My latest plasma lamp arrived, and it's a little different

[Rich C]

My latest Craigslist $5 find arrived today.  It's another Lava Lightning Storm lamp.  When I pulled it out of the Styrofoam the globe felt slightly sticky.  It was rather dusty so I assumed it just needed a good cleaning.  I wiped it down with a little Windex and it looked 100% better.  After everything completely dried, the globe, which looked spotless, still felt slightly sticky.  Upon closer inspection it appears to have a thin film of a clear rubbery coating over the glass.  Perhaps this was added to help it be less fragile and to hold the glass together in the event it gets broken?

My 2001 version is just bare glass.  This is a 2003 version.  The boxes are different and slight differences are noticeable on the underside of the base but they are otherwise the same aside from the rubbery coating on the newer one.

Is this coating normal?  My 52oz and 32oz electroplasma lamps are just bare glass.

[Rich C]

I guess I'm the only one collecting plasma lamps.  :D  LOL

[VOXul]

Rich, it may sound odd but... I have noticed that with things that get fondled, so to speak, seem to build up a gross coating that is kinda linty, slimy and slightly sticky.  For instance, old video game controllers. When I have not used one in a few months or so the joysticks seem to accumulate this weird coating that wipes off but takes a little elbow grease to completely rid the surface of the coating. Almost like skin oils or something take hold and fester, haha. I am not sure if this is a similar situation but it could be that the lamp was under heavy petting conditions, was tucked away and the oils decided to have a party on the surface.

Gross I know but that is my ideas behind this film.

[Rich C]

That happens to a number of plastic surfaces.  It is known as outgassing.  It is where some of the chemical in the plastic are escaping the structure of the material and leave a sticky coating behind.  In my situation it is on the glass globe.  Glass is pretty much an inert material so...?  The stickiness also covers every square inch of the glass.  And I scrubbed it very clean at least three times.

Anyway, the the coating, or whatever it is, has some thickness to it.  I can press a fingernail into it, it feels like a thin coating of silicone rubber.  Maybe this rubber coating is outgassing and leaving it sticky?  Just seems odd that the manufacturer coated the glass with anything at all.  I'm afraid to try to scrub this rubbery coating off, it might not come off clean and would then leave the globe looking funky.  The surface is very clean now, just, well, rubbery.  Kind of feels like that rubber coating they put on certain plastic objects to improve the gripability of them over the slick plastic underneath.

I ran the lamp for a few hours last night and it works fantastic.  It may be even more active than my other Lightning Storm lamp.  One observation, I did not smell that slight odor of ozone that seems to accompany plasma lamps that have been on for a while.  Maybe the coating was added to lower the ozone output?  I've heard some people complain about that smell, I never found it offensive, almost imperceptable most of the time anyway and ionized air particles are good for you (up to a point).

The ozone smell got pretty strong when I shot that video of four lamps and a large Luminglas all running at full bore!  Did you know you can use plasma balls to light neon tubes?  Just make sure the neon light is off, don't ever get a powered on plasma lamp near a powered on neon lamp or don't get two plasma lamps close to each other when they are both on.