The Fluid Bubbling Problem - Driving Me Crazy

[BSP016]

I have tried everything, replacing fluid, adding different surfactants, and I'm about ready to give up. 

So there's a problem that I have had a lot more than others seem to, in fact I've never seen anything about it on here. I call it the "fluid bubbling" problem. Yes I know there is a problem that is known in which the wax is infused with master fluid bubbles, but the fluid bubbling problem is different. It is what creates the bubbles. You see, at the bottom of the globe, when the wax starts to rise it lifts up inside the coil into a sort of pocket. As it rises, it sucks in some master fluid and creates a bubble. The bubble rises faster than the wax for some reason (probably because it's hotter, idk). The bubbles build up and up until there's a collection of them at the top of the bottle. Oddly enough, when the wax hardens and re-melts, the bubbles pop. 

I have this problem in two Aristocrats, a Silver Century, and a Midnight. All with original wax. It has been by far the most aggravating problem I have ever dealt with. I don't know if there's a fix to this but I sure hope there is. Bad coils? Bad wax? Too much heat? I'm at a loss here. 

[BamaMatt]

Sounds like a coil issue. What happens is a section of the coil will have a gap in the wax sticking to it, creating an opening for liquid to seep in under the wax blob. This liquid stays right above the bulb until it gets hot enough to rapidly shoot up through the wax. It's not uncommon, but is definitely aggravating cause it can really mess up the flow of your lamp. 

[Sentrex]

Bama, thanks, very educational. I know the symptom you are speaking oh too well... drives me crazy. I call it the shooting star. In the future I will check the coil for sure.

Benson, is your problem like the one described or are you getting the goober burpy looking bubbles gathering at the top of your lamp?

[ash-hole!]

I'm having that issue with a custom grande. It was a rainbow grande with a terrible paint job and horrible flow. So I changed it to a custom color changing grande. The coils were bad and so I have replaced them with screens. I've tried several different ways to apply the screens and it always runs great for a couple weeks then goes bubbly again. I wish I had grande coil replacements... Maybe that would do the trick?

I guess it's worth mentioning that I've never sealed the cap back off... I tinker with it too often. That surely can't be the reason behind this though.

Oh and this lamp has been on for about 8 hours.

[Nick Stefanisko]

same problem with an Aristocrat. It has done this for 30 years, I've tried to get the bubbles to pop, but they always reform. As best I can tell, there is a small amount of liquid trapped under the wax. What would happen to the coil if I tipped the wax on its side  and then ran it?

[BSP016]

Yes that's the same problem I've struggled with for years. My red Aristocrat 1100 resolved the problem once i flipped the coil over. The Squiggle has slightly different wax, it seems more transparent so idk if that has anything to do with it. That one has it pretty badly, every blob that rises creates a bubble. They do seem to pop eventually and when the lamp cools and then the wax is reheated most of the old bubbles pop (only to be replaced by new ones). I tried removing the glue on the coil to close any "wax gaps" that could allow fluid seepage, but that didn't seem to do anything. The Silver Century is by far the worst. It columns and creates multiple small bubbles at a time. The wax in that one is basically all bubbles, even though the coil is completely submerged in wax. 

[Sentrex]

My theory is that the surfactant somehow infused with the wax and it essentially "soapy".

I have tried so many things to fix this and searched this site for weeks... it cannot be fixed.