complete meltdown

[Dave]

first , ty for accepting me into your community.

ive been browsing the forums for a couple weeks now trying to find a solution.; the wax in my century just melts and sits motionless.

ive tried reducing the wattage of the bulb.  i havent tried a dimmer yet, but even when the lamp is turned off and begins to cool nothing happens.  the wax does melt really quick, and if you slowly tilt the glass, you can see movement, but nothing rises or bubbles up.   ive added an epsom salt mixtuire, but that did not improve anything.

could this wax just need to be replaced?

[Claude J]

Provided you have eliminated all other troubleshooting options:

I.e. a fresh 40 watt light bulb, no air movement from ceiling fans, heat registers, floor heaters, fans, etc., it is not overheated, it lost its specific gravity/Density (float-ability) due to age

you added Espoon salt so that ruined the master fluid

Propylene glycol is the only acceptable chemical to adjust the density

Salt is corrosive and will destroy the coil, Its ability to adjust the density is unstable and will cloud the water
its should be reserved for high school science projects.

I'd start over with a 60 Propylene Glycol/ 40 Distilled Water mixture with @1tsp of SLES added to break the surface tension and stop sticking

Then,..adjust accordingly. 

It still sinks add more PG

If it floats (without bubbles in the wax) then add more distilled water to make it heavier

[Dave]

Ty for the info.  The room temp is good, basement room away fro windows or vents and a couple new bulbs were tried. I thought I had read numerous places of using a salt mixture. I’ll get the right stuff and do a fluid change

[Tiki Carol]

Hi Dave, Do you have an update on how the PG worked out? 

[Dave]

i did a fluid change as Claude J suggested.   i was getting no movement at all, so i increased the glycol amount slightly, and here is where im at. I have not added SLS, i need to order some.   the movement in the video is not constant,. sometimes it will be minutes before a large blob releases.

  https://youtu.be/8mVQAJs_NEM

[Dave]

i have also been sidetracked lately as i picked up a box of lava lamp parts for $20. the glitter lamps all work fine. most of the globes work ok, a few need major attention.  i need to go through and identify all the pieces and parts, as they were all mixed up

[Claude J]

Nice find
WOW

[Dave]

just got my bottle of sls in the mail, and was suprised at how thick it is.  almost like paste.  is that normal?

when rinsing/coating a globe to prevent sticking, do you use 100%sls or dilute it?

[Claude J]

NO, do not use as is 

dilute it until it flows easily

@20% distilled water

[Johnny]

Hi, so no salt or perk? Does Gulf wax and some LP at a 1:6 ratio sound good for the ooze?

Claude J said:

Provided you have eliminated all other troubleshooting options:

I.e. a fresh 40 watt light bulb, no air movement from ceiling fans, heat registers, floor heaters, fans, etc., it is not overheated, it lost its specific gravity/Density (float-ability) due to age

you added Espoon salt so that ruined the master fluid

Propylene glycol is the only acceptable chemical to adjust the density

Salt is corrosive and will destroy the coil, Its ability to adjust the density is unstable and will cloud the water
its should be reserved for high school science projects.

I'd start over with a 60 Propylene Glycol/ 40 Distilled Water mixture with @1tsp of SLES added to break the surface tension and stop sticking

Then,..adjust accordingly. 

It still sinks add more PG

If it floats (without bubbles in the wax) then add more distilled water to make it heavier

[Claude J]

you have to have an understanding of what the components of wax and master fluid do, before blindly mixing them. t

There is a wealth of info on here if you look hard enough, that will guide you through the process

Johnny said:

Hi, so no salt or perk? Does Gulf wax and some LP at a 1:6 ratio sound good for the ooze?

Claude J said:

Provided you have eliminated all other troubleshooting options:

I.e. a fresh 40 watt light bulb, no air movement from ceiling fans, heat registers, floor heaters, fans, etc., it is not overheated, it lost its specific gravity/Density (float-ability) due to age

you added Espoon salt so that ruined the master fluid

Propylene glycol is the only acceptable chemical to adjust the density

Salt is corrosive and will destroy the coil, Its ability to adjust the density is unstable and will cloud the water
its should be reserved for high school science projects.

I'd start over with a 60 Propylene Glycol/ 40 Distilled Water mixture with @1tsp of SLES added to break the surface tension and stop sticking

Then,..adjust accordingly. 

It still sinks add more PG

If it floats (without bubbles in the wax) then add more distilled water to make it heavier

[Dave]

i notices wax started sticking, so i took the steps to coat it with sls too  prevent sticking, refilled with the master fluid  and now im back to the wax melting but not rising.  could that amount of sls left on the bottle have caused that?

Claude J said:

NO, do not use as is 

dilute it until it flows easily

@20% distilled water

[Claude J]

The minute amount of surfactant will not change the specific gravity
Did you dilute the master fluid in any way?
Add anything to the wax?

Did you leave an overabundance of the SURF in the bottle?