Were Colossus/Humungo Lamps Advertised?

[Jason Madore]

Hi everyone,

After six long years of searching and waiting, I FINALLY scored the Holy Grail of lava lamps - a purple liquid/red wax Colossus in perfect shape from a collector in the Twin Cities, complete with the glass table ring and functioning dimmer. It looks soooo beautiful all set up in my bedroom and when it is turned on, the lava flow is truly hypnotizing!

That said, I would love it if anyone out there knows if Colossus (or their earlier Humungo siblings) lamps were ever advertised by Lava Lite? Considering that people bought them when they were new (even though they were purchased in small quantities), I would think that Lava Lite must have issued some sort of advertisement about them instead of relying solely on word-of-mouth to their customers. If you happen to have any ads about this lamp, I would LOVE to see them and perhaps print one out and frame it on the wall next to the lamp.

Thanks so much, here is a photo of me with the gentle giant!

[Jason Madore]

Thank you! The liquid is actually totally fine, it is just that my phone's mediocre-at-best camera does not take clear photos of it well, especially during the daytime. And I agree with you that this lamp is HEAVY - I will be moving into a second-floor loft in a few months and I could barely move this with the help of another person into my first-floor apartment! I don't know how I am going to be able to move the globe up a full flight of stairs by myself since it weighs only 20 pounds less than me! I will probably end up renting a stair-climbing dolly and a muscleman just for this one item lol   
 
The Lamp Caretaker said:

Nice score - the liquid looks cloudy but you can always change it out.  I also agree with other owners in that the lamp feels like it weighs 200 pounds.  I worked out for years and 100 lbs. was easy to lift.  Not this lamp.  I only recommend buying it if you can handle the weight because it's fricken heavy and hard to move around.  It must be the shape that makes it harder to handle and lift.  Either way it's a monster.  After seeing the promo ad I want to change my Humongo to  purple liquid orange lava.  I'm tired of the red lava gold liquid. When it's on at night it's all red and from a distance it's hard to see the red lava flowing because the glow of the lamp is also red.  Awesome flow. 

[Claude J]

It is always best to ask or help to move large items

Servicing x-ray equipment, owning a sound reinforcement equipment company and advertising balloon company, all took their toll on my back.

Age is not kind

Now it's difficult to get out of bed sometimes and walking long distances is not in the picture any longer

ALWAYS ask for assistance with heavy items

[Jon]

I have back issues occasionally so i know how bad it sucks..  When i was pressure washing our deck the wand was too short i was leaning foward slightly and after x amount of hours my lower back where it arches snapped like a wooden board..  I couldnt breath and collapsed..  I had x-rays takens they couldnt find anything wrong.. so he said it was muscular yea ok well it took over a year to heal and in between that time i was walking like the hunchback of notre dam..  Id be fine on the couch and then get up and boom 2 steps id collapse on the ground.

Was the most painful thing ever..  Last year my back suddenly started hurting so bad in the mid section by the rib cage in the back that i couldnt get up or do anything id screem just trying to get up,   And im only 32 right now.  Im not sure where this back pain is always coming from.

Granted i am overweight at 280lbs but im not like 400lbs or something..  So i dunno, my moms family has a history of scolioses so maybe its that but why didnt my x-rays show anything.. I dunno ? 

But when my back isnt hurting like right now im strong as an ox..  I could lift a 135g 1/2 inch glass aquarium up 2 flights of stairs by myself.   Granted i would slide the tank to the first landing but just pushing that up and then going to the end and lifting it above my head to tilt it up... yea its a 300+ lbs fish tank.   Oh and i asked for help from my friend whos muscular 6'2 and 250.. he showed up that night drunk as hell.   And there is no way id let him help me with my tank that i just bought and re-sealed which was built in 1982.

100lbs isnt much to carry short distances though, but it is alot.  I carried our new toilets inside the other day the box said 100lbs on them, and yea that was heavy but it was a huge box much more akward then a oval shaped globe.  One thing i tend to use when carrying heavy stuff is my stomach.. I know its silly when you hear it but if i lift something i can rest stuff on my gut and it helps immensly when lifting heavy things..   This is why you see strongest men in the world look like their fat.. they lift stuff using their guts funny or not it works

[Claude J]

Yes I found that if the globe was stuck to a bare belly, it was easier to handle,  :)

I still ask for assistance

(59 yrs now)

Its gotten to the point that the time it takes to make a sandwich, Standing has me in such pain that I now keep a barstool in the kitchen to take a break

[Jon]

Yea im only 32 so i get it.  I cant stand in one place for long periods if i do i start to bend and twist my back to try and help the pain, due to the pain that starts.  Its why i refuse to work Jobs that have me standing in one spot.  If im moving though its fine.  So my landscaping Job i do which is my business i own..  I am constantly moving and its fine.

Same with my feet.. standing in one spot.. my feet hurt after awhile.. but moving is better..  Thats why when i was growing up i never picked the cashier jobs you know when i first started working as a young adult.. screw that

[Johnny]

so if that weight etc is correct that hold more than the crestworth princess which is approx 25litres, as for lifting it gets harder but rubber gripped gloves have helped, at 47 im still expected to lift 2 boxes of paper = 10 reams at a time and shift 120 boxes up n down with the old back, just have to get on with it thou walk hunched for 10mins afterwards lol

[Claude J]

9.5 US GALLONS of fluid to fill a Colossus with 5 quarts of Goo
Johnny said:

so if that weight etc is correct that hold more than the crestworth princess which is approx 25litres

[Jon]

1 gallon of water is about 8 lbs..  Same with gasoline.  So if the collosus is 10 gallons its probably 8 or 9 ? true gallons of liquid due to the wax, weight of liquid and glass i wouldnt doubt it being 100lbs. 

25 Litres is only 6 1/4 gallons so yea it weighs alot less.  10 Gallons would be 40 litres  well 37 if you wanna get technical

[Claude J]

I just changed the fluid in mine yesterday in fact, It took 9 gal of distilled water

I never fill it all the way at first to adjust flotation so I am approximating the.5 Gal

Its freaking ball dropping  heavy

The issue is trying to handle its obtuse shape as opposed to condensed box weight

[Jon]

You know thats the 2nd time ive heard the world obtuse today.. First was watching Shawshank redemption when the guy calls the warden obtuse and me being stupid i didnt know the meaning so i finally looked it up..

LOL a word i plan to use more from now on hah.  Sounds Latin too

[Claude J]

it is latin

In our case the definition of not sharp or pointed or having a rounded or blunt tip apply

Jon said:

You know thats the 2nd time ive heard the world obtuse today.. First was watching Shawshank redemption when the guy calls the warden obtuse and me being stupid i didnt know the meaning so i finally looked it up..

LOL a word i plan to use more from now on hah.  Sounds Latin too

[Dillon neimiller]

Ever sell or see one for sale lease let me know!