):
Lastly, I purchased this at Target last week. A little hazy, residue on the inside and the flow, well, you know the story...
I know I'm an idiot for even buying them, and it's weird how I try and justify keeping them ("well, they're not THAT bad" or "I could use this for parts") but that's a pretty sad reason to keep something that you don't like.
I've been running these off and on all weekend and each time I look at them, they just disappoint me.
No point to this thread...just wanted to share my thoughts. Friends don't let friends buy Lava Lite, right? ;)
*sigh*
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I'm returning the yellow Designer to Target tomorrow. No sense in keeping it when I can't stand looking at it. Why bother buying these when there's tons of nice vintage stuff to buy!
I just hope I learned my lesson. ;)
I know how you feel Erin, my Turquoise one like your yellow one, I am returning this week. I justified putting a GooKit in it with a better coloring to match and better flow, but just don't feel like dealing with it. LOL
We shouldn't HAVE to be dealing with it. Period. That's what I have to keep remembering when I want to buy one of these. It's one thing to fix up/restore a lamp from the 70s, but we shouldn't be tinkering around/buying for parts lamps made in 2011!
I did want to get pictures for reviews and such though. Now I KNOW for sure...
I would like some bases to experiment with, for painting, but that's about it.
As luck would have it, I did indeed score a nice midnight Century last night that's about the cost of all the returned lamps. :)
I have warned people about buying me lava lamps, too. LOL My boyfriend always asks me "Why did you buy that?" when I bring home a new Lava Lite lamp. And then he accompanies me on the ride back to the store a few days later to return the thing.
Some of the China lamps aren't bad - I have a blue/white one I bought several months ago that's decent. The flow is boring, but everything else is OK. I don't want to talk anyone out of buying anything, but I just want people to know the truth - and that's that there are beautiful vintage lamps to be had that blow these out of the water. This is NOT how lava lamps are supposed to look. Even when they get most things right (not cloudy, no shit floating in the liquid), they just aren't very fun to watch. Most of the lava hangs out at the top or bottom...one circular blob goes up/down every 30 secs. or so.
I tried a black/orange (don't remember the date) and it was horrible. It was the only one my Spencer's had, so I didn't get another one.
I returned all my China-made lava lamps yesterday, except the purple/white 52oz (base is being painted). I feel cleansed! And with the money I got back, I have this lovely lamp on the way. :)
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