What to do with my cranberry/clear Midnight, running hot and cloudy

[Rich C]

I turned on my new Midnight and in less than half an hour it had sent up stalagmites.  Last night it was running very hot with most of the wax off the bottom and most stuck at the top with lots of huge bubbles.  I let it cool and tried a 25w bulb for a while and it didn't really flow, just made a column that never moved or broke off.  I tried a different 40w bulb with similar over hot results.  Also, the fluid when I brought it home looked fine, but now is slightly cloudy.  I want to cycle it a bit to help clear up the cloudiness, hopefully, but I don't want it running hot. 

Perhaps time for a dimmer to get it somewhere between 25w and 40w output?

[Bridget T]

I would dim it, I've had to dim all my 32oz globes, but I figure it it helps them run better and preserve the wax it's worth it. 

[ChuckM]

Hey Rich,

What year is your midnight? I have one that I bought in about 1996/7 that went from blue/white to clear/white. It sat in a box for years and years... I started it up again about a week and half ago and I have had the same issues. I tried a 40W bulb that seemed to cause overheating (same results you have) and a 25W that was too cool (same results you have had). I put it on a dimmer and have to fidget with it to get to a point where it seems to work... but still has bubbles in it now.

My other issue... not sure if you have this.. is that it seems to be low on liquid. This is my own subjective thought. If you look at my other thread here you will see the older photos of overheating. I am about to post new photos of bubbles and some thoughts on what I might try to do before I simply do a gookit project (Which may make some folks wonder if I gave up too soon!).

[Rich C]

Mine has a Dec 1995 date on the base and a Feb 1996 date on the globe.  If I can locate a dimmer, I'll give it a try.  My old Century has been suffering from bubbles too.  I'm beginning to think bubbles are a result of overheating and persist even after the overheating issue is resolved.  Since this Midnight was a $2 purchase, I'll consider doing something more drastic with it if it doesn't shape up after cycling for a bit.  The fluid seems to clearing, slightly.

The fluid level seems fine on mine.

[ChuckM]

Nice... $2 is a steal! I have yet to find something on Craigslist that I would jump on... I was able to find a Carslisle 300 elsewhere for $9 but I had to pay $19 in shipping... and it may be in rough shape.

Good luck with your midnight... mine probably developed the bubbles from overheating... makes me really think I should retain the liquid and then boil the lava to see if it reforms...

[Rich C]

I've boiled the lava in my old Century twice now and it still suffers from bubbles and chunkiness.

[Rich C]

I decided to try my Midnight with a 25w bulb from full cold and it is actually flowing pretty well and is lacking bubbles for the most part.  It is flowing a lot like my old 75 Century.  It took a while to fully warm up, but who cares if it flows well once it does.  I think I'll just cycle it for a while on a 25w bulb and see if the good flow continues and if the fluid begins to clear.  It was so clear when I first brought it home, no idea why it clouded up once it started running.

[Jeff]

I just boiled a 70's era globe last night that looked like snakeskin when flowing and had appeared to have separated.  There was a white clay looking component that had settled out of the wax.  A few times I tried twirling the globe once it was melted and that would stir up that white stuff but it quickly sunk back out again as the lamp cooled.  Figured since it was a screw cap if the cap came off without resistance I'd give it a try boiling, and it did so we'll see.  I stirred the wax several times while it was melted w/o any liquid in an effort to recombine that white stuff into it.  For the most part it seems to have stayed in while it cooled, I only see a little bit settled out now.  Hopefully a few cycles now and it'll be going good again.  I really hate the thoughts of goo kitting a vintage globe, but if this fails I might just save these contents and do that, just so I can use it.

[Rich C]

After boiling twice my Century still has white chunks.  They shrink after the boiling but seems to become larger and more prominent the more I run the lamp.  Wish I knew what I could do to get the wax back to smooth uniform goo it used to have.

[Jeff]

Mine doesn't really have chunks....it more or less just has tons and tons of tiny bubbles.  And that white stuff that settles out (don't have a pic of that yet)

[Deb]

I have a Cranberry/Clear that came with the White Marble base. It was cloudy and after cycling for what seemed like forever it improved but didn't clear. I ended up filtering it and thought I resolved the issue. Crystal clear fluid when cold but clouds back up when I run it. Whatever that white stuff is seems to be the culprit. Although it's not separated it seems to permeate the water when heated back up.

With my 2 piece Century. It had a layer of white gooey and bubbles just like your pics. Filtered the water clear then cloudy when heated. I tried the melting method  to remedy the bubble issue and no more flow.

I ended up sacrificing a couple extra 32 oz  Red/Yellow globes for transfer which was a shame since the 2 piece was the earliest of Centuries made. I like to keep things original if at all possible.

[Jeff]

The liquid in mine is not the slightest bit cloudy...but the wax looks like a snake (literally) with all those damn little bubbles.  FLow isn't too bad either...its kind of a slower more subdued movement, but its a nice contrast to the newer lamps which just spit balls constantly. 

[Rich C]

I've been running it on a 25w bulb for the past few days.  It takes a while to warm up and moves very sluggishly but no bubbles.  The fluid is still cloudy but appears to be slowly, very slowly, clearing.  It was so clear when I first got it!