lava full of white bits

[Helen Morris]

I bought a lava lamp off of eBay & it arrived today. The water is clear ( blue ) but the purple lava is full of lots of white particles.............. Is there something wrong with it - my other lamps aren't like this - do you think I should return it?
Any help appreciated :-)

[Keith]

My suggestion when running any lamp that's new to you; run it normally (6 to 8 hours) for several days to see if it is okay.  I usually give a lamp a week of running to decide if it's good or not.

I just bought a new lamp Saturday and have been running it daily, tonight is the 6th run.  It hadn't been running to my satisfaction, but tonight it is flowing fine.

Sometimes if a lamp hasn't been used for a while it can take several runs for the wax to fully melt together, but sometimes it is a lost cause.

Long story short, give it a week (depending of sellers return policy) and if still not satisfied ask for a refund.

[Helen Morris]

Thanks for your help Keith, much appreciated :-) I'll give it a go
The lava flows freely/well but is chokkablock full of these unsightly white chunks/bits - defo won't keep it if it stays like this........l
Such a shame because I've been wanting a jet replacement bottle for my lamp & the colours were perfect for me too! :-(

[Brad]

i've seen this happen in globes that are stored for long periods of time.  i agree with keith to run the lamp for 6-8 hours per day to see if the white chunks will assimilate.  in my experience they usually do not, so be prepared.

[Helen Morris]

Thanks Brad :-) To be honest I've pretty much come to the conclusion that this globe is finished, the wax is in such a bad way................ I'm taking the advice to run it to see if the chunks will assimilate mainly because jet globes aren't easy to get hold of these days, especially in colours that you particularly want......... The blue/purple was perfect for me, it was exactly what I was wanting, so it's pretty heartbreaking that this has happened.
If it doesn't correct itself I'll just have to keep searching in the hopes I'll find another one that's in good working order.

[Brad]

no problem at all.  if everything else is OK, would it be possible for you to 'fish' the white pieces out?

[Helen Morris]

To be honest, I'd rather return the globe & get my money back & keep searching than take the risk of doing anything with/to the globe - especially being a total novice when it comes to repairing/revamping these lamps, unlike some of you guys & gals on here. There are some fab lamps that have been repaired,or goo-kitted on here! :-) ..............
Maybe I'll get lucky at some point & someone will have one to sell on here, or eBay - I'll be keeping everything crossed in the hopes Brad :-)

[Brad]

i agree, unless you have to pay return shipping.  i've asked for a discount on lamps before because they weren't represented correctly, and that worked.  keep checking ebay and hopefully you'll find your perfect lamp someday!

[Keith]

One of the easiest fixes is to replace the wax and fluid from a donor lamp.  That might be something to consider if circumstances leave you with a refund AND the lamp.

[Helen Morris]

Thanks for all the advice fellas, much appreciated :-) I returned the lamp in the end & was refunded - although I really wish there had been no need to return/get a refund............. I'm still checking eBay periodically & there are jet lamps available but I am holding out in the hopes that a colour combo I really like/want comes along :-) (There is a really nice Astro Baby on there at the moment with colours that I'd love but it's too expensive for me - especially at this time of year! Sods Law that I can't find the perfect combo for my needs lol.........
Once again, thanks for all your help with my dilemma! X

[Cydok]

Jumping in here a little late. Ordered my first Mathmos off ebay, factory new from the UK, Im in the US and the wax started out great the first two days but now has these white bits in it like OP. I am going to trying running it for 6/8 hours and hope this clears up. I really like this lamp and hope I don't have to return it :(.

[Helen Morris]

I hope running the lamp works out for you - unfortunately it didn't for me & I ended up having to return it. Let's hope you have better luck! :-)

[Cydok]

So I ran the lamp over night and the specks are gone. I turned the lamp off and turned it on again a few hours ago. There are fewer specks than last night, I'm only about 3/4 hours into this run so I am going to keep this cycle up for a few more days and hopefully they will be gone for good.

I live up in the mountains and we do get some cold weather up here. Could it be the cold causing it?