Mathmos in USA

[Verax]

Hi all, I'm in the US, and am trying to get some Mathmos lamps. Has anyone tried UKAddress.com? It seems like it is reasonably priced, and exactly what I'm looking for. Thoughts?

Cheers!

[Verax]

I can summarize mine:

• Set up an account with Forward2Me
• Buy Lamps from Mathmos, shipping to that address
• Forward2Me tells you when they have arrive, and give you the shipping price
• Pay Forward2Me for shipping
• Receive Items 

I'm getting my third shipment from Mathmos today.

[Todd Miller]

On a side note;

I had to temporarily add my UK address to my credit card.

I also had to let the CC know I was making a purchase in the UK

(fraud protection)    Do this before you try to order, their online

store declined my first two attempts at purchase.  

Using PayPal will not work, when you try, they know your in the US

and you get shot down.

[Verax]

good tip.  I just paid with my regular CC, and didn't have to do anything extra.

[ChuckM]

Actually, I don't think these are impostors. When I bought mine, it was when Mathmos redirected to lights.com for US buyers. I ordered a pink lamp and while it flowed a bit hot, it was likely due to the bulb being higher wattage than recommended. I put a dimmer on it and it was fine. I bought a blue/green globe in the UK and brought it back for my lights.com telstar. It behaves exactly the same... overheats unless I use the dimmer. The packaging was plain from lights.com (unlike my Astros that I purchased in the UK and had shipped to my hotel). I would not be surprised if lights.com gets them in these generic boxes or in bulk from Mathmos (cheaper shipping costs). I had read that someone was saying something about the legs, but since I have never seen a UK-purchased telstar up close, I cannot say whether there is something odd going on or not. It would be nice to see someone with a recent telstar purchased in the UK post some closeup photos of the inside and details. If these are impostors, they really went out of their way doing it... I think it is unlikely. It also came with Mathmos paperwork and a signed card from Mathmos... seems like a really good ruse if they are fakes!



Deb said:

I went to the lights.com website after reading this and see they are selling the Mathmos Telstar for 139.95 shipped. How long has this been available in US?  Seems a bit pricey. So how does this compare costwise to order from UK and pay to have it shipped across the pond?

http://www.lights.com/telstar-plug-rocket-lamp-violetred-p-21968.html

Wait... Erin, just read here that these are imposters?

[ChuckM]

Hi Kirk,

didn't see this for a while! It is a Philips Indoor Spot 40W R16 Medium Base. I have been using these on all but one of my 4 Astros. The 4th is actually running the US version of the golfball bulb using the original wiring. The R16 spot was really necessary for the "black" lava on the gold base. That stuff just wouldn't budge with the golf ball. I would bet I could use a regular appliance bulb and perhaps would not have to use the dimmer after some time. I think this is part science and part art. The variability between batches of lava and the color absorption of heat has got to play some role so there has got to be some level of tolerance in these things for variations. Anyway... I don't think you could go wrong experimenting a bit. I saw your video with the 4 foot lava lamp... this is NOTHING compared to that! ;-)



Kirk said:

Which reflector bulbs are you using Chuck?  I'm planning on trying both 35w halogen E26 and R39 30w intermediate (E17, I think) reflectors in them.  I have a chrome, rewired Astro that I think I'm using a standard 40w in now, and it's a little too hot.
 
ChuckM said:

 One interesting thing to note. The heritage Astros use a regular euro bulb. The chrome Astros use a beefy looking halogen bulb. When I rewire mine, I have opted for a reflector bulb in both and both seem to work fine with this choice.

[Kirk]

Thanks, Chuck.  Interesting.

I've found that my rewired Fluidiums flow best on the Spot 40W R16 medium base (E26) bulbs.  In order to get the E26 socket installed in the Fluidium,  I had to modify the original Fluidium intermediate socket insert so the new E26 base and 40W Spot would fit properly under globe.  When I say modify, I cut off the plastic sides of the intermediate socket insert.  I need to post a discussion with pictures of this procedure.    

And as you found, these bulbs work well with the Heritage Astros, too.  Here is a picture of it for those that may not be familiar with this bulb:

I think the R16 Spot is a little too hot for the silver base Astros, though.  It seems that the silver base heats up and conducts more heat than the colored Heritage bases.  After about 3 hours, I start getting too many bits of lava in the flow of my silver base Astros. 

I've been running my silver base Astros on A15 Clear 40W Appliance bulbs - still a little too hot, but better.  I'm now trying the frosted version of this bulb, and I think it may be just about right.  Here are pictures of these bulbs.  They are the bulbs used in most 32 and 52 oz LL globes.

I love the Fluidium flow.  It's snaky and crazy.  The Astro flow is the more traditional long blobs up and down.  Nice, but not as interesting as the Fluidium.

I definitely appreciate the "it's as much art as science" comment.  I think this is what makes this hobby so interesting.  There is always a new challenge!

I saw your comment on the US Telstar.  I have one, too, and while I haven't run it in a while, I believe it ran a little hot.  Maybe I'll drag it out and experiment soon.  So many projects going on...

If you have any more insight on rewiring and bulb use in the Mathmos lamps I'd love to hear about it.  Thanks.

ChuckM said:

Hi Kirk,

didn't see this for a while! It is a Philips Indoor Spot 40W R16 Medium Base. I have been using these on all but one of my 4 Astros. The 4th is actually running the US version of the golfball bulb using the original wiring. The R16 spot was really necessary for the "black" lava on the gold base. That stuff just wouldn't budge with the golf ball. I would bet I could use a regular appliance bulb and perhaps would not have to use the dimmer after some time. I think this is part science and part art. The variability between batches of lava and the color absorption of heat has got to play some role so there has got to be some level of tolerance in these things for variations. Anyway... I don't think you could go wrong experimenting a bit. I saw your video with the 4 foot lava lamp... this is NOTHING compared to that! ;-)



Kirk said:

Which reflector bulbs are you using Chuck?  I'm planning on trying both 35w halogen E26 and R39 30w intermediate (E17, I think) reflectors in them.  I have a chrome, rewired Astro that I think I'm using a standard 40w in now, and it's a little too hot.
 
ChuckM said:

 One interesting thing to note. The heritage Astros use a regular euro bulb. The chrome Astros use a beefy looking halogen bulb. When I rewire mine, I have opted for a reflector bulb in both and both seem to work fine with this choice.

[Kirk]

Exactly.  I've had two Mathmos shipments now, and I've been delighted with the service!

Verax said:

I can summarize mine:

• Set up an account with Forward2Me
• Buy Lamps from Mathmos, shipping to that address
• Forward2Me tells you when they have arrive, and give you the shipping price
• Pay Forward2Me for shipping
• Receive Items 

I'm getting my third shipment from Mathmos today.

[Kirk]

I think I used both my Amex and Visa to make the purchases on the Mathmos website.  The payment processing worked fine  and required nothing else.

Oh, one thing I would add.  I also setup a Mathmos account on the Mathmos UK site and used the Forward2Me address as both my billing and shipping address.  

When I checked out and paid using my CCs, I entered my USA billing address.  It worked perfectly.

Verax said:

good tip.  I just paid with my regular CC, and didn't have to do anything extra.

[Bridget T]

Has anyone just had a single astro shipped?  I'm trying to figure out what one would cost for a holiday present for myself.  As much as I want, I can't see being able to afford multiple ones right now.  Thanks

[Kirk]

For a single Astro, it'll run $100-$115 (Heritage are higher).  Shipping is around $60.

I recently shipped three lamps for $90.  So, you do get a break on shipping when you buy/ship more.

[Carol]

I don't think 110-115.00 is bad for a good quality lamp that odds are will arrive in one piece.  I've found having lamps shipped on ebay can be a gamble at best. 

[Bridget T]

That's not bad for shipping either, I thought it might be more than that.  It seems everyone is happy with the packaging, no concerns on that end either?