Lava Lamp Newb With ?s

Hey guys! New member here! Got a couple questions I know will probably be easy answers for some of you...

I am in the market for a new lava lamp for my studio apartment (the first of many). I had the lava bug back in the early 90s and had a midnight series, black base, clear liquid and purple wax as my first lamp. Had a few here and there back then but had all but forgotten about them until I started watching re-runs of "That 70s Show", and now I absolutely have to have another one!

Now, Im not the type to just go out and bu the first thing I see at target or walmart, I always research purchases like this, and it is looking like I may have been smart in doing this... Lava Lite seems to have gotten really bad since the 90s by looking at the posts here and in various reviews around the internet.

I have found numerous posts here referring to production being moved back into the US here but the main source of this information was from last year. Has this move happened? Are the Lava Lite lamps sold at target and walmart back up to par with what they should be now? Are the forumlas perfect for good flow again?

Second, I just found out about Mathmos the other day and got all excited. This excitment quickly left me when I found Mathmos's US site with no listing for the Astro that is oh-so-drool worthy... What is going on there? Are they going to produce the Astro for the US market here or what? I would much rather save my pennies for a perfect Mathmos then play the gambling game with a target bought lamp...

Thanks in advance! This is a wonderful site and I look forward to this new interest becoming an obsession ;)

Jamie

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Samantha Gregory on June 1, 2013 at 2:14pm

AWesome good luck

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Permalink Reply by Brad on June 2, 2013 at 4:02am

i also use frosted bulbs as the clear ones tend to cause overheating. furthermore, reveal bulbs don't seem to work very well either as they overheat the wax. at least in my experience anyway.

Keith said:

As for the bulb I normally use frosted. The clear bulbs generally run slightly hotter. Overall not too big of a difference though.

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Gregory on June 2, 2013 at 4:26am

I don't have a preference but if the bulb has more voltage than the lamps ask for do not be afraid to use them the lamps ask for 120v if a bulb uses 125v go ahead and use it because it lasts longer uses less energy and doesn't burn as hot as the 120v bulbs do but stay with the wattage and type of bulb it asks for