Question On Some Lava Lamps I Purchased.

[Ben]

Hello i'm new to collecting lava lamps, so I started off with buying this lot of lamps on an online auction. I had to pay a bit more than I wanted, but them seemed pretty cool. I was just wondering if some of you guys could tell me anything about these lamps by these pictures. Once I get them i'll take better pictures, and they all supposedly work. 

[Snicks]

It should look like this when operating.

[picture borrowed from elsewhere on this site]

[Ben]

That is beautiful. Do you know how much he would charge? Also thanks for all the help as well as everyone else who commented.

[Snicks]

I'm not acquainted with him yet, but have viewed his work in numerous posts on the site, and the results look great. You'll have to contact him directly for more information.

http://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/KirkOlson

I have this Gemlite model as well. My cap seal has allowed some fluid to evaporate due to age, but it's not terribly low. I may have it refilled at some point, and he's the person I would go to.

[Snicks]

I also wanted to mention that the bulb for this lamp should not exceed 15 watts. Anything higher will melt/warp the black plastic bottom.

[TomK]

What a great score! That's an awesome lamp John. I completely agree with Snicks--if you want the lamp back in original pristine working order then bow to the man with the know how. Since it has been opened, who knows what the last owner added to the lamp? Or did he even know what he was doing? I'm curious--did you run the lamp yet? If so, what happened?

[Ben]

It has a 15 watt bulb in it so it should be good, and I've had it running for a few hours and I haven't noticed any changes.

[TomK]

Something should have at least started to move by now. You may have a dead lamp on your hands. I've been looking around and it seems that no one really knows exactly what goes into those lamps so if you find someone who knows how to restore one, I would go with him. Then you will be the proud owner of a beautiful, rare and valuable Gemlite!

[Snicks]

These are usually up and running within a half hour. The original liquid has Freon in it, and who knows what else.

We need some input from Kirk here. He seems to know the skinny on this glitter business.

Your lamp has great potential! It just needs some TLC.

[Kempton]

Just a thought, but has anyone restored one with lava in it?

[Snicks]

I've seen pictures of lava in other Gemlite model/style lamps, but the extra wattage needed to run lava would destroy the plastic bottom on this particular base.

[TomK]

Yes, you would never want to risk damaging a beauty such as this Gemlite. In general, these lamps are all very rare and, in some cases, real examples have never even been seen! Such is the case with the gold base / gold glitter smaller Gemlite. I've seen them Gems on ebay occasionally but only like one per year or so. I would fix this baby up and enjoy it FOREVER!!

I just landed a Copper Crestworth Limited (Astro type) lamp from a girl in the UK and I plan to do the same with this rare bird!

Snicks said:

I've seen pictures of lava in other Gemlite model/style lamps, but the extra wattage needed to run lava would destroy the plastic bottom on this particular base.

[Jim]

Reach out to Loren or Kirk about a glitter refill.  Loren was the first on the site to master glitters and Kirk has a different offering than Loren.  Gem Lites in general are great lamps to own and have silly resale values.  I sold my Gem Lite and was able to buy a Colossus and a nice meal with the proceeds.  The one thing that may hold down value is that it is destined to be refilled.  Some may not see much of a big deal, but when I see a lamp isn't factory sealed by Lava Lite/Lava Simplex the value plummets in my eyes.