Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate

Any ideas on what type of cap i'm dealing with here (pic included)

Hey all, got a couple of generic lamps on the cheap recently but both comes with a couple of flaws.. The lava in one seems a bit overweight and doesn't really have the gusto to do much except rise in one big gob half way up before falling back down, ad infinitum but I suppose I can live with that.. However both appear pretty dirty on the inner glass so I was going to give them a clean and perhaps add a little food coloring to the lazy one to change the look of it..

The thing is I have no idea what type of cap I am dealing with here and I don't want to force it without knowing what I am forcing..  The cap turns easily in both directions but nothing loosens or tightens.. The cap will just turn forever with no obvious effect.. There is a pic of the cap attached.. Does anyone know the easiest/safest way to detach this type of cap and also how would I go about securing it back on again?

Thanks

Simon

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You will likely need a small flat blade (i.e. little screwdriver) and will want to locate the lower edge of the cap and pry it outwards.  Slowly and gently work your way all around the cap prying the edge outward.  Once it clears what is likely a ledge on the neck of the bottle you should be able to pull it right off.  There will likely be a rubber stopper underneath.

What you have there is just the outer covering over the inner plug, I do not know of a way to remove that type of cap without some destruction. The good news is, there is another plug inside that actually seals the globe, the bad news is that the outer covering is more our less toast

Simon, I can't tell you how to take the cap off, since I've never done one of those before, but you might want to try buying a higher wattage bulb to get some type of flow going. I don't think you have enough watts/heat to get a nice lava flow. 

  

Thanks for the replies guys.. I'll go at it with a small flathead tomorrow and see how i go.. As for the wattage issue, the bulb is already the max rated.. 30W..  Are you suggesting a 40W might have a better impact on the wax?

I would definitely try a 40w if you already have a 30w in the lamp. I had to do the same thing with one of my Century lamps. It would not flow with the recommended 40w bulb, so I put in a 60w and she flows like butta. 
 
Simon Richards said:

Thanks for the replies guys.. I'll go at it with a small flathead tomorrow and see how i go.. As for the wattage issue, the bulb is already the max rated.. 30W..  Are you suggesting a 40W might have a better impact on the wax?

If you can spin the cap, it's most likely a metal cap crimped on top of a rubber plug that seals it. I have have also dealt with caps that look like those but were glued ontop of a regular bottlecap as a deterrent to open it, if this is the case then it won't spin. I cut the cap off, and removed the bottle cap with a bottle opener, then sealed it back up with a bench capper.

Just to give a little feedback.. I pried off the cap as suggested by Jim.. There was no stopper or plug underneath though.. It was just that cap and nothing else.. I made the adjustments I wanted and secured the cap back on through some careful clamping with a vice-grips.. In the meantime I still have a little bit of cleaning work to do on the other so i'll see about making proper measurements and look to find a replacement cap for both..

The first lamp seems to be functioning as before so I assume I won't be having any trouble..

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