cloudy 52 question

[Kaity Sullivan]

so ya'll know i got that really cloudy messed up 52oz purple/pink from ebay not too long ago and i've been trying the cycling thing for quite a while now and it cleared up just a bit and now it seems like it won't go anymore, it's just not really gonna clear up.

but i started looking and i think i see some mess on the inside of the glass, maybe a film of some kind, and i was thinking that i may dump the water out and keep it and just try to clean the inside of the glass a bit and see if maybe that make it look a little better because at this point i really dont wanna dump it out just yet or goo kit because i REALLY like it and the flow is perfect, just looks a little shitty.

but yeah is that something i can do? try to clean the inside of the globe? if so how should i go about it? and would that run the risk of the lamp not flowing again even if i put the stock water back in?

thanks!

[Carol]

According to some members, once you take down a lamp and put the original liquid and lava back in, there's a good chance that it may acquire a sticking problem where the lava sticks to the side of the glass.  I would recommend adding a little MT surf or dish liquid but anything added to an original stock lamp will mess up the equation. 

You can take off the cap and pour the liquid while the lamp is cold into a container for use to refill later.  Put the globe (make sure cap is off) into a pot of water.  I put a dish rag underneath the globe so it doesn't crack.  Slowly boil the water until the lava melts inside the globe.  Once melted you can dump the lava into a measuring cup or container.  I prefer to use everything clean so to not pick up lint, pet hair, etc.  Then attempt to clean the globe with hot tap water and dawn dish liquid.  You can also use vinegar to cut any oils from the lava.  You can also pour some of the boiling water that you used to boil the globe into the globe and shake.  There are steps all laid out in the goo kit tutorial as to how to properly take down and clean and globe.  You don't have to necessarily be goo kitting to use the steps for cleaning out a globe.

 

You may have to remelt your lava because as you are cleaning out your globe it tends to harden a bit.  Pour that back in through a straw trying not to splash it back onto the inside of the globe.  Let cool COMPLETELY.  I like to wait at least 4 to 6 hours to make sure it is fully hardned.  Then pur back in the stock liquid.  Cap up and fire it up.

[Carol]

Kaity, you can use STEP 2 of this link to help you with the cleaning of your globe process.

http://oozinggoo.ning.com/page/goo-kits

[Kaity Sullivan]

thanks carol! i may try that, although i didn't want to take the lava out. i'll tinker with it maybe! i'm nervous about trying to do anything cause i dont wanna mess it up.

[Carol]

My safari snakeskin has a separation problem, lol!!!  There is a blob of wax stuck at the top that just won't sink.  It's not one of those normal top hats that will fall with a little jiggle, it's full blown separated.  There is also some white residue that keeps getting into the water.  The lamp cleared, but if I try to get that top cap down with a jiggle, the white residue starts floating around in the water.  I think this is why the lamp came cloudy in the first place.  I think because it sat in the box in storage for so long it was probably subjected to too many temp fluctuations.  Anyway, I really didn't wanna mess with this one either but at least I can leave the lava in there, take out the fluid and just let it melt together on the base and then replace the fluid.  If this doesn't work, I guess i'm goo kitting a vintage.  Man, I hate like hell to mess with the vintage stuff....it's starting to have decent flow too.  I may end up popping the 60 watter back in.  That seemed to at least let the flow blend together, but as soon as I put the 40 back in, it separated again.