I don't know where you got the information that the standard bulbs "are not suited as dimmer bulbs". I know Mathmos says they're "specially made" for their lamps, but at least as far as I'm aware, they are just ordinary halogen reflectors, and Mathmos loves selling them for 5x the price they're worth. In any case, yes, I'm using the standard bulbs with the dimmer and have never had the slightest issue.

@@Makstuff Brilliant thanks for the quick reply. They do differ from standard bulbs in that they are clearly coated with a reflective aluminium strip around the neck to ensure the heat is reflected upwards towards the wax, if you try and find the exact copy of the 35watt MINII gu10 bayonet fitting they sell you will find it very hard to purchase with the heat reflect coating on the neck of the bulb. However, i will try your dimmer theory provided the bulbs don't blow any quicker than normal.

@@Makstuff Just to note, the bulb packaging clearly states they are or should be used as a heat source, which in theory, makes them unsuitable for an interior/dimmer light circuit. My guess is the filament gets way hotter quicker, so the life of the bulb will be shortened if the current is fluctuated regularly on a dimmer circuit.

@@joebryant5722 Yep I know about the aluminum coating, however I don't think it's as special as they make it sound ( www.flameport.com/electric/lamps_and_lighting/dichroic_or_aluminium_downlight_lamp.cs4 ). Anyway, while the reflector may even be different, the bulb itself is very likely just a standard part. If anything, I'd expect the power reduction of the dimmer to prolong bulb life, can't think of a reason why it would make them blow any quicker.

@@joebryant5722 As for the second comment, standard incandescent light bulbs convert around 95% of their energy consumption into heat anyway, so there's surely no modification necessary on that part. Pretty sure the labeling is just marketing strategy to make you buy more Mathmos bulbs for inflated prices.

Not sure what you mean with the LED thing 🤔 You are aware these lamps also use the bulbs as a heat source, so they work with incandescent only?

@@Makstuff yes I have 3 jet models. One from the 60s/70s an 80s model and a 90s model. All use incandescent bulbs. I know Mathmos often mention a change to LED but they need to develop a different wax type material to work in other ways. Incandescent bulbs will be totally phased out or there will be such low demand for them that no company will manufacture them.

@@robb9731 I guess they could use LED for the light and induction for the heat, but I dont think a lava lamp without heat is possible. I dont think incandescent is being phased out completely, for example oven bulbs will also be around for a while since LED cant stand the heat.

@@robb9731 The great thing about the bulbs used in most modern lava lamps is that they're oven bulbs, since LEDs can't be put in hot places without significantly reducing the life of the bulb. I don't think we'll have an issue, at least not in the near future. Halogens seem to be difficult to find too, particularly at most home improvement stores and grocers. I imagine that using ceramic resistors to generate heat (like most modern portable heaters) is probably the next step if our little oven bulbs become completely extinct, but then you'll need some other way to generate the light, which is where the LEDs could come in, if they're properly isolated from the ceramic heating elements.

Interesting question. No idea, maybe you can cover the bottom with a piece of aluminim foil 🤔

@@Makstuff do you think that would be safe

Probably not, I mean light bulbs are certainly not made for that. But I'd think the worst thing that can happen is the bulb burns out from overheating and dies. I personally would just test it and see what happens.

@@Makstuff I tried covering the bottom of the bottle, but it didn't work. I guess the foil reflects too much of the heat? Did you mean to try wrapping the actual bulb in foil?

Nope, I meant exactly what you did. Hard to say if covering the bulb stops more or less heat, guess its worth a try. I cant think of any other ideas either.

Why do you ask? 🤔

@@Makstuff I am not sure but I noticed this tiny accent in your voice that seems familiar to me.

​@@HoldMySoda I'm impressed. Distinguishing different dialects of a language by hearing _another_ language is truly "next level" 👍 (by the way, now that I have given you this extremely personal information, you are legally obligated to like and subscribe 😉)

@@Makstuff It is a pleasure to me to leave a subscription. After all I came here for a reason and that is the Lava Lamp thing. I used to have Lava Lamps like 25 years ago. I liked them but I didn’t use them as often as I thought I would because of the long preheating time. Whenever I was in the mood for Lava Lamp it often took too long until the lamp was finally bubbling. But now we are much further. I combined the lamp with my smart home. With my current setting the lamp turns itself automatically on like 90 minutes before the sun goes down, as long as anybody is at home. The idea that brought me here was to automatically dim the light after the heating phase to get a more cozy ambient.

@@HoldMySoda Haha I love that idea 😍

Exactement! (Comme vous pouvez le voir, je parle un français parfait.) ⒸGoogleTranslate