Lava Lamp won't Lava

I got a Lava Lamp for my birthday that won't make globules, the lava swells up at the bottom but won't break apart and float. Anybody know why?

I did have to replace the bulb, which was broken, and I couldn't find a round one like the one it came with, so I got one of those long-ish appliance bulbs, like for a fridge light. It's the same wattage. Does the shape make a difference?

Recommend you go back to Home Depot and try to duplicate the original bulb.

Depending on the type of lava lamp you have, shape of the bulb might indeed make a difference.

If all else fails, try a bulb with a higher wattage.

pj i have found sometimes you have to heat up and let cool (i.e. turn on/ turn off) the lite several times before the wax (aka lava) will flow right. it can be kind of finiky. hope that helps.

I'm no scientist, but it might make a difference. Maybe a different shape might disperse the heat differently? Or maybe a light made for a different purpose might have a different type of fillament?

I don't really know, I'm just guessing. It's sad to think of a lava lamp not flowing. :(

On 2005-02-20 11:50, purple jade wrote:
I got a Lava Lamp for my birthday that won't make globules, the lava swells up at the bottom but won't break apart and float. Anybody know why?

Lava Lamps are simple things. From the sound of it, the bumb is not getting the "lava" (wax) hot enough to really melt and circulate. This is the jop of the bulb, primarily.

1. Check the bulb. Go back to the store and double-check what you need. I know that our lamp takes a 40W, but there is a 25W that looks almost identical -- so you may simply have too dim of a lightbulb in there.

2. Make sure the glass portion is sitting low enough on your base. Sometimes it can be "set" on top, rather than placed snugly in the base. This can cause not enough heat to get up there, or for it to disperse before heating the "lava."

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

[ Edited by: gwenners on 2005-02-20 13:26 ]

Aloha :tiki: Miss Purple Jade,
I had the same problem with an Xtra large lava lamp I have. My problem was that my bulb was getting too hot. There the lava sat, for hours and hours just a lifeless, moltent sad glob of goo at the bottom of the lamp. DISCLAIMER: I am certainly no lava lamp expert and don't claim to be, all I know is when I replaced the bulb that came in the box with the lamp, with a slightly lower wattage bulb, in no time at all it began to gulp, glop and glurp to became the happy lamp it was intended to be.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2005-02-20 18:45 ]

try checking out Planetlava.com under the FAQ's and also oozinggoo.com under the "lava Line" for problems. Hope these help.
I think these lights are possessed at times. sometimes mine works and sometimes it wont. It flows when it feels like it I guess. There's a metal coil at the bottom of the bottle. sometimes it gets unseated and wont heat up the lava...
Aloha

Ah HAH! I think you've hit on the problem, Tiki Rider. I just looked at it and there seems to be a piece of coil sticking up through the lava. Will it go back in place if it gets unseated?

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

the metal coil will settle back where it belongs, just give the bottle a gentle shake. but for pete's sake, do NOT warm it up on the stove..
Killer Lava Lamp

I second that...and the killer lamp info too....

HA! Fortunately that particular idiotic thought did not occur to me.