Lava lamp coil twisted into figure 8

[James Ko]

Hey all!  My lava lamp's coil somehow got twisted into a figure 8.  I tried shaking it a little, rotating the base, placing the globe in hot water... it still won't untwist.  Is there a way to fix this without opening the top?  I have a vintage lamp with a screw top.  If I have to open the lamp, will this cause it to not work the same after opening it due to a change in the pressure/air?

Thanks!

[Carol]

Is the lamp still flowing ok?

[James Ko]

It still flows, but in an irregular way than before.  It doesn't flow up from the middle, but more on one side.  Now the lava will flow to the top and form a lump.

[Cowmatian]

You could try manipulating the coil with a high strength magnet (neodymium). Opening the lamp won't hurt it. I have opened many with no change to their operation occurring.

[James Ko]

I just tried with the magnets and I got it to not stick together, but after I let go it went back to the figure 8!  So weird lol  I am going to take the plunge and open my first lava lamp with a silicone jar opener.  But if I open the screw top, is it hard to seal it without leaking?  I heard there is an adhesive on those screw tops?  Also, to tighten the screw top, is it just simply turning it back in place or is there anything else I need to do to keep it from leaking?  Thanks!

[Cowmatian]

I'm assuming your lamp is a vintage screw cap lava lite brand lamp. If so, yep just twist the cap back on. No adhesive. An o-ring makes the seal for the 52oz lamps, and a rubber disk makes the seal for the 32 ozers. I was so nervous to open my first lamp. It was an aristocrat with a coil that wax would not stick to. I got a new coil in it without a problem. What I did was, let the lamp heat up until it was running, and then turn it off. When the wax was back on the bottom, while still liquid, I used a magnet (on the outside of the bottle) to lift the coil to the neck of the bottle where I could grab it from there. Hope this helps.

[Carol]

That's a great idea!!  I used a coat hanger but you have to be careful.  I shredded the lava totally on one of my lamps.  I got mad when I couldn't grab the coil as I fished for it and started like stirring with the coat hanger...DON"T DO THAT!!!  lol!!!

[James Ko]

It worked!  Thanks so much for that..  It seemed that the coil was almost twisted like a rubber band so it would remain in that shape.  I had to unhook the coil and adjust it so it wasn't twisted.  It is now working very well!  Those tops can be hard to remove though lol  I kept turning it and turning it until it made that popping sound like a jar would make lol

[Cowmatian]

Oh, I know. The one aristocrat I opened was so difficult to open, that I had my dad hold the bottle still, while I twisted with both hands using one of those grippers (like for jars). So glad it worked!

[James Ko]

And now my next question is...lol As I was trying to move the coil manually by tilting the globe last week (before I had opened the top), it created a lot of bubbles in the process, probably similar to shaking the lamp I would imagine.  I see a lot of tiny bubbles within the lava itself.  There is a blob that floats right to the top as the lava melts.  Is it possible that these bubbles will dissolve over time as I run the lamp again, or do I need to boil the lava to get that blob from floating to the top?  Thanks!

[Cowmatian]

I think the bubbles will work themselves out. My cat knocked over one of my lamps while it was running, and it has since recovered. However I have some lamps that have developed bubbly wax, and I don't know of any reliable way to correct this.

[James Ko]

Hmmm ok Hopefully it will resolve on it's own.  I feel nervous boiling the wax so I will just cycle it until it gets better.