How to refill and redo a Lava lamp

Рет қаралды 128,413

7 жыл бұрын

I did some KZfaq research and made a shaken and cloudy lava lamp cool again. I actually like it better now. I had read they were basically ruined if shaken or cloudy, but you can try this method and I am sure it will be way better than it was. You basically are increasing the salinity (Epsom salt) until the fluid is just at the level to flow. It is tricky though, you need to add the salt solution slowly because if you add too much it will cause the wax to float up and not sink once full heat is reached. The dish soap (or bubbles for kids) is a surfacant which allows the wax to separate into blobs rather than stay in one column. 2-3 drops is enough. If you make a mistake, no big deal. Just allow it to cool, and start over after rinsing it out without disturbing the wax at the bottom

Пікірлер: 118

@foolgazer 10 ай бұрын

god do i love to hear someone say that something is almost impossible but then do it anyways 😂 gives me hope for the project i want to try! I'm gonna try to turn an old glitter lamp i got at a thrift into a wax lamp. thank you for all the info and encouragement you've put in the comments!

@Legendary_Python Жыл бұрын

The lava lamp with bubbles in the wax makes it look kinda cool to be honest

@TheTurb 4 жыл бұрын

Looks like it’s deep winter and the lava lamp is the best things ever

@battlin 3 жыл бұрын

What do you use remove the cap and can you able to snap it back into place

@spudth 3 жыл бұрын

And the tree suddenly crashes through the window.

@markmarkofkane8167 4 жыл бұрын

I did a lava lamp last November. 2018. I am doing another at this moment. The liquid is blue, the wax is too. Can't see the wax as easily as clear water. So clear water will replace the tinted water. The lamp came with colored liquid. It wasn't noticeably cloudy, but may have been somewhat. My first lamp I did, I didn't need detergent. Just Epson salt. And distilled water, of course. Thanks to your video.

@ProlificInvention 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, excellent ideas and comment! Thank you for watching.

@TheTurb 4 жыл бұрын

I love the chainsaw background

@josediaz1484 5 жыл бұрын

If you take out a little bit of water so there is an air pocket at the top. That way you’ll have the lumps going around again. The fluid are incompressible and that’s why the air is needed, to have an inconstant pressure.

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

I had someone say they tried it and it didn't work, here is my response: Was the wax completely cooled and 1 solid lump at the bottom when you drained the original fluid? Did you use Epsom salts? Filtered or distilled water? Anyway what I would do: Empty it slowly and carefully once completely solid wax at bottom is cooled all the way (6 hours after turning off). Then rinse the wax very carefully by filling with cold tap water slowly, then slowly empty it. After that then add filtered or bottled water until 2/3 full or so. Turn lamp on and allow to heat up for 6 hours minimum. In the meantime mix in a large bowl 1 cup Epsom salts and 1 cup filtered/bottled water, and 1 drop off dishsoap. Use a child's medicine syringe (the large oral type like that comes with children's Tylenol). I have found that works best, just add 1 syringe full (5-10cc's) at a time, then wait at least 15 minutes between each add. If some salt crystals are added with the Epsom salt water, that is fine. Each time you add the melted wax at the bottom will swirl around and do crazy stuff, but settle back down. Once you have added 4-8 of them the wax will start to rise in the middle in a peak and you then know it's getting close. Start waiting 1 hour between adding, and only add 1/2 syringe at a time. You will know you are successful when the cone is to the top, and some stuff is falling back to the bottom in large droplet blobs. Once you think it is right, turn it off and allow to cool for a day, then turn it back on and after 4 or so hours it should be great. Remember that lava lamps take 6 hours or more to heat up to the maximum temperature, and the same to cool off completely.

@JulioCaldas21 3 жыл бұрын

Receita

@ProlificInvention 3 жыл бұрын

@@JulioCaldas21 Thank you ?

@artmakersworlds 5 жыл бұрын

Cool video. SO far this is the best I've seen. I bought a lava lamp off ebay some time ago and sure enough, got a bad one. Contacted the lava lamp company and got a real nice lady who said they can set 20 lamps up right out of the factory and all will work fine but every so often they get one with "lazy lava." She sent me a brand new one at no charge and of course I still have the original. Always figured I'd just have a spare base if needed but.... thought I'd try again at seeing if I could "fix" it. My replacement is wonderful. Love it. I tried putting the "lazy lava" jar over the good base just to see if it's the heat of the bulb, but no, lazy is lazy and the good one works fine. So not the base. Seems it's the mix???? Might need more salt? ALSO... cleaning out my daughters old room (she's moved out now.) Came across a small lamp I bought her many years ago. Today I found out it has the opposite problem. The lava does heat up, bubbles for a little bit, but then all the lava collects at the top and just floats there in a seemingly solid glob. The lava is high. lol. I wonder though, those pop cap tops on these, how do you get it sealed again once it's pried off?

@ProlificInvention 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for commenting, I happen to have a cap tool for beer making that I used. I imagine a twist off beer cap might work, it is worth trying.

@artmakersworlds 5 жыл бұрын

Yea, perhaps a tad of glue around the rim too. Heat tolerant epoxy? Everything I read says it's the saline amount may be off on both my dead lamps. One too low, and daughters somehow too high. Hers was laying on it's side for years. And the cap freely spins, and the liquid level seems a bit low to me. (That decorative cap usually goes down to the water line. Hers is a half inch below that.) Go my guess is some water evaporated out and that's why she's at a constant float as soon as it warms up. Need to pick up some distilled water, then I'll play around with that one. Oh and beer. Better buy beer. lol.

@CL-ts3qz 4 жыл бұрын

I like how he tells us how to do it but he doesn’t show us an example

@ProlificInvention 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, that was a flaw. I never expected anyone to watch this video

@Xintheclouds 2 жыл бұрын

That's such a good idea with the colored light!!

@ProlificInvention 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, it's one of those color lights with a built in speaker, it's all Bluetooth and I've tried every one on the market. Most of them are decent

@CosplayInABox 5 жыл бұрын

Hello! Thank's for the video! One question though, how did you take off and re-secure the lid/pop cap? is it a twist off?

@ProlificInvention 5 жыл бұрын

I actually have a cap tool because I brewed my own beer with one of those kits, but for awhile while I was experimenting with it I just press fit it back on and was careful not to spill it. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@Thortolino 5 жыл бұрын

Great video and great comments by Claude as well. I don't have Epsom salt at hand, would dishwasher salt be worth a try?

@ProlificInvention 5 жыл бұрын

Yes, I looked it up and it seems like it would be a good substitute. It is definitely worth a try, thank you for watching and commenting!

@Thortolino 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I gave it a try, worked like a charm! The hardest part was the right amount of dish soap, even half a straw straw with one drop dissolved in a full glass of water makes a lot of difference. It seems to me that the dish soap and the salt water interacted pretty strongly. I thought that I used too little salt because the wax stayed at the bottom, but actually I had more than enough salt in it but the surface tension was too much for the wax too rise up. It took some time but was actually pretty enjoyable.

@JavierGuzman-md4jb 6 жыл бұрын

how much do you fill up the cup?

@kenkaneki666 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video. It was interesting. I shook mine too >.

@jawsh9382 4 жыл бұрын

I'm contemplating about making my own DIY lava lamp tomorrow. I've purchased a pound of paraffin wax, wax dye to add color to the wax itself, Epsom Salt, distilled water. I'm going to be using a 750 ml Jack Daniels bottle as the glass "globe" itself. Do you think this mixture following this procedure with unused wax (of course melted down in to the bottle) would work? I know this video is slightly old but I'm just looking for pointers.

@ProlificInvention 4 жыл бұрын

I think it'll work! It would make an excellent video as well. Make sure to use Distilled water, I found it works well later. I also later figured out to omit the bubbles. That brings me to a part I might have left out- If you over saturate it and the wax goes to the top and stays you can always dump some mixture out when its off and cooled/solidified, then add more water or even starting over completely. Not sure how the dye/wax/water thing will work, It would be interesting to see your project.

@foolgazer 10 ай бұрын

Did you end up trying it out? I've got an old glitter lamp that has no coloring and i'd love to make into a wax lamp instead. Would love to hear if you went for it!

@itskidkelly 5 жыл бұрын

Would it be possible to have pink fluid and light blue wax? I’m thinking of just doing my own because I can’t find one that I’m looking for.

@ProlificInvention 5 жыл бұрын

I would think so, I say experiment and try, you can always start over by draining the fluid!

@philipottey7723 5 жыл бұрын

A drop or two of food coloring is all you need for fluid tint; For pink, use McCormik's neon food color/egg dye.

@enkievatoes270 4 ай бұрын

Mine worked for one day, and after i turned it off, after a day, it became cloudy again. Is yours akso like that?

@eldorado416 5 жыл бұрын

Its a great Hobby

@Homemaker-eg2he 6 жыл бұрын

my wax does that anyways... it dat in storage for about 9 mos at some point it got jostled and fell over which eventually caused a leak and I lost about 3 in of fluid I have the 17" lamp I believe it is slightly cloudy and my wax only works about 10% of the time and its bubbly and I have some that floats at the top that does not mix back in when the lamp goes off... so will the Epsom distilled water and liquid dishwasher detergent really work to fix that... since your is doing the same after being fixed I think ill just spend the $30 to get a new one

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

anony mous All you need is Epsom salt and filtered water. Look at the comments for written directions. It is easy to get it working well again, save yourself $30

@Homemaker-eg2he 6 жыл бұрын

apparently if you drain 90% of the fluid and boil the lava it will help pull it all back together if that doesn't work you have to drain it all but if it isnt done right you ruin it not sure I want to try that to remove the bubbles in mine but they are fragile and break apart as their going up due to the bubbles within then i just have this weird looking broken wax floating to the top... I think I got that from the mathos lava lamp website on how to get the lava right again..

@NH-en6et 3 жыл бұрын

Nice. Are the little bubbles inside the wax gone now? I just got one a day ago and there’s small bits of water in the wax. Hoping it goes away after several cycles. Cheers!

@ProlificInvention 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, the bubbles eventually went away. It did take many cycles for that to happen though

@vetaliv4696 Жыл бұрын

Ваш досвід досить ціавий! Я теж маю lava lamp зроблену у СРСР. Лампі уже більше 35! років. Шкода, та рідина помутніла... Ваші рецепти видаються мені занадто простими... Для води важливий рівень PH, і вміст поверхнево-активних речовин (мило). Що Ви думаєте про додавання гліцерину?

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

I fill the lava lamp 2/3 or so full with filtered water. I then fill an 8 oz glass half full of Epsom salts and half full of hot water. I used a straw but a large children's medicine syringe would be more ideal for extracting the salt solution from the cup to transfer to the lamp.

@preciousgamer7286 6 жыл бұрын

Prolific Invention did it work

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

Miss P ladiva Payne It worked better than I expected, very well

@preciousgamer7286 6 жыл бұрын

Prolific Invention that's good

@Legendary_Python Жыл бұрын

Do you think I can use any wax because I was thinking about getting one of my lava lamps emptying out the wax, and liquid but keeping the coil and buying a green unscented wax then putting the coil at the bottom poor the melted wax in then when drys I put distilled water in it, turn it on let the wax melt while in the water and then add the Epsom salt with dish soap?

@ProlificInvention Жыл бұрын

I think that's a great idea, it has a great chance of working. I would go very light on the dish soap (1 drop per quart of water or so)

@Legendary_Python Жыл бұрын

@ProlificInvention Ok thanks, thanks for the advice!

@Legendary_Python Жыл бұрын

@ProlificInvention Should I put the drops of dish soap after I let the wax melt and before I put the Epsom salt in, or should I put the dish soap mix it then let it warm up and then put the Epsom salt in?

@ProlificInvention Жыл бұрын

@@Legendary_Python I would use the diluted dish soap mix to make the saturated salt solution which you ultimately drip in a little at a time after the wax has heated up completely in the pure distilled water (leave about a 3" empty area at the top to accommodate the added water/soap/salt mix to.

@Legendary_Python Жыл бұрын

@ProlificInvention Okay thanks, you should own a business

@kisamorevivetta 2 жыл бұрын

How do u take cap off with out damaging it and how do u put it back on . Can u add glitter and food coloring???

@ProlificInvention 2 жыл бұрын

I used a bottle opener very carefully to take it off, and a rubber mallet to carefully pound it back on. Took awhile and didn't seal very well I'm sure, but I never tipped it to see if it was sealed perfectly. Yes you can add glitter and food coloring. I put one of those color changing LED lightbulbs behind it and it was pretty cool also.

@kisamorevivetta 2 жыл бұрын

Ty I have two that I need to fix made the mistake of shaking them but also want to make them look better thanks ❤️

@kevinpwoodward 6 жыл бұрын

I bought my lava lamp in 1991. It is not cloudy but is down about 1 inch from the top. Can't I just add 1 inch of water?

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

Kevin Woodward Yes, that is what I would do. Thanks for watching!

@HerbanLegend420 5 жыл бұрын

Where did the water go?

@tylerthepotato4052 5 жыл бұрын

@@HerbanLegend420 He must've drank it.

@davelovell8631 5 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't do that as the liquid in there is a very specific density, and adding pure water would offset it and make the wax not rise.

@Scroopulous 5 ай бұрын

yeah I dont understand how to get the cap off. Is it twisting or is this a bottle openner thing?

@ProlificInvention 5 ай бұрын

Bottle opener usually

@Infinitpossibilities 6 жыл бұрын

Did mine the same way and its cloudy again straight away....is this normal? Does it need time to settle down?

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

Was the wax completely cooled and 1 solid lump at the bottom when you drained the original fluid? Did you use Epsom salts? Filtered or distilled water? Anyway what I would do: Empty it slowly and carefully once completely solid wax at bottom is cooled all the way (6 hours after turning off). Then rinse the wax very carefully by filling with cold tap water slowly, then slowly empty it. After that then add filtered or bottled water until 2/3 full or so. Turn lamp on and allow to heat up for 6 hours minimum. In the meantime mix in a large bowl 1 cup Epsom salts and 1 cup filtered/bottled water, and 1 drop off dishsoap. Use a child's medicine syringe (the large oral type like that comes with children's Tylenol). I have found that works best, just add 1 syringe full (5-10cc's) at a time, then wait at least 15 minutes between each add. If some salt crystals are added with the Epsom salt water, that is fine. Each time you add the melted wax at the bottom will swirl around and do crazy stuff, but settle back down. Once you have added 4-8 of them the wax will start to rise in the middle in a peak and you then know it's getting close. Start waiting 1 hour between adding, and only add 1/2 syringe at a time. You will know you are successful when the cone is to the top, and some stuff is falling back to the bottom in large droplet blobs. Once you think it is right, turn it off and allow to cool for a day, then turn it back on and after 4 or so hours it should be great. Remember that lava lamps take 6 hours or more to heat up to the maximum temperature, and the same to cool off completely.

@KNOWLEDGEREINGS 2 жыл бұрын

Is there anywhere I can get a gookit type thing for my empty lava lamp i can’t find any goo kits anywhere

@ProlificInvention 2 жыл бұрын

Not sure, good luck though. I'd look on FB marketplace for lava lamps there, there usually very cheap.

@freakypete8421 5 жыл бұрын

hi. the wax in my lamp floats to the surface then will not sink. what must i do ?

@philipottey7723 5 жыл бұрын

Add a drop more of the salt water, and then wait; wax needs more time (3-5 hours) to warm up. You could also turn it off to let it settle, and turn it back on, or use a blow dryer to heat the top wax. NEVER stir the wax! otherwise it will go back to a cloudy mess.

@1goodnoodle255 3 жыл бұрын

Yo, this video is a bit old, but I've a question, I refilled a cheap lava lamp I got at the store, I added Epsom salt, distilled water, and a small amount of dish soap, but when I turn it on, there are THOUSANDS of bubbles, its Alot more wild than before

@ProlificInvention 3 жыл бұрын

I'd probably carefully drain the liquid (while cool) and try and keep all the wax in. Then rinse it carefully with a bunch of fresh water(carefully fill it and dump it 3-4 times with tap water). After all of that start over and don't use any dish soap, just Epsom salt and distilled water. Slowly add the Epsom salt a little at a time like I mentioned in the video. Thanks for watching and commenting

@1goodnoodle255 3 жыл бұрын

@@ProlificInvention Thanks, ill try again, also dang, still replying two years later, mad respect bro

@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 3 жыл бұрын

I thought lava lamps used mineral oil for the liquid.

@alanbranscum8809 3 жыл бұрын

Can you use regular sait?

@ProlificInvention 3 жыл бұрын

It's worth a shot, but I did read it might make it slightly cloudy. Epsom salt, delete the kids bubbles and just use Dawn premium dish soap

@Frip36 4 ай бұрын

How do you get the freaking cap on and off? Why is almost every lava lamp guy a slow talker.

@bisem433 Жыл бұрын

What does the detergent do?

@ProlificInvention Жыл бұрын

It is a surfactant and is used to allow the wax to do the slick recombination and large blobs to individualize.

@bisem433 Жыл бұрын

@@ProlificInvention Thanks for the reply!

@ProlificInvention Жыл бұрын

@@bisem433 Also I found out if you overdo the soap, it turns all the blobs into much smaller spherical blobs which is cool in its own right, but not the desired lava lamp effect.

@vicd6902 5 жыл бұрын

Check my video... early 70s lava lamp I picked up at a thrift store. Missing the plastic flower ring.

@SmedleyButlerIII 4 жыл бұрын

Candycane? Is that you?

@chocolate9726 4 жыл бұрын

Mine is all stuck at the bottom

@m.d.bishop1244 4 жыл бұрын

How do you recap it?

@ProlificInvention 4 жыл бұрын

I have a cheap recapper I bought off Amazon (for making my own beer) but if too much, you could just use a needle nose pliers with some paper towel on the jaws to crush the bottom edge of the cap back on the lip.

@kathynguyen9761 4 жыл бұрын

When mine just randomly froze when I turned mines off the instructions said “turn off the lamp undisturbed for 24 hours but don’t do that if you don’t wanna wait to long just turn it on and leave it on then the wax will desolve and go back to normal hope this helped some people

@oldfartpushingashoppingcar5979 4 жыл бұрын

Agreed! A shaken or dropped , knocked over lava lamp isn't the end of the world , it just takes several on/off cycles to get them to self correct as it were . Sometimes a higher wattage bulb will help by getting the wax and liquid hotter it will speed this process up just be patient and return to the regular wattage bulb after things work themselves out.

@idontwantaname9750 5 жыл бұрын

I shake mine all the time out of boredom and it always goes back to normal.

@wulfaxe7661 4 жыл бұрын

You sick fuck! Mine moved a bit and got cloudy

@ProlificInvention 2 жыл бұрын

Na, you're lying or have some weird different type than most people

@overdonefoxy305 5 жыл бұрын

i fixed mine by melting the lava again took awhile though

@pillager3653 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah talking about poping the cap, just turn it off for a day, turn it back on for an hour then turn it off again.

@stubillit3009 5 жыл бұрын

Do you live in a chainsaw factory???..wtf

@ProlificInvention 5 жыл бұрын

😂🤣😆 We had just experienced a Tornado on my street and the alley nearby, it ripped down like 15 trees right in front of my house and all up and down the area

@johnstevenson9956 3 жыл бұрын

@@ProlificInvention LOL

@GmFmAgnostic 6 жыл бұрын

The sound of a chainsaw and the word use of "pop cap" are you located in the pnw?

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

lower peninsula Michigan, thank you for watching!

@killfeedgaming7620 Жыл бұрын

Put 1 drip of dish soap and let it set on for 15 mins do again if it doesn't start looking like an actual lava lamp yours needs more

@kevinforeback9188 Жыл бұрын

What about RO water? No mineral at all

@noelabra6565 6 жыл бұрын

is it a raell lava

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

Noe Labra Unfortunately it is just melted was suspended in hot salty water

@kevinpwoodward 6 жыл бұрын

lava is melted rock at about 1166 F degrees. Do you think it is LAVA?

@ciarashirley2843 4 жыл бұрын

Kevin Woodward Hes probably a kid

@hotpockets4life212 6 жыл бұрын

Plain water

@peridotandlazuli6526 5 жыл бұрын

Of you shake it just wait

@ProlificInvention 2 жыл бұрын

Nope

@AndreChampoux 4 жыл бұрын

Showing the process would have been better, but thanks.

@ProlificInvention 4 жыл бұрын

Very true

@supreme84x 6 жыл бұрын

I shake my lava lamps all the time. Leaving it on for a few hours has it return to normal. IDK why you thought shaking it ruins it.

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

supreme84x WOW! You must have an amazing lava lamp, I mean 21 thousand people have watched the video so I am pretty sure it happened to other people. Thanks for watching.

@supreme84x 6 жыл бұрын

Prolific Invention I have four lava lamp. And I've had more in the past and shaken them all. The lava is wax and will work itself together like normal. The liquid is water and oil so the worst that happen is you create an emulsification, like mayonnaise. But this will separate over time with heat. Chemistry and physics.

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

supreme84x You are absolutely amazing with your insight! WOW, thank you! There is this thing called Google, type in "shaken lava lamp". After you find out that maybe your emulsion theory isn't universally explanatory in the case of lava lamps, then maybe you will see why 21,000+ people watched the video. Have a great day.

@supreme84x 6 жыл бұрын

Prolific Invention it's chemistry. Oil and water create an emulsification. This is fact. You want to claim something else is happening, cool but what? What other chemistry is occurring? This isn't magic, this isn't play stupid and toss it. It's science. I can Google "is the Earth flat" and find lots of stuff talking about it, however that doesn't mean it is true.

@ProlificInvention 6 жыл бұрын

supreme84x I understand Chemistry as well as Physics very well, emulsion is a simple thing to understand. Alot of people have shaken their lava lamps and had them turn cloudy and unworkable according to the number of blogs and questions about it. I literally ran this lamp for 4 months after it was shaken, and it stayed the same, cloudy and ruined. Your theories and simple understanding of science are trumped by your ignorance. Google is not a conspiracy theory, and accurate research can be performed with the aid of the internet. Do you go to the library and use the card catalog, or the supercomputer in your pocket or home? Lava lamps often contain many ingredients beyond wax and water, the exact mix used is in most part a trade secret , but when I opened it the odor was of brake cleaner or similar solvent. I also read a few other DIY repair tips that actually used solvents in the mix. Maybe you have a more modern lava lamp from China that just uses wax, water, and salt...Not sure why your experience is so different than most, or if your just an obstinate troll making things up.