Lava Lamp Replacement Top? Trust The Answer

Liquid moving lamps, also called lava lamps, work by combining two different liquids in a glass lamp body. One of the liquids is usually wax based and the other typically water based, and the densities of the two liquids are almost, but not quite, the same.

When you turn on the lava lamp, a heating element heats the wax, reducing its density until the wax is less dense than the water. The wax then rises to the top of the lamp where it cools. Its density decreases until it is denser than water again, at which point the wax sinks to the bottom of the lamp where it is heated again.

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Over time, or if the lamp is dropped or bumped, the water in the lamp may become cloudy. If done carefully and correctly, replacing the water can keep the lamp looking almost new.

Warning Removing the cap on top of the lamp body or otherwise disassembling the lamp will void the lamp warranty, so only do this if the warranty has already expired.

removing the cap

The first step in replacing the lamp water is to remove the cap at the top of the lamp body. Make sure the lamp is unplugged and completely cold before removing the cap.

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On some lamp models, the cap is a simple screw cap that you can unscrew either by hand or by gently grasping it with locking pliers. Other models, like the Lava Lamp Grande, have crimped on caps that can be removed by gently prying around the perimeter of the cap with a small flathead screwdriver inserted under the lip of the cap.

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Some models are closed with a plastic plug under the cap. Remove the stopper and pour out the water, being careful not to spill the cold wax – it should be solid and at the bottom of the lamp.

Adding new water

Fill the lamp with distilled water, leaving 1 to 2 inches of space at the top. Add a teaspoon of canned salt, pickling salt, or Epsom salt to the water and stir gently until the salt dissolves.

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Alternatively, you can make an Epsom salt solution outside of the lamp by adding Epsom salt to cool distilled water until the salt no longer dissolves in the water. Carefully fill the lamp with the solution, being careful not to disturb the wax at the bottom.

Adjust salinity

After the initial addition of salt, you need to add more salt to adjust the density of the water, and you need to do it very gradually so you don’t overdo it and have to start over. First, let the lamp heat for about two hours, then add more salt in small amounts. One method is to dissolve salt in a separate solution and then add small amounts of this solution to the lamp using a drinking straw as an eyedropper.

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After each adjustment, wait about an hour with the lamp on. When the salinity of the water is almost correct, the wax will start to form a dome at the bottom of the lamp, and when you get the right density, the wax will start to float to the top.

Add surfactant

The wax will likely rise in one big blob until you add a surfactant—a substance that breaks the wax’s surface tension, causing it to form multiple wavy blobs. Add a very small drop of clear dish soap to the water and the wax should start to separate into smaller drops. You may need to add more detergent to get the blobs to the consistency you want, but adding too much will runny the wax, so go slow.

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replacing the cap

Once the lamp is functioning satisfactorily, carefully replace the plastic plug and cap. If you had to pry a crimped cap off, you can reinsert it by gently tightening a hose clamp around it.

If you’re like me then you love lava lamps. They really can be a great way to add retro flair to a desk, kitchen countertop, dresser or just about any flat surface that needs a light source.

They are also much more interesting to look at than a simple desk lamp.

However, like all things, lava lamps sometimes stop working properly. Mine did years ago, and I remember trying to find a solution online with no luck.

Luckily you won’t have that problem because I’m here to help.

Is your lava lamp not working?

Whether the lava isn’t flowing properly, the water is cloudy, or has stopped moving altogether, this article will make sure you fix the problem quickly so you can get back to those groovy vibes.

Understand how lava lamps work

Lava lamps provide illumination while also being a fun, decorative piece.

Before we delve into potential issues, I think it’s important to understand how these bulbs work.

I will give you an overview below:

Although it is not known what the lava inside is made of, it is usually a mixture of oils and wax that do not mix together.

This combination is housed in a glass jar with a halogen lamp placed underneath, which not only gives it that distinctive glow but also heats the wax itself.

Each lava lamp is carefully constructed to have a few inches of clearance at the top to allow the gases to expand.

Wax and liquids have different densities and both are completely insoluble with each other. As soon as the light bulb is switched on, it creates fluid movement.

As the wax absorbs the heat from the lightbulb, it will slowly begin to expand. The lava then becomes less dense and slowly rises in the characteristic fluid motion that lava lamps are known for.

It will take about 40-50 minutes for the wax blobs to start forming eye-catching shapes.

Once the wax has cooled, it returns to the bottom of the lamp and forms a hole.

Lava lamp not working?

I will break down 4 common problems and offer some solutions to each problem below:

Lava lamp not working: what could be the problem?

1. Lava lamp does not flow

Is your lava lamp not bubbling? This is arguably the most common problem of all.

If the lava lamp is not flowing properly or is laying flat, you should try the following steps to fix it:

When the wax is shaped like a dome, turn off your lamp for a few hours. This usually occurs when the lamp has overheated and needs a break (never leave your lava lamp on for more than 10 hours). The halogen lamp should be checked when the lava is melting but lying flat. The lightbulb may be dead and need to be replaced. Also, check the metal coil that speeds up the melting process in the base, allowing the coil to fall back into place. If none of the above works, the area around the lamp should be checked. 69-74 degrees is the ideal temperature for a lava lamp. It should not be placed on top of a computer tower, TV, near a heater, or in direct sunlight.

If all else fails, try the following:

Leave your lava lamp on for at least 4 hours, then remove the sphere (the glass jar containing the lava) from its stand.

Be careful when doing this and wear gloves to protect your hands so you don’t burn yourself.

You can then place the globe on a flat surface and spin it for a few minutes. This should loosen the wax a bit.

Reconnect the globe to its stand and allow it to heat for another hour.

Doesn’t the lava lamp move silently? Then you will probably need to have the fluid replaced. In this case you would have to contact the manufacturer.

2. Lava lamp wax sticks on top

After the lava lamp has cooled, the wax should return to the bottom. If anything remains, it usually means your liquid has separated.

This can be a pretty difficult problem to fix without ruining the entire lamp. However, I will give you a possible solution below:

When your lava lamp is flowing properly, you can replace the halogen bulb with a higher wattage incandescent bulb. This should result in an increase in flow and force the wax to coalesce. If this doesn’t happen, you can twirl your lamp around to try to reconnect with the waxes. Do this carefully and gently. If your lava lamp isn’t flowing, you can wave the whole thing a few more times. Do this gently too. You don’t want to mix the liquid and the lava. If the problem is that the wax is sticking to the glass jar, you can try melting it with a hair dryer. A final solution, if all else fails, you can try something more intrusive. Pour about 90% of the liquid into a clean container to allow the wax to warm up. Gently shake or swirl the lamp to mix everything. You can then let the lamp cool down and fill it with liquid.

3. Hazy Lava Lamp

Your lava lamp shouldn’t look cloudy, so if it does and you thought that was weird, you were right!

However, the clarity of your lava lamp can be restored by following a few simple steps. I have 2 solutions for you:

Solution #1

Unplug your lamp and leave it at room temperature for about 8 hours. This allows the wax to settle.

You can then turn it back on, wait for the lava to soften, and then turn it off again.

Once the lava has cooled, turn on the lamp and let it run for about 8-10 hours.

Solution #2

If the above solution fails, try the following:

Unplug your lava lamp and let it cool for a few hours. Once it does, you can unscrew the top cap and pour out all the liquid.

The solid ball of wax at the bottom should be the only thing left. Pour distilled water into the jar very carefully. Remember: the wax is fragile, so DO NOT shake the lava lamp.

Now pour out the water and repeat the process a few more times. Once you’ve done this, you can fill the sphere with distilled water one last time, leaving a 2 inch gap at the top.

You should not put the cap on at this point. Just place the jar on the base and let it run for an hour.

While you wait, heat a glass of distilled water. Dissolve as much salt in it as possible.

Take a dropper and dip it into the saline solution you just made. You can then drop an inch of it into the Lava Lamp Vessel every 10 minutes. Let it diffuse on its own.

Once the lava has risen to the top of the bottle, you can stop this process.

Finally, add a pinch of dish soap (Dawn works well) and 2 drops of food coloring (use a color that matches the color of the lava). Put the cap back on tight and wa-la!

No more cloudy, cloudy lava lamp!

4. Lava lamp gets too hot

As I mentioned earlier, you should NEVER leave your lava lamp on for more than 10 hours.

Not only can this cause it to get extremely hot and fail, it can also quickly become a fire hazard, especially if placed near curtains, carpeting, or other combustible objects/surfaces.

To avoid overheating your lava lamp, be mindful of how long you use it each time.

However, sometimes we forget things, so you might want to start a timer on your smartphone as soon as you turn on the lava lamp.

If you’re someone who always wants a lava lamp (guilty!) then buy a bunch of these and use them alternately.

Remember that overuse isn’t the only reason a lava lamp gets too hot. The first issue on this list, the lava lamp not flowing or bubbling, can also cause this issue.

Final Thoughts

“Lava lamp still not working…please help!” If this sounds like you, you may need to think about replacing the lamp at this point.

As bad as it may burn (especially if you’ve had your lamp for a while), you can find fairly inexpensive replacements online.

Who knows? You might even find one that better matches your room or other decor items!

Sharing is caring!

Some brands of lava lamp take up to six hours for the lava-like blobs to form and flow properly. Even with the long warm-up time, there is a limit to how long the lamp should be operated continuously to maintain its intended function. Do not operate the lamp for more than eight to ten hours at a time.

Use of lava lamps

While it may be tempting to run your lava lamp 24/7, this can cause it to overheat, causing the blobs of color to stop moving like an amoeba. If the lamp overheats, the colored liquid can form a large drop that appears to be floating without transforming into other shapes. Turn the lamp off and allow it to cool before turning it on again. Once it cools down, it should work properly again. A lava lamp can overheat in eight to ten hours, depending on the bulb and lamp brand. For best results, use the lamp for less than eight hours at a time and allow it to cool to room temperature before using again.

If you think back to the ’60s and ’70s, chances are your memories are lit by a lamp filled with swirling gobs of colorful slime that really didn’t shed much light.

Lava lamps were invented in 1963 by a British accountant, Edward Craven-Walker, and marketed under the Astro Lamps name. The name may have changed since then, but the chemistry hasn’t changed for the most part.

The swirling balls we remember are mostly made of paraffin wax, to which compounds like carbon tetrachloride are added to increase its density. The liquid that the wax floats in can be water or mineral oil, with dyes and glitters added for whims.

So what causes the wax to float and fall? When the lamp is turned on, the bulb in the base begins to heat the inside of the lamp. Wax expands when heated, and since density is equal to mass divided by volume, as volume increases, wax decreases in density and floats.

When the ball of goo reaches the top of the lamp, it cools, decreases in volume and therefore density, and falls back to the ground to begin its journey again. A true Sisyphus of home decor.

The exact composition of the wax and liquid are trade secrets, but are constantly being improved. You can make a simple lava lamp at home using just oil, water, and aspirin.

The latest innovation in the lava lamp legacy was the addition of ferrofluid. Suspended in these liquids are microscopic magnetic particles that allow you to interact with your lava balls using a magnet!

In addition to mood lighting, lava lamps were also used as random number generators. Programs have been developed to convert the movement of blobs of lava into truly random numbers for use in cryptography. Whatever you use them, don’t drink them. Several people have been hospitalized for consuming the insides of these psychedelic accessories.

@AdaMcVean

Lava lamps are fun accessories to have in your bedroom or around the house. They are not only beautiful to look at, but also give off a light similar to a night light. However, does that mean you can leave a lava lamp on all night?

You can’t leave a lava lamp on all night. Lava lamps work by melting wax inside the lamp using a lightbulb, causing the lamp to get very hot. Although you can leave your lava lamp on and plugged in all night, this is not recommended due to the risk of fire.

The rest of this article will discuss the various things that can go wrong if you leave a lava lamp on all night, how lava lamps actually work, and how to properly care for a lava lamp. I’ll also cover whether or not Lava Lamps expire and how to tell when it’s time to withdraw them.

Is it safe to leave a lava lamp on overnight?

It is not safe to leave a lava lamp on and unattended overnight. As with any electrical appliance, there is a risk of fire when using it, and this risk increases if no one is monitoring the lamp and you leave it on longer than you should.

What happens if you leave a lava lamp on for too long?

Although many people prefer to leave lava lamps on to enjoy their appearance, leaving them on for too long can be dangerous. But how dangerous is it? What actually happens if you leave a lava lamp on for too long?

If you leave a lava lamp on for too long you risk the lamp overheating and starting a fire. Lava lamps require electricity to work, and just like regular lamps, they can cause a fire if left unattended for too long. Lava lamps can also explode if they overheat, so it’s best to unplug them regularly.

While there’s no guarantee that a lava lamp will start a fire or explode if you leave it on overnight, it’s a real possibility — and not one you want to risk. Lava lamps usually come with care instructions that include how long to leave them plugged in, so be sure to follow these for best results.

Can lava lamps overheat?

Lava lamps can overheat. Lava lamps run on electricity and use a lightbulb like regular lamps. Therefore, there is always a risk of the lamp overheating, which can cause a fire. It is best to monitor your lava lamp and unplug it regularly to avoid possible overheating.

The risk of overheating is why many people unplug their lights and other small appliances before leaving home, as overheating can cause an electrical fire. It is therefore recommended to unplug your lava lamp to reduce this risk.

Can lava lamps catch fire?

Lava lamps can catch fire. Lava lamps must be plugged in with a working bulb in order to work. So there is always a risk of fire. Lava lamps also tend to overheat, which is the leading cause of electrical fires in lamps and other connected equipment.

In addition to catching fire, lava lamps can explode if left plugged in for too long or overheat. Therefore, it is best to unplug it after a period of time, depending on the lava lamp’s care instructions.

Lamp 2700 Lava, 14.5 inches, white wax, clear liquid, graffiti globe and black… lava. Light up your mood. Add just the right lighting…

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How do lava lamps work?

While many people enjoy the looks of lava lamps, not many are aware of how they actually work. The science behind lava lamps is fascinating and dates back to 1963 when they were first invented. So how do lava lamps work?

Lava lamps work by melting wax with the bulb at the bottom of the lamp. The bulb heats up and the wax melts in the water, causing it to float to the top of the lamp. As it floats up and away from the bulb, it becomes denser, causing it to sink back to the bottom.

Therefore, in order for the lava lamp to work, it has a constant cycle of heating and cooling to create the unique flowing drops that make up a lava lamp.

The liquid in lava lamps

Now that you know how lava lamps work, you’re probably wondering what constitutes a lava lamp. While the mixtures in the lamp are not always made from the same materials, most have similar components.

The liquid in lava lamps is usually a water or oil mixture; the blobs are a wax mixture. While not all lava lamps contain the same ingredients, most are made from paraffin wax and contain carbon tetrachloride to increase their density. The water or oil mixture can also contain dyes or other additives.

The Lava Lamp company itself will not publish their exact formulas for their lava lamps as it is a unique blend and a company secret. Therefore, although you can understand the basics, it is impossible to know the exact composition of each lava lamp.

Take care of your lava lamp

Keeping the lava lamp on for a limited amount of time is one of the essential aspects of maintenance. However, besides this step, there are a few other things to do to ensure your lava lamp has the longest lifespan possible.

When caring for a lava lamp, keep the following in mind:

Only leave it on for eight to ten hours at a time

Keep it away from sunlight

Do not move or shake it while it is still warm

Keep it at room temperature

Additionally, making sure the coil and globe stay in place is an excellent tip to extend the life of your lava lamp.

Of course, if you leave your lava lamp on all the time, the lamp will have a shorter lifespan, as most lava lamps last around 2000 hours. Therefore, just plugging it in and using it for a few hours at a time before turning it off will extend its lifespan.

Final Thoughts

Lava lamps should not be left on all night for many reasons. If you leave a lava lamp on all night, you not only risk a possible fire or explosion, but you also shorten the lamp’s overall lifespan, meaning you have less time to enjoy it.

Lava lamp manufacturers therefore recommend leaving the lava lamp plugged in for a maximum of eight to ten hours at a time and allowing the lamp to cool before moving it afterwards. Monitoring the lava lamp for signs of overheating is also important.

The hypnotic dance of a lava lamp is as deliciously kitschy today as it was in the ’70s, complemented by the colors of its water solution and thick, bubbling wax. Changing the color of the wax in a lava lamp is a complex affair due to the challenges of breaking down and changing the color of an oil-based substance. However, with the right assortment of consumables and materials, this process can be easy.

A product as iconic and well-known as the Lava® lamp is bound to spark a lot of conversation. LAVA® products are also somewhat mysterious, raising questions about their origin, history and of course “How does a LAVA® lamp work?”. Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive.

If you have questions about LAVA® lamps that are not answered here, please contact us at [email protected].

How big are the lamps in relation to each other?

Q: How do I set up and assemble my LAVA® lamp?

A:

Make sure the bulb is screwed tightly into the base of your LAVA® lamp. Plug your LAVA® lamp into an electrical outlet and keep it away from direct sunlight or extreme temperatures. A room temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended for best results. Turn on your LAVA® lamp using the power switch, which is located on the power cord on most models.

Q: How long do I have to wait for my new LAVA® lamp to work properly?

A:

When you first turn on your LAVA® lamp, it will take about two to six hours for the lava flow to start, so be patient. Initially, your new LAVA® lamp will form towering pillars of wax as it begins to flow. This is normal, so let it run for at least two to six hours the first time you use it. The more often you use it, the faster the boot time will be.

Q: My LAVA® lamp is not working properly – what could be the problem?

A: If the lava in your LAVA® lamp is not flowing as it should, try the following steps. Make sure your lamp is off and cool before trying this:

Check the bottom of the lamp. There is a metal coil that helps speed up the melting of the lava. If this coil is not embedded at the bottom of the lamp, it may take longer for the lava to flow properly. If the spiral isn’t embedded at the bottom, you can gently rotate the ball in the base and the spiral should fall into place.

You can watch our lava lamp instruction video for reference.

Q: What should I do if my LAVA® lamp is cloudy?

A:

If your LAVA® lamp appears cloudy, leave it at room temperature and let the wax sit for about eight hours. Turn the lamp on until the wax softens, then turn it off again and let it cool. After the lamp cools, turn it back on and let it run for eight to ten hours. This should result in a clear liquid. If your LAVA® lamp still appears cloudy, call our Guest Services Line at 1-800-336-5282, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Central Standard Time or email us at [email protected].

Q: What is the best way to care for a LAVA® lamp?

A: Here are a few simple rules to follow so you can continue enjoying your LAVA® lamp for as long as possible:

Do not loosen or remove the cap on top of the ball. Breaking the seal will ruin your lamp and void your warranty.

Do not move, shake or drop your Lava® lamp while it is warm. This can cause permanent damage, e.g. B. that the lamp becomes cloudy or that the lava breaks apart. In this case, turn off the lamp immediately and leave it undisturbed for 24 hours, then turn it back on and let it run as usual.

Do not place the lamp in direct sunlight as this will cause the colors to fade.

Do not store or operate your LAVA® lamp in extreme cold or heat, as this will negatively affect the function of your lamp.

Q: How do LAVA® lamps work?

A: The principle behind the LAVA® lamp is the same today as it was when it was invented by Edward Craven Walker in the 1960s. The blobs that give the Lava® lamp its iconic look are made of wax melted by the bulb in the lamp’s base. As the wax heats up, it becomes lighter than the water in which it is suspended, allowing it to float to the top of the globe. As it gets farther from the bulb, the wax begins to cool and becomes denser than the water, causing it to sink back toward the bulb. This creates a heating and cooling circuit that gives the Lava® lamp its iconic blend of glow and flow. It’s a simple yet impressive idea that has evolved over time into one of the most unique home furnishings of all time.

Q: What’s in a LAVA® lamp?

A: The exact composition of our unique lava is a secret, but it is a special blend of wax suspended in a special liquid mixture that helps enhance the flowing movement of the lava.

spare bulbs

LAVA® lamps do not require any special light source, but each light needs a light source specific to its design. Please consult the table below before purchasing replacement bulbs for your LAVA® lamps.

Model name OZ. lamp power, model number

and Common Name Bulb

Type

product

Number 11.5″ / Accents 12 15 watt (sewing machine bulb) Filament bulb 5150 14.5″ / Classic 20 25 watt (fridge bulb)* Filament bulb 5025 17″ / Designer 32 40 watt A15 (household bulb) Filament bulb 5032 16.3″/ Premier 52 40 watt A15 (household lamp) incandescent lamp 5032 18.5″ / Double Play 80 40 watt R50 (floodlight) reflector 5041 18.5″/ Royale 80 60 watt R20 (floodlight) reflector 5060 27″ Lava Grande 250 100 watt R20F (floodlight) Reflector 5010

*Describes the requirement for the same size of base and lamp holder.

Important information

The portable lamp has a polarized plug (one plug is wider than the other). For safety reasons, this plug will only fit into a polarized outlet. If the plug does not fit fully into the outlet, turn the plug over. If problems persist, contact a qualified electrician. Never use with an extension cord unless the plug can be fully inserted. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DISABLE THIS SECURITY FEATURE.

Your LAVA® lamp operates at a very warm temperature. The glass globe and base will go “HOT!” Please do not touch your LAVA® lamp while it is operating or hot to the touch.

Is your lava lamp not working? These fascinating devices can add atmosphere to most rooms, but they also need to be operated and maintained properly as there are a few reasons that can cause them to malfunction. So if you find that the wax in your lava lamp is bulging at the top, curdling in the middle, the liquid has gone cloudy, or the heating coil has come loose, here are a few simple fixes you can use yourself.

How do you fix a coagulating or doming lava lamp?

Clumping or bulging of the wax in a lava lamp is one of the most common problems you will face. It often happens when the lamp is overheated. Is the lava lamp too hot? That’s probably because you left it on longer than you should, which usually means 8-10+ hours.

To fix this you should:

Check that the heating coil is correctly positioned at the bottom of the lamp. Normally it should lay flat at the bottom. If the coil is shifted, turn off the lamp for 30 minutes to an hour. Begin to gently move the lamp so that the coil falls down. Do not shake the lamp too much or the wax will mix with the liquid. Allow the lamp to sit for several hours before turning it on again. A standard lava lamp should rest for at least 4-6 hours every 8-10 hours of work.

How to fix lava lamp wax stuck on tip?

If some of the wax in your lamp starts to stick to the top, it’s usually because the less dense part of the wax has come loose and floated to the top. To fix this you should:

First try putting a higher wattage bulb in the lamp. Due to the increased temperature, the wax melts at the top and falls down again. Try to gently swing the lamp to make the wax fall down at the top. Do not shake too much or the clear liquid will become cloudy. Try using a hair dryer to melt the wax from the outside on top. Make sure you match the bulb temperature. Alternatively, you can drain the liquid from the lamp, mix the two parts of the lax manually and heat in the lamp. Then allow the wax to cool and add the liquid back in.

How to fix minor lava lamp opacity?

Lava lamps can easily become cloudy if you accidentally knock them over or shake them just a little too hard. This cloudy effect occurs when small wax particles separate from the remaining wax and mix with the normally clear lava lamp liquid.

So how do you fix a lava lamp after shaking it?

As long as the problem isn’t too severe, the solution should be simple:

Turn on the lava lamp for a while until the water settles to the bottom. Depending on the model, this can sometimes take up to 6 or 8 hours. It’s a long wait, but you can easily do it overnight. Turn the lava lamp back on for about an hour so the wax melts just a little. This should be enough for the floating wax particles and trace oils to soften and float back to the bottom with the rest of the wax. After the hour, turn off the lava lamp. Leave it off for some time to give all the wax enough time to settle properly again. 6 to 8 hours can be enough, but you can be extra safe and just skip it for a full 24 hours to ensure all of the wax settles properly. Turn the lamp back on and let it run normally for 8 to 10 hours. The repeated heating and cooling of the previous steps should be enough for the wax to re-settle and the lamp should now be cloud-free.

If that wasn’t enough and you’re still wondering how to fix a shaken lava lamp, let’s talk about replacing the lava lamp liquid below.

How do I replace a cloudy or dirty lava lamp liquid?

So how do you fix cloudy lava lamps that are so far away that the floating wax particles just won’t settle back down with the rest of the wax?

Is your lava lamp not working? These fascinating devices can add atmosphere to most rooms, but they also need to be operated and maintained properly as there are a few reasons that can cause them to malfunction. So if you find that the wax in your lava lamp is bulging at the top, curdling in the middle, the liquid has gone cloudy, or the heating coil has come loose, here are a few simple fixes you can use yourself.

How do you fix a coagulating or doming lava lamp?

Clumping or bulging of the wax in a lava lamp is one of the most common problems you will face. It often happens when the lamp is overheated. Is the lava lamp too hot? That’s probably because you left it on longer than you should, which usually means 8-10+ hours.

To fix this you should:

Check that the heating coil is correctly positioned at the bottom of the lamp. Normally it should lay flat at the bottom. If the coil is shifted, turn off the lamp for 30 minutes to an hour. Begin to gently move the lamp so that the coil falls down. Do not shake the lamp too much or the wax will mix with the liquid. Allow the lamp to sit for several hours before turning it on again. A standard lava lamp should rest for at least 4-6 hours every 8-10 hours of work.

How to fix lava lamp wax stuck on tip?

If some of the wax in your lamp starts to stick to the top, it’s usually because the less dense part of the wax has come loose and floated to the top. To fix this you should:

First try putting a higher wattage bulb in the lamp. Due to the increased temperature, the wax melts at the top and falls down again. Try to gently swing the lamp to make the wax fall down at the top. Do not shake too much or the clear liquid will become cloudy. Try using a hair dryer to melt the wax from the outside on top. Make sure you match the bulb temperature. Alternatively, you can drain the liquid from the lamp, mix the two parts of the lax manually and heat in the lamp. Then allow the wax to cool and add the liquid back in.

How to fix minor lava lamp opacity?

Lava lamps can easily become cloudy if you accidentally knock them over or shake them just a little too hard. This cloudy effect occurs when small wax particles separate from the remaining wax and mix with the normally clear lava lamp liquid.

So how do you fix a lava lamp after shaking it?

As long as the problem isn’t too severe, the solution should be simple:

Turn on the lava lamp for a while until the water settles to the bottom. Depending on the model, this can sometimes take up to 6 or 8 hours. It’s a long wait, but you can easily do it overnight. Turn the lava lamp back on for about an hour so the wax melts just a little. This should be enough for the floating wax particles and trace oils to soften and float back to the bottom with the rest of the wax. After the hour, turn off the lava lamp. Leave it off for some time to give all the wax enough time to settle properly again. 6 to 8 hours can be enough, but you can be extra safe and just skip it for a full 24 hours to ensure all of the wax settles properly. Turn the lamp back on and let it run normally for 8 to 10 hours. The repeated heating and cooling of the previous steps should be enough for the wax to re-settle and the lamp should now be cloud-free.

If that wasn’t enough and you’re still wondering how to fix a shaken lava lamp, let’s talk about replacing the lava lamp liquid below.

How do I replace a cloudy or dirty lava lamp liquid?

So how do you fix cloudy lava lamps that are so far away that the floating wax particles just won’t settle back down with the rest of the wax?

The hypnotic dance of a lava lamp is as deliciously kitschy today as it was in the ’70s, complemented by the colors of its water solution and thick, bubbling wax. Changing the color of the wax in a lava lamp is a complex affair due to the challenges of breaking down and changing the color of an oil-based substance. However, with the right assortment of consumables and materials, this process can be easy.

A 35-year-old man presents to the emergency department with nausea, tremors, and altered mental status. He recently stopped drinking alcohol. Could his problems be withdrawal or a lava lamp he drank? Watch an intriguing analysis of this case above to find out what happened.

Read the following transcript:

AW is a 35-year-old male who presents to the emergency department with nausea, tremors and altered mental status.

His wife, Sheila, is in a panic because her husband has had at least four seizures in the past 15 minutes.

AW was a father who had a problem.

For several years he just couldn’t get enough of the bottle until one day he injured his family in a fog and vowed never to drink again.

Days after his last drink, AW started shaking.

A tingle ran through his fingertips. Small bugs crawled under his skin. He was sweating but cold. He was tired but couldn’t sleep. He had strong cravings and no access to alcohol.

Now in bed, insane, AW saw the glowing lava lamp on his bedside table.

There must be something tasty in there, he thought.

A little sip of it would cure all his problems, he thought.

Immediately after destroying the entire lava lamp with one shot, AW started rolling on the ground. He clutched parts of his bed frame as his stomach curled up inside his body.

This feels better, he thought.

As the night wore on, AW became increasingly insane as he found himself huddled over the toilet. It’s morning now and Sheila finds her husband on the bathroom floor convulsing non-stop. She calls 911. In the ambulance, paramedics see him having another seizure as he is taken to the emergency room, which is where we are now.

Given this history of the current illness, there are several clues as to what is happening.

Sheila tells the admitting nurse that her husband has stopped drinking cold turkey, but doesn’t tell the nurse that he accidentally drank from a lava lamp the night before. As his bouts return, each subsequent one becomes longer and more intense.

This makes sense since alcohol, or formal ethanol, depresses the central nervous system. Years of overconsumption causes the brain to adjust to its presence in the blood, so taking it suddenly can lead to brain problems, which brings us to the first clue.

The seizures. The shaking. The bugs under his skin. This is clearly a case of severe alcohol withdrawal.

As the medical team continues their investigation, AW’s seizures progress to status epilepticus, a life-threatening electrical discharge in the brain that lasts for more than five minutes. He no longer regains consciousness between his attacks.

This immediately increases his chances of death. While the nurses struggle to stop his seizures, 11 shots of the sedative lorazepam are injected to stop his seizures for good for the moment.

Now conscious again, AW is still incoherent. He clenches his sides in pain and a blood test shows he has hypocalcaemia.

Hypo: means low.

Calce: refers to calcium.

And emia: means presence in the blood.

Low levels of calcium in the blood.

Since the muscles need calcium to commit to a contraction and his blood calcium levels are low, he should have muscle problems like a twitch. But he doesn’t. The absence of this twitch could mean he has acidemia, an acid in the blood. When the blood is more acidic, it subtly reshapes the proteins, allowing them to bind less ionized calcium, preventing tetany, or twitching. But if acid is swimming around in his blood and the kidneys are supposed to be removing that acid, then that brings us to the next clue.

The urinalysis now confirms that AW is not only dehydrated and acidic, but also suffers from what is known as prerenal azotemia.

Azote is an old term that refers to nitrogen.

Emia, in turn, means presence in the blood.

A nitrogen presence in the blood.

Prerenal means something is wrong in their body that is preventing blood flow to the kidneys.

The medical team is aware that this is not simply alcohol withdrawal. Something else is obviously wrong, and Sheila remains calm while her husband is delirious.

Bacteria were found in his urine, which means he has an infection somewhere in his urinary tract. Since AW is a male, and because men have longer urinary tracts than women — and longer urinary tracts are less likely to be infected — it means infection is a big deal and there could be a full bacterial outgrowth from his kidneys, which could explain the nitrogen.

When AW is treated with antibiotics, his urinary output drops dramatically to zero.

Acid and waste build up in his blood.

His breathing becomes increasingly restless. His psychoactive disorders more active.

Several hours after the initial presentation to the ER, AW’s body went into multi-organ failure. And here Sheila finally tells the medical team about the lava lamp her husband drank before bed.

Laboratory tests are performed on leftover parts of AW’s lava lamp. Wax, kerosene and polyethylene glycol are found, all dissolved in water.

Wax is generally non-toxic to humans. Kerosene, at least in the amount that might be found in a lava lamp, isn’t toxic, but the polyethylene glycol could pose a problem.

Ethylene glycol is an antifreeze.

The prefix “eth” means two carbons.

Glycol is an old name for glycerin that now refers to these two groups of alcohols.

Poly means more than one ethylene glycol chain, but exactly how many more?

If it’s poly, as in 3000, then the antifreeze as a single molecule becomes a commonly used laxative when chained together 3000 times. As oxygen interacts with hydrogen on water, it draws fluid into the intestines, softening the stool, inducing a stretch reflex on the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, and promoting movement.

But if poly means fewer than ten ethylene glycols chained together, well, that’s toxic, and that low molecular weight polyethylene glycol is found in AW’s lava lamp.

Do you remember the official name for alcohol? Well, ethanol has the same “eth” prefix. The molecular structure looks very much like ethylene glycol. In the body, ethanol is metabolized, or broken down by the liver, into acetate, which is half that of vinegar, and the body does this so the molecule can more easily dissolve in water so it can concentrate in the urine and be excreted from the body.

3,000 chained ethylene glycols are too big to fit in the enzyme, so it passes as a laxative, but if poly means fewer than ten ethylene glycols, those are small enough to fit in the enzyme to produce oxalate, which has more water is -soluble… fine enough for the body to do its job, but when oxalate touches calcium in the blood, it reacts. And if AW is hypocalcemic, then we now know where the calcium goes.

The problem is that calcium oxalate does not dissolve in water. It becomes a solid. It’s another name for a kidney stone.

As more of the calcium in AW’s blood is depleted by reacting with oxalate, solid crystals are deposited in his tissues, blocking blood flow and causing multiple organ failure. As these crystals crawl toward his kidneys, flow is blocked as they accumulate in his tubules, killing them, causing prerenal azotemia, and causing parts of his kidneys to necroze, or literally die. This damage can be irreversible, and if left unchecked, AW will continue to swim in a pool of its own bodily waste.

The notion of clinical deterioration complicated by an incomplete history has always been a problem in medical practice.

An elderly man got syphilis when he was young and it was dormant for decades. One day he presented to the emergency room with his mental health declining and was found to have neurosyphilis where the bacteria invaded his brain. He was treated with antibiotics and discharged days later, but with minimal mental improvements. A poorly collected medical history neglected that he also had a previous autoimmune condition in which his immune system attacked his organs, including a part of his stomach that secretes proteins that allow his body to absorb vitamin B12. Without vitamin B12, the dorsal or posterior and lateral or distal columns of the spinal cord begin to demyelinate. The resulting neuropsychiatric changes from B12 deficiency looked like those caused by neurosyphilis and were neglected by the medical team. Subsequent autoimmunity was not recognized until it was too late, when the thyroiditis and pancreatitis that led to type 1 diabetes had taken hold, both permanent and irreversible problems, all from an uncoordinated collection of past medical history.

A woman with cancer was given immunotherapy, which means her immune system was unleashed by drugs, allowing her own cells to attack the tumor. She had a full reaction and was able to get rid of her cancer due to the medicine, but a few months later she began to experience delusions which developed into psychosis. She had to be admitted to a psychiatric ward for hallucinations, cognitive impairment and disorganized speech. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and received medication to control her negative symptoms, but with little improvement. It wasn’t until an accidental endoscopy discovered she had celiac disease that a gluten allergy inflamed her gut — possibly from the unleashed immune system attacking not only the cancer cells but also her stomach parietal cells. The presence of gluten in her diet triggered delusions and caused her cognitive impairment as a result of celiac disease. And without a detailed medical history and knowledge of the side effects of previous treatments, she was misdiagnosed with refractory schizophrenia when in fact it was a neuropsychiatric manifestation of gluten allergy.

In AW, if anything can be done, we can rehydrate him with IV fluids first.

Since his kidneys aren’t working, we can divert his blood into a machine and filter it through it, a process called dialysis.

But that doesn’t get rid of the kidney stones.

It doesn’t reverse the renal tubular necrosis and brings parts of his kidneys back to life.

And it doesn’t prevent more oxalate from being made from the lava lamp liquid that AW drank. Which brings us to the final complication of this case.

Ethylene glycol and ethanol are metabolized by the same enzyme. In humans, this enzyme binds more strongly to ethanol, which means if we let AW drink again, we can stop the formation of oxalate and the breakdown of calcium. But if we let him drink again, he’ll relapse again, he’ll go back into rehab at a later date, and it negates the original reason he thought about drinking the lava lamp in the first place.

There is one last point to think about here. Do you remember the lorazepam that was used to end AW’s status epilepticus? Well, lorazepam is a solid that doesn’t dissolve in water. It’s formulated with a solvent known as low molecular weight polyethylene glycol, meaning his bouts of ethanol withdrawal led to termination by a drug containing the same compound that was toxic in the lava lamp he drank, causing the Process advances when calcium oxalate crystals deposit and shut down his kidneys. When status epilepticus emerged, it was not clear to the medical team that AW had been drinking a lava lamp, nor was it clear that low molecular weight polyethylene glycol was the kidney poison it contained, and ending his seizures was a top priority. Some patients with severe alcohol withdrawal may be hospitalized for several days and given high hourly doses of lorazepam. If they are on nephrotoxic antibiotics during their stay, as AW was, then that alone could lead to kidney damage. Eleven shots’ worth of lorazepam probably pales in comparison to drinking a lava lamp, but subsequent doses to prevent prolonged seizures can be significant. But there is no other anticonvulsant that does not contain an alcoholic solvent, so there was no better alternative.

There was no easy answer to treating AW because his underlying issues just weren’t easy.

With a long hospital stay and supportive care from the medical team, AW managed to recover.

Thank you for watching. Take care. And be healthy.

“Dr. Bernard” is a licensed physician and associate clinical professor at the University of Illinois. You can see more of his videos on his Chubbyemu YouTube channel.

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