Lunar Cone Free

[Simon Lloyd]

Just received my first Lunar.

Seems in good condition - few dents but nothing much.

In need of a good polish and new bulb.

Couple of things ..

Q. Is it normal that the lunar base, when it has no bottle in it, is misshapen, but the bottle slides in easily? When it was unpacked the base, with all 3 legs still fixed in place, was obviously misshapen (not like the photo so damaged in transit).

The Cone doesn't want to come off the bottle. The bullet tip is intact and screws off easily. It has a few dents but nothing much.

Q. Has anyone successfully separated the cone from the bottle to get it off?

Q. Has anyone had to smash the bottle to free the cone? If so how did they do it & what advice would you give please?

Many thanks, Simon

[Bill Smith]

Hi Simon, I have two bottles one green/blue which slips in easily in to the base, but does seem to leave a slight gap either side of the bottle. The other is a red /red which is a tighter fit and there is no gap at all. As regards the cone mine just lifts of the bottle. Another member on here had a problem removing his cone when he received his Lunar only to find that the previous owner had used silicon sealer to stick it to the bottle and I believe he had to smash the bottle to free it. I remember Pete another member removing his by running a hot shower head over it, but that was not stuck on with silicon just had not been removed in a long time. If it is stuck on with silicon or some sort of glue I would try to ease a feeler gauge up between the bottle and the cone to see if that breaks any seal. 

[Astralav]

Yeah, the other (unfortunate) member is me :-)

I had to break the bottle with a hammer (I wrapped the bottle in a towell before).

If your's is glued like mine it's the only option (trust me I tried everything).

Be aware that the more you're gonna try to free the cone, the more you're gonna damage it.

If I knew that mine was glued with silicon, I would have broke the bottle from the start and avoid to damage more the cone.

You can replace easily the bottle, not the cone.

Think about this and good luck!

[Simon Lloyd]

To be honest ... the bottle is past it.

It was a red-violet (or so it says on the box) but it looks like a red-yellow now!

Either it was incorrectly recorded on the box (unlikely) or the violet has faded to yellow.

Q Did you simply wrap the cone well then hit the bottle at the other end?

Many thanks - photos to come.

[Astralav]

I wrapped the whole bottle and cone into an old towell, and put it in the bathtube, then: blam!

I would advise you to add some protection to the cone like duct tape with foam, as I had some minor scratches from broken glass.

If yours is like mine (glued) then the worst part is to remove the broken glass which still glued inside the cone.

Beware of the cuts!

Good luck.

[Bill Smith]

If you are going to have to break the bottle to remove the cone, how about first using a glass drill bit to drill a hole in the bottle to drain out the liquid first? And drill a number of holes in the bottle to weaken it?

[matt01165]

alot of times they used a silicon glue to hold parts together. the glue might get soft when heated use a blow dryer to heat it up and gently wiggle the cone until it lets go.. my astro remakes the bases glued together like this.

 

[Simon Lloyd]

THANK HEAVENS

... CONE OFF CLEANLY - bullet off, cone and bottle in hot bath- worked a treat!!!

[Astralav]

You're lucky!

(matt: heat doesn't work all the time)