Global Mystery ;) (Sorry I could not resist)

[MichaelN77]

Can anyone tell how many oz this globe is? It is 9.5 inches tall if that helps, please & thank you!

[MichaelN77]

I got it for five dollars and it is indeed 52oz. While I am not big on the color combination, the cap that barely stays on and the base that does not light up and looks super cheap but I got it for the globe and the annoying cap. Not sure if these next posts are going to be in the right thread anymore.

Can I remove the bottle cap with a bottle opener or is that a bad idea? How do I get the old wax and liquid out and the new one wax and liquid in through that tiny opening?

[Claude J]

Read read read

there are many instruction on this site

Magma Tower sells goo as well as the tools to me a regoo successful in their kit

check some of my old post too

I recall posting a play-by-play on how to re-goo a lamp

[MichaelN77]

I will take a look Friday night, I now need to really study for Friday’s exam. Is there even an article on how to get the goo out through such a small opening?

The plan I am formulating in my mind is getting it liquefied, pour it into a half gallon container. Seal the container and put it somewhere safe for a day or indefinitely.

Purchase about three of those 14.5in/20oz ones I see all over my area for under ten dollars. Liquefy them and place the three different goos in separate containers for a day or more until they re-solidify.

Remove the wax from the containers and melt it into one mass. Pour the wax into the 52oz globe, let it cool and solidify.

Next day pour the liquid in and fill the globe to the top with about a half inch gap. Place the bottle cap back on and crip it shut. Barrow my friend’s glue gun and glue the cap back on to the bottle. Recycle all the parts to those smaller cheap lava lamps and enjoy.

Claude J said:

Read read read

there are many instruction on this site

Magma Tower sells goo as well as the tools to me a regoo successful in their kit

check some of my old post too

I recall posting a play-by-play on how to re-goo a lamp

[Claude J]

OK you almost got it

I suggest you buy a kit from Magma tower of go to their website and see what it contains and substitute

https://www.magmatower.com/product-page/mini-goo-kit

You Especially want the funnel and droptube that attached to the funnel so you do not splash the molten lava

PROCESS

1) open the 14" donated lamps cold (I'm hoping you find donated lamps with Clear master fluid)

2) Pour the liquid contents into a clean gal container and seal for later use.

3) In a water bath on the stove, put the globes with the lava in the water, bring to boil then turn down to simmer and watch until its all melted

4) add all three contents of molten lava to a large pyrex mixing cup or mason jar, temporary cap it and set aside

Globe preparation:

Clean it thoroughly with Dawn and hot water (and bottle brush if you have it)

do not loose the spring-clean it too

Rinse globe with hot water (as hot as you can get it- I usually use the boiling water that i melted the goo with)

Rinse again

Rinse again

If you do not have  SLES or SURF, you can substitute with a generic clear dish-soap with NO fragrance, softeners, of additives

Add a bit (teaspoon) of clear soap along with distilled water and shake to coat the entire globe

dump contents

DO NOT RINSE

Immediately add the fluid from the donated 14"lamp to @1/2 mark with funnell

Add spring

place cap or (plastic bag?) on top of opening so sides do not dry out during next step

ADDING GOO
Heat goo in water bath until molten (Some people use microwave or toaster oven but I don't suggest it)

WEAR GLOVES

Shake globe with the fluid again to freshly coat the sides

If there are soap bubbles do not worry about it

Use the funnel with droptube and insert it into the bottle

Hold droptube just inside the water line and pour in molten lava for pyrex mixing cup or mason jar

(the reason to do it this way with a drop tube is to avoid splashing and sticking to the globe)

add the remainder of the donated fluid to @1.5" from the top

Set the globe onto the base and take a cap you took off one of the bottles and set onto the top of the neck to contain heat and avoid contamination from airborne particles-DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SEAL IT AT THIS STAGE

run the lamp and see how it works

If there are problems with flotation let us know (Whole other topic)

if there are excessive bubbles that do not go away after a day or operation, you can remove the temporary cap, put the globe into a water bath and heat until all the lava rises to the top and bubble disappear.

Most of use own bottle cappers to reseal the globe with new caps.

If you do not own one, carefully remove the cap with distorting it.

Then, you can use some clear silicone or epoxy and reseal the globe by putting a small bead around the inside of the cap, then gently prying the tabs back downward with a pliers or hose clamp. DO THIS WHEN THE GLOBE IS COLD.

You can also use heat-shrink to assist in sealing the cap if necessary

Michael Noriega said:

I will take a look Friday night, I now need to really study for Friday’s exam. Is there even an article on how to get the goo out through such a small opening?

The plan I am formulating in my mind is getting it liquefied, pour it into a half gallon container. Seal the container and put it somewhere safe for a day or indefinitely.

Purchase about three of those 14.5in/20oz ones I see all over my area for under ten dollars. Liquefy them and place the three different goos in separate containers for a day or more until they re-solidify.

Remove the wax from the containers and melt it into one mass. Pour the wax into the 52oz globe, let it cool and solidify.

Next day pour the liquid in and fill the globe to the top with about a half inch gap. Place the bottle cap back on and crip it shut. Barrow my friend’s glue gun and glue the cap back on to the bottle. Recycle all the parts to those smaller cheap lava lamps and enjoy.

Claude J said:

Read read read

there are many instruction on this site

Magma Tower sells goo as well as the tools to me a regoo successful in their kit

check some of my old post too

I recall posting a play-by-play on how to re-goo a lamp

[MichaelN77]

Thank you for that information. It certainly looks easier than what I am about to do. I think I need to gain the experience of swapping goo from globe to globe. I went to a local second hand/dollar/swap meat store thing on the way home from school and convinced the owner to let me purchase these for three dollars each or all three for $9.71 with tax. Now I just need to combine them together. Hopefully I can find a guide on here for this exact situation. Now I just have to resist the temptation to wait until I come home from school tomorrow after I have studied and taken my exam. However, I think we all know how this is going to go when I get home. ;)

[Claude J]

Michael Noriega said:

Thank you for that information. It certainly looks easier than what I am about to do. I think I need to gain the experience of swapping goo from globe to globe. I went to a local second hand/dollar/swap meat store thing on the way home from school and convinced the owner to let me purchase these for three dollars each or all three for $9.71 with tax. Now I just need to combine them together. Hopefully I can find a guide on here for this exact situation. Now I just have to resist the temptation to wait until I come home from school tomorrow after I have studied and taken my exam. However, I think we all know how this is going to go when I get home. ;)

[Keith]

So here's the bad thing about those small lamps, they don't flow very good; one blob up, one blob down, repeat.

The good news?  Combine them in a larger globe, especially a 52 oz, and you are likely to have a good lamp with good flow.  At least that has been my experience.

After reading your plan I just want to stress, do not empty the melted wax and fluid together.  You will end up with an emulsified suspension of tiny wax particles, commonly called "shaken globe syndrome".  That is a good (bad) way to ruin your wax.  I may have read your thoughts wrong, but wanted to be clear in case that is what you were planning.  That is why it is so important to empty the fluid and then heat up the wax and empty.  Do not combine hot wax with fluid (except a small amount as Claude says) as this can cause emulsification also.  

You are on the right road and you will have success!

One more thing, save all of the stuff from the donor lamps you can.  Even if it's only the bottle caps and coils.  The caps will fit all of the 52 oz globes and smaller, the coils can be gently stretched to fit the larger globes.  And you never know when or how many coils you may need.

[MichaelN77]

I was going to do it that way because I could not think of a way to get the wax out. I figured it would be similar to knocking a flowing globe over then turning it off for twenty-four hours to reset it. That happened a few times with my old 52oz globes. They were always fine the next day.

However, I am now going to do what Claude J posted above and hope I can get at least 90% of the wax out.

They are new and have not been removed from the box. The guy at the store says he has had these lava lamps for a few years now, they do not sell very well. Which is why he had them marked down to six dollars and I convinced him to go down to three dollars if I purchase three. Why three; 20oz times three is 60oz. So I figured it would be enough wax and more than enough liquid for a 52oz globe. I am pretty sure I am right.

Today is going to be fun-filled visiting the antique and thrift store hotspot in town looking for a silver Century base and then coming home to do this experiment.

That thirty dollar goo-kit sounds like fun and probably a lot easier. I am not sure how I would even go about turning down the watts or finding a bulb the same size with fewer watts. However, I would like to find a cool white or daylight bulb sometime later on. I am not really much of a fan of the soft white look. I also do not have the time nor the money for that goo-kit with finals approaching. I might get one during winter break when I have a lot more time on my hands and patients.

Here are the containers I am planning on using later today. I washed all of them with very hot water and distilled vinegar. Followed by rinsing them a few times in very hot water. They were towel dried with a lint-free cloth. Finally, they were loosely covered and placed up in my closet to allow them to safely air dry away from the cats. The ones on the left are for the old and possibly contaminated goo. The right ones are for the new blue/white goo and can also be sealed airtight.

Here are some photos of the possibly contaminated goo. I do not know what those brown flakes are but they are attached to the wax and look like some kind of infection.

Despite the possible contamination, I think this might make a great globe to celebrate the holidays with its green/cranberry red colored goo. The lava looks like liquified Oceanspray brand Canned Cranberry Sauce but the photos do not do it justice. I think it might be a bit cloudy in there. It is kind of nice though because the green liquid looks similar to the way auroras look. It even kind of looks like there is one trapped inside the globe.

BONUS PHOTO: For those of you that are curious (like me) about how long it took from the second I flipped on the power switch on to the second the lava started flowing normally.

[Claude J]

Call me to walk you through this if you wish

see friend request

I see a few things wrong with your containers and tenative process

[MichaelN77]

Well, the antique hunt was a bust all I found was a base that looks like a mini black crockpot and long inverted U dome shape cap. Looks like it might of fit a 32oz or 52oz. 

Really, what do you see that is wrong? I was about to start in about an hour.

[MichaelN77]

I got the cap off the 52oz globe. It is so difficult with my little flathead screwdriver. 

I overestimated the size of the container I needed for the liquid.

I think those are the brown flakes that were attached to the wax. 

[MichaelN77]

Time to pour in the wax, is this TOO molten?