Lava Lamp Gone Bad ?

I have a lavalamp sitting on my desk that no longer works properly. The "lava" instead of rising to the top and then sinking the way it's supposed to instead just kinda sits in the middle of the lamp. It stays in this same position with very little movement.

Can lava lamps go bad? I'm thinking this happened from leaving it on constantly. Is there any way to "fix it" or would i just have to get another one?

 

have you tried rubbing it?

 

what would rubbing it do to help? I'm pretty sure it's because the wax got too hot.

 

:daisy:

 

How long do you leave it on? I saw it sometimes take at least an hour before the lava went up and down.

 

I leave it on too long, i'm sure it's been on for over a month or more before at one time. The lava comes up to the middle and just sits there in one big blob, it doesn't rise past that, and doesn't sink either just sits there. It used to work properly.

 

Hmm that should be long enough

I guess they can go bad. It is probably a couple of years old... Not sure how or if it can be fixed....

 

Check The Bulb To See If It's Turned Black, If It Has The Wax May Not Be Getting

Enough Heat....



Cheers Glen.

 

bulb is not black at all, it is clear. i was thinking that a higher wattage bulb might make it rise, but not sure if that's a good idea or not?

 

I would think its not getting hot enough. product should tell you the limit on the wattage.. my old lamp would get stuck sometimes, Id just take it and shake it up really good .. i dont have one anymore tho, I left it behind in one my houses.

 

I have one but have not turned it on in years. It might have the same problem as Ace's now

 

Try a new bulb. The bulbs you use for your overhead stove light work great. I wouldn't try anything with a higher voltage though. There should be a sticker on the inside where the blub goes, specifying what voltage blub you need.

A new blub should solve the problem. I collect lava lamps, and have had this happen in the past. Going forward, try not to leave the lamp on for more than 24 hours at a time.

 

it takes a 25w bulb, and that's what's in the lamp. maybe a 40w bulb would help? i wouldn't want the bottom part of the lamp itself to overheat though. i'm pretty sure that this happened from leaving it on continuously, not sure how it makes a difference but that's gotta be it because it used to work fine with these bulbs.

 

This is correct. I've found though, leaving them on for 24 hours really hasn't done any harm to any of my lamps.

What can I say, I like to break rules sometimes

Leaving a lava lamp on for a month straight though....eeeek...

 

im gonna try giving it a good shake. shaking is not something i would normally expect desirable results from ... i have nothing to lose though of course.

 

Okay! Let us know how it goes!

 

it looks worse off than it was before, now i gotta wait and see if the lava will join up again as its now in the form of this weird emulsion of wax and liquid that hangs near the top.

 

Sounds a bit how mine started after a half an hour (first half hour nothing happened except maybe the bunch of lava on the bottom of the lamp moving slightly up. Then one side moved up slightly more than the other and a thin piece of lava escaped and also hang somewhere near the top. Until everything got warm enough and it start working properly. But I'm certain if you have left it on for a month that is not going to happen anymore (on itself).