New 52oz blue liquid yellow wax - emptied fluid now what?

[kero48]

Hey,

When I was at that Kmart a few weeks back I bought a new 52oz lava lamp, blue fluid yellow wax. Was #$10

I found the blue fluid to dark for my tastes so for shits and giggles I carefully emptied out to the blue fluid only to leave the yellow wax. I used a plastic coat hanger straight portion to keep the wax in place while I poured out the fluid.

I then rinsed the bottle twice with clean tape water to get the rest of the colored fluid out.

I would love to have a clear fluid yellow wax lamp, so the quesion is, now what? I wonder why lava lamp simply does not sell a clear with yellow wax anymore?

#1 Do I let the the bottle stay open so the balance of the clean water can evaporate? Or do I use my paper towel plug technique to act as a wick and change over the next few days to the interior can dry?

#2 What's the next step. I don't want to invest in all types of chemicals to get the bottle working again. Do I simply get the cheapest possible clear fluid lava lamp from spencers and pour that fluid into the bottle that will dry out? Now, I think spencers near me sells fog juice or possible party city. I now one of you mentioned that to me? What else? Any household items I can use to play and get it working?

#3 I could simply order a goo kit, however, for a 52oz bottle, is there a sure fire ratio for what should be used to get it working properly?

I am actually very interested in trying goo kits but am nervous I will mess it up somehow. Actually I would love to learn how to do this based on the photos on this forum. People make some really beautiful lamps.

I actually have nother 52oz lamp yellow lava, purple liquid (also bought from same kmart), not a bad color combo but again fluid is more dark that I would like. Was $10

Let me know your thoughts on best bang for the buck.

Other than my royale, I don't have any lava lamps that I actually like the color combo. I would love for all my bottles to have clear fluid with different lava colors.

Thanks

[Ryan]

Hey Rod,

If you are looking to use strictly household items only, you will need the following:

- 1 Gallon of Distilled Water (do not fill your globe with tap water)

- Dawn Dish Soap (only a few drops will be necessary -- this prevents wax from sticking to the sides of the globe -- when adding dish soap, dissolve drops in some distilled water, and try your best not to let it make direct contact with the wax)

- Salt (this is used to adjust the specific gravity of the fluid, there will be a lot of trial and error -- dissolve it in distilled water close to the temperature of your lamp while it is running hot, and add a little at a time -- keep in mind that there is a possibility of clouding when using salt to balance the specific gravity of your globe)

I hope others will post their input here for you as well.

[kero48]

Ryan, thanks, I believe there is a salt that will not cloud the water, I think it was called epson salt or maybe aquarium salt.

Now here is the key to PLAYING, what is the amount of each? if I put in distilled water, how much? then salt and soap how much and when does one add.

I would love to experiment with this bottle but just need some guidance on amounts.

[Bridget T]

I've found the new globes fade water incredibly easily.  I had a purple/yellow in storage, took it out recently and it's very close to a clear/yellow, with no access to sun.  I think I'm going to put in the sun for a few weeks and finish off the water dye until it's clear.

[kero48]

You know what, I could have done that, totally forgot, will do it with my other globe :)

That still leaves me with a bottle that has wax and no fluid lol.

[Bridget T]

I replaced just the fluid in one 52oz and discovered it almost flowed with straight distilled water.  Added just a drop of surfactant and a smidge of salt water and it's gorgeous now.  For a china globe, I wasn't as concerned about the salt's effect on the heat ring as I would have been on an older globe, so it worked out ok.

[kero48]

^^ Thanks, I'm gonna give it try like you did and see what happens, not gonna be a big loss if I mess it up

[kero48]

Okay, so I picked up the distilled water, I have some trader joe sea salt and a small bottle of crystal clean dish soap.

Lamp is currently warming up. For this and giggles, I added a pinch of salt and 1 drop of dish soap before it started doing anything. Let's see where this goes lol. Will update as it goes along.

[kero48]

Okay, so here is what has happened so far, see attached. What the hell is going on here with simply new distilled water, 1 tiny pinch of salt and one drop of clear dish soap??

[Bridget T]

Is the lava liquid or solid in the picture? 

[kero48]

Semi soft as I poked it with a small piece of hanger and then I gentle pushed it back down to see what would happen next.

Right now the glob has stayed at the bottom after I pushed it back down and reattached to coil.

[kero48]

What a freakin mess, now the lava has crawled up the side of the bottle and is flowing through the attached lava on the bottle up to the top, no wonder I never was interested in playing with these things.

This is why I am so afraid to try a goo kit ugh.

[kero48]

Screw it, I emptied and cleaned the bottle and will keep the coil for a day when maybe I'll try and goo kit.