Lava Lamp Problems

The lava lamps are also known as the Astro lamps and they are not only used for illumination purposes, but also for decorating our houses. These lamps were found in the year 1963, by an Englishman called Edward Craven Walker and these lamps derive their name from the blob of wax which looks like the lava, and which rises and falls inside the lamp, thus making it look really pretty. You can get this lamp in various colors of wax and liquid. But there are certain lava lamp problems which you need to be aware of, otherwise there might be some accidents. Given below are some of the possible problems as well as their solutions which will help you get familiar with these lamps.

The History and Workings

The lamp was invented in the year 1963 by Edward Craven Walker. This lamp consists of a incandescent bulb or maybe halogen lamp, and it is this lamp which heats up the tall glass bottle in which this bulb is kept. This bottle also contains water which is often mixed glycerol, and along with water there is wax and carbon tetrachloride. The wax is bit thicker than water specially when kept at room temperature, but again it becomes less thicker than water when the surrounding temperature turns warmer and this happens because (as we have studied in physics) wax expands more when heated than water, and it turns into fluid and with a decrease in the relative density, it turns into a blob and then moves up to the top of the bottle. This is the place where this blob of wax cools down and then with the increase in relative density, the blobs slowly settle down to the base of the bottle, where there is a metallic wire coil, which breaks the surface tension and then combines the blob of wax which comes down after cooling.

This lamp takes around 50 to 60 minutes to heat, but the time taken might be more, depending on the room temperature. If the temperature is really cold, specially on a winter night, then the lamp might take at least 3 hours to heat up and activate the wax blobs. If you are wondering how much energy the lamp consumes, then let me tell you that it consumes around 30 to 40 watts of energy. Now you have enough information about the lamp; how it works, what is it made up of, who invented it and when, and so on. Now let us see what are the various problems and also what are its solutions.

Problems and Possible Solutions

Unfortunately, the lava lamps do face certain problems either while heating up or maybe some sort of electrical problem and there have been cases. Like in 2004, a person lost his life while heating up the lamp which exploded and the glasses pierced his heart. This mainly occurs because some people heat up these lamps with the help of some other sources instead of the bulbs and base that are given along with this lamp. Sometimes, the lamp tends to work more slowly and this is because they are kept under direct sunlight. If you are doing this, then do not, because it will only fade the lamp and slow it down. There is also the risk of the lamp catching fire, if kept either near or on flammable objects. Hence, make sure that the lamp is not kept anywhere near a flammable object. Some people often face problem with the bulb. Use a 40 watt bulb and nothing more than that for smooth working of the lamp. Accidentally, one might also break the lamp and there might be a huge mess. Do not worry about the stuff inside being hazardous, because they are absolutely safe and all you have to do is, remove the glass pieces and clear up the water and wax mess. Open the windows so that the smell that it might give out, can be gotten rid of.

These lamps can be used for home lighting or maybe for other outdoor purposes. Just follow the advice given above and your lamp will last you a long time.