Does anyone own lava lights? One of mine stopped working. The light bulb is good and works but the "lava" is stuck and doesn't flow like it should. Anyone have this happen? I wonder if I should throw it out or get a new bulb.

My understanding is that the lammps work the same way that easy baked ovens did. The heat from the bulb, melts a ball of wax inside the fluid, and starts the rise and fall of the stuff you see.

Definitely try a different bulb before you do anything else.

Thanks, Igor. I have one lava lamp for about 25 years and it works perfectly. I use it a lot and I changed the the bulb a couple of times. I'll have to try a new bulb in my other lava lamp.

Wow I did not know the bulbs required changing!
Thanks Igor ;-)
Mine just plug along.

I use my lamps a lot! The bulbs burn out.

Of course that's exactly how they work and I don't think Igor is saying he's certain that's the problem. If you haven't changed the bulb and it lights I would doubt it. But what can it hurt to have a spare? Take it with you and be sure to get a replacement of the same type and wattage.

whenever I am looking for a light bulb, I bring the bulb with me to the store. Thanks guys.

Some lava lamps have a metal spring in the bottom of the bottle. It needs to be touching the bottom of the bottle to transfer heat from the bulb into the wax. Sometimes the spring doesn't settle all the way at the bottom and the wax hardens around it. Usually if you leave the light turned on long enough it will eventually melt the wax. Once the wax melts you can shake the bottle to make the spring settle making full contact with the bottom of the bottle.

techno, I noticed that. I left my lamp on for hours and that did not work. i saw the spring and I thought it was at the bottom.

I'd have 10 lava lamps in my house, if I could. I love them.

Been years since I have had one.

Here's a thought.
Try heating up the lamp another way once or twice.
Maybe it just needs a jumpstart?

Feel the heat on a working lamp and find a way to heat that lamp to the sensed temp.
If you have access to a laser thermometer you could read a working lamp at different places and take readings on the non-working one.

Place on the door of an open oven on low.
Invert the lamp into boiling water (stay clear of electrical components).
Wrap it in a heat pad.
Place in the hot sun on a hot summer day...

There are some interesting Youtube videos about these too.

You can take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1cLubV7vuc which describes a rather involved procedure to redo the liquid in a lamp that isn't behaving, but which used to.

I've never done this, but being a do-it-myself kind of person since birth (midwestern parents), it's certainly something I'd try.

Doesn't look expensive, just temporally involved.

Just a thought, If the problem started recently you might check to see if it's in the path of the airflow from your heating system. Even though that air is enough to warm your house it's definitely cool enough to chill your lave.

There's a mixture of stuff in a lava lamp besides wax and water. After a while one of the chemicals evaporates, the mixture goes south and the lamp stops working. There's a lot of stuff on the net you can try. But you'd prolly be better off spending the fifteen bucks and buying a new one.

Just in case it has quit working they do sell them on Amazon and several stores now...