Mathmos lamp quality

[Donald Besaw Jr]

Well, this is disappointing. While I might have expected this with China lamps, I certainly wasn't expecting this with supposedly the best lava lamp company in the world.

I've had this lamp for about 2 weeks now and just noticed this sticking going on just today. Looks like I might need a new bottle for this lamp already. This is an Astro red/violet. I also have another Mathmos yellow/orange coming. Hopefully I'll have better luck with that one.

I have contacted the Ebay vendor that I purchased the lamp from and am waiting for a reply.

I was just wondering if anyone has also experienced issues like these with a Mathmos lamp. If I had any idea something like this was going to happen, I'm sure I would NOT have paid nearly $200 for this lamp plus another $15 for 130V US bulbs and UK/US plug adapters nor would I have ordered a second one in a different color combination.

[andy ross]

HI from UK

You don't mention a stepdown converter in your US adapt kit.

Without it you may not be getting enough bulb heat to the wax

This is no electrical whizz talking, but you may find there's an easy answer - hope so!

[Donald Besaw Jr]

Hi

I actually changed the bulb to a 130V 40W reflector so no upconverter needed. I know the UK bulbs need 240V for proper operation. The flow is ok other than the wax sticking to the bottle although it's more of the smaller spherical blobs that some people don't care for.

andy ross said:

HI from UK

You don't mention a stepdown converter in your US adapt kit.

Without it you may not be getting enough bulb heat to the wax

This is no electrical whizz talking, but you may find there's an easy answer - hope so!

[LukyDuck]

Copied from the Mathmos website:

“If you use the lamp a few times this wax should join the rest of the lava. If this does not happen and your lamp was bought less than a year ago please contact us here. If you lamp is over a year old please buy a replacement bottle here.“

I would run it a bunch of times. I have had a few that have a little stick to the sides near the base. They pretty much cleared up after a while.

I do not know where you live, but $200 on the US would be expensive. I live in the US and can buy and ship one for less than that. Plus, I get the warranty since I buy direct from Mathmos. You can lower the cost by buying a few at a time or include some spare bottles.

‘Edit: I own 14 Mathmos and have them shipped from the U.K. I run my lamps on transformers. 

[Donald Besaw Jr]

I actually bought this from an Ebay vendor in the UK. The total came out to about $197 or so with about $65 of that being shipping.

I was wondering how you could order directly from Mathmos as I didn't think they shipped to US or Canada residents. I'll definitely keep this in mind if I need replacement bottles.

From what I can tell, the 130V 40W reflector bulb I installed works great. The bulb is rated at 130V but the voltage comes in around 122V or so the bulb is being slightly undervolted which probably brings the wattage down to about 37-38W. Very very close to the stock 35W 240V halogen bulb.

Also, how long do you run your Mathmos lamps? I notice the instructions recommend no more than 6 hours for longer lamp life so I'm trying to adhere to that.

[LukyDuck]

I also try to adhere to the 6 hour limit. I have wifi outlets that allow you to set a timer. So they always go off after 6 hours. 

I posted the following on Reddit about purchasing Mathmos lamps from the U.K. It tells you most everything you need to know.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lavalamps/comments/izo6ai/okay_so_you_are_...

Glad the bulbs work for you!

[Keith]

Hey, LukyDuck, that's a great write up on reddit!  It could be helpful if you would create a post here with the same info so more people can see it.

LukyDuck said:

I also try to adhere to the 6 hour limit. I have wifi outlets that allow you to set a timer. So they always go off after 6 hours. 

I posted the following on Reddit about purchasing Mathmos lamps from the U.K. It tells you most everything you need to know.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lavalamps/comments/izo6ai/okay_so_you_are_...

Glad the bulbs work for you!

[LukyDuck]

Good idea! I will do it soon at a computer. It will be easier that way.

Keith said:

Hey, LukyDuck, that's a great write up on reddit!  It could be helpful if you would create a post here with the same info so more people can see it.

LukyDuck said:

I also try to adhere to the 6 hour limit. I have wifi outlets that allow you to set a timer. So they always go off after 6 hours. 

I posted the following on Reddit about purchasing Mathmos lamps from the U.K. It tells you most everything you need to know.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lavalamps/comments/izo6ai/okay_so_you_are_...

Glad the bulbs work for you!