Keeping the Lava Lamp going ...
8Bought Wifey a Mathmos Lava Lamp when we were living in Finland in 1999 ... really nice on those dark, frozen nights.
It requires a 40W incandescent bulb with a small Edison screw (E14) to work - the bulb produces the light and its waste heat provides the energy for the wax to move around.
That's how I understand it at least.
But it's getting harder to find nice & inefficient 40W incandescent bulbs ... at the local shops at least.
"Won't anyone think of the Lava Lamp owners?"
But I found these ones designed for range hoods ... they had 12W, 25W and 40W ... the 40W were a perfect fit. And as they are designed for a range hood they are apparently resistant to vibration, so perhaps not as delicate as the original bulbs.
I had a look at the Mathmos website - seems they supply halogen lamps now that are suitable ... for current models at least. Not sure if I want to stick a halogen bulb in ours ... yikes.
Wifey's Lava Lamp is now over 20 years old and still working fine - it's travelled from the UK (where it was made) to Finland, then back to the UK, then to Australia (Sydney) and then up to Port Macquarie.
It continues to live on!