Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate

Well I just received this SB fiber optic lamp on Wednesday 3/11. It's kind of strange how I came across it, but if you wanna avoid a potentially boring story then you can go straight to the pics on my page. ;O) I had them in order from #1-22 but they got posted in the opposite order.
No pics of it lit up yet... I'll try to get them tonight. And I haven't cleaned any of it yet so it's still dirty...

On 2/26 Kris had posted a thread here ( https://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/fantasia-saturn-lamp-my ) about this really cool Fantasia Saturn fiber optic lamp he just received. I knew nothing about the Fantasia lamp history but I did remember an amazing fiber optic lamp I had seen years ago on the web (which I thought was called the Sunburst).

So on Sunday 3/1 I posted in that thread and said I recalled a really cool lamp but I wasn't sure of the actual name, etc. Then I wanted to see if I could find any pics and info about it so I googled "Sunburst fiber optic". The first thing to show up was a Craigslist ad selling a Fantasia Sunburst lamp... for $50. You can imagine my drool?
I immediately emailed the seller and asked him if he'd be willing to ship it (as I'm not in the same state) and he agreed if I'd send a money order. He was one of the nicest, most honest guys ever: The next day he went to UPS and found out what it would cost to ship.. $25.20. He even scanned the UPS estimate somehow and emailed it to me.

And yes I felt horrible knowing that he could have gotten more than that on ebay... and I could've told him that and then gave up the lamp like a extremely decent person... but I didn't. :O(

The next day, 3/3, I sent him the money order. He received it on 3/6 and went the same day to ship the lamp! He even scanned each UPS receipt showing exactly what the box cost and the exact shipping.

I just got the lamp this Wed 3/11. It's beautiful, looks amazing when on, the colors are beautiful... It goes from white to blue to green to yellow (I think... it looks kinda orange-ish) to turquoise-ish to red to purple to orange. Just a big, fat, massive lamp and spray... very impressive.

A few problems are:
-The spray is dirty, which can easily be cleaned I'm sure. The problem is that it's already lost about 20 fibers and I'm afraid wetting the end where they're glued into the metal ring part will loosen them.
I'm thinking of getting some type of clear glass adhesive and putting some on the fiber ends to re-glue any loose ones.

-The motor or transformer ( ?) or fan (or all three) may have problems. When you first turn it on it sounds like extremely loud pop corn popping (or something like that). I sprayed some silicone on certain areas and that helped... after a few minutes that particular sound stops but it still remains very loud.

I'd love to have it looked at and a tune up maybe, but have no clue who or where I'd bring it to. An electrician? Lamp store? No clue.
Some of the parts look like they could use replacing, but I assume they can't be. I hope they never fail on me.

-The globe is a little bit bent off center. It's not really that noticeable but since I noticed it's been annoying me. I may try to bend it back, but don’t wanna make it worse.

I guess that's pretty much all I can think of right now. :O)

Views: 365

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

And about Kris:
Also a great and decent guy!
I had badgered him in his threads to tell me from where he had gotten the Sunburst he was expecting (I was very paranoid that we may have been buying it from the same guy, therefore one or both of us getting ripped off)... so we got on the chat function here last week and I told him about the Craigslist ad.

At that point the seller hadn't received my money order yet and even if he had Kris could have easily emailed the guy and and offered him twice or five times as much money for the lamp. I know he really, really wanted one but he said he would never do that. I guess some people probably would have been like "Screw Jeff, who I don’t even know and who was stupid enough to share this info with me,... I'm takin that lamp!" , but Kris didn’t and I really appreciated him not doing that.

So thanks Kris!!! :O)
Oh... and the inside is dated April 24, 1996.
A very nice find indeed! Just got done looking at the pics. Here are a couple things for you -

1 - To fix the lean - take off the dome and gently bend the bottom part of the upper lamp to level it out. It might feel loose or something after that, just gently turn it clockwise to tighten it back up (if it's the same as the older lamps). That should fix the lean. Remember, gentle - but it is also metal so use your judgment on force.

2 - Does it smell smokey by chance? Looks like it was in a smokers home for a bit or something. Anyway, use some canned air to clean out the fan and the insides of the lamp. After that, just take a very very lightly moist cloth and hand clean the inside surfaces. Base, vent, top. Your looking to get the dust off.

3 - I heard the wheel is now plastic. Not sure if the color itself is plastic sheet, but I think it is. Be careful with using any lubricants on the wheel. They might eat away at the plastic. Try to clean that off for now. Also, clean the face of the wheel with some moist q-tips or a gentle cloth. Nothing abrasive. Again, your just getting the dust off.

4 - Use some WD40 on the base to clean up the rust. This will also prevent any further discoloration.

5 - The bulb that is in there now is an MR 16. Lots of heat and produces UV light which will damage anything it hits. I would replace the bulb with an MR 16 - Glass Face bulb. These block most of the UV light and will prolong the colored wheels life.

6 - You can clean the fiber spray fairly easy. Just takes some time. Get a long glass baking dish. Pour in some windex to about 1/2 - 1" depth and start running the spray through the dip. You can keep the end out just for caution (I do this as well) since we don't know how it's attached. I soak mine up to 1/2" from the base maybe 1". Depending on how dirty it is, the blue will turn yellow/brown or the like. Your fibers will become super white. They may now have a green/blue tint because of the cleaner. Just massage the fibers gently and always go from the base to the tips. Never in reverse (obviously). After a few minutes, it should be clean. Dump the windex and fill with warm water. Repeat to rinse. Your spray is going to be one giant clump. It will take a few days to dry. Roll it in paper towels and absorb as much of the water as you can. Set it on some paper towels and let air dry. After a day or two, you can start handling it and getting it back to the way it was. A fan works great here. Putting it in front of a fan and gently pulling some clumps out will help it dry and thin it out again. You just have to be delicate here. You will loose some fibers, that's the nature of the beast. Whether or not you clean - it's going to happen. Remember, no sharp bends or tugs and you will be fine. If you loose some, put them in the trash and vacuum up immediately. They are painful when they get lodged in your skin (I know).

Other than that - you are golden! Love the pics. We have to see it in action now!
Bohdan, yes it really was a great price. And you're right, new projects are fun. 8^ )

And thanks for the cleaning tips Kris. Mine particularly a mess inside, but I'll get it as clean as can be (I hope). And I hope I can get it back to level. I'll try your method.

Luckily no, it has no gross cigarette smoke smell. But that light bulb: How the hell are you supposed to get it out to replace it? It looks like so much would have to be taken apart just to get it out.

I love the fibers... they're so thin and it's so cool that they's glass. Amazing how they're flexible, yet will break apart too.
I'm glad it's normal to lose a few... I thought it may have been balding which would have sucked.

Anyway, I did add some picks of it lit up. The yellow comes after green but doesn't look yellow on camera.

I hope y'all enjoy them. :O)
Check your photo comments. Tells you how to change the bulb with pics :)

Now all we need is a video!
Thanks Kris, I commented there but again- that looks pretty easy to change! I thought it would be a huge P.I.T.A.
I'll try to get video soon.
Not a problem. Nope, not a pain at all! The bulbs go anywhere from under $5 for cheapies to upwards of $12 for the good ones. If you want a really cool bulb - get the Ushio WhiteStar. It's a 6500k bulb (pure white) and has a glass face to reduce UV. The color is amazing! I think it's only $8/10 bux if memory serves.

www.1000bulbs.com - it's an MR16
Thanks Kris... looks like a great bulb.
I'm not liking the heat from the halogens though. What do you think of something like this LED bulb? It's 6500k and seems just like the halogen. It's expensive but maybe worth it.(?)
I'm not sure if it's a spot light type and I assume that's what the FO's use?

http://www.besthongkong.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&...
I am with you on that. Less heat will prolong the life of everything in that lamp. Not to mention LEDs do not give off UV light.

Check here - http://www.soslightbulbs.com/ledmr-16.aspx <--- what you want.

You want a bulb with a 12 degree spot or less. 12 will work just fine considering most MR16's off the shelf are flood's. I would be interested to know what you decide if you do get one. Would love to see the results. The higher the K (Kelvin), the whiter the light. Too high and it becomes blue. 6500k or around there is ideal. Nice white light. Will really show off the colors well.
I don't think I can bring myself to spend that much on a bulb just yet, but I'd definitely love one. :O)

I see that they have a couple w/ the 12 degree spot on that site, but not a 6500.
Would you go for the 4500K "cool white" or the 7000K "Day Light"?
7k daylight
OK, thanks. :O)

Maybe you should just go ahead and buy one for each of your FO's so I can first see how they look. ;O)
It would only cost like... what? About $280? Why must they be so expensive!!

Reply to Discussion

RSS

About

Autumn created this Ning Network.

GooHeads

Groups

© 2024   Created by Autumn.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service