What Springs and Coils in Lava Lamps do: Time Lapse Comparison using Mathmos Astro

[@flaw885]

Wow. It's incredible how the lamp wasn't permanently messed up from doing that while it was running.

[@seantimmer4110]

They use the springs not too spread the heat but to enlarge the size and length of the lava bubbles. If you watch closely the lamp with springs make larger and "longer" bubbles sometimes all the way to the top. Which makes sense because the spring makes the wax stick to it, you can see that when you took that spring out. Its the same effect you have when making soap bubbles. But the source here is heat instead of air.

[@Makstuff]

Not saying you're completely wrong, but a) they say in the FAQ specifically that it's to accelerate the melting (why would they lie), and b) I personally see long and short bubbles on both sides almost equally. Anyway, anybody can look at the footage themselves and form their own opinion, no need to trust either of us 😁

[@AlyssaNguyen]

@@Makstuff Trust no one ;)

[@crimcyan3037]

@@Makstuff the coils purpose is for surface tension, it re-heats the wax that drops down better and makes the globs a bit bigger

[@Ohkeh640]

Looks better that way too

[@MBommeli]

Hab ich mich auch schon gefragt ob das wirklich so viel ausmacht. Danke fürs testen!

[@grantparisi7707]

Thank you, btw LOVING the music !!!

[@rngwrm]

was sitting here wondering about soldering the ends of my spring back together, and now i may just take it out and leave it

[@SunflowerxDragon]

Uhm, but is it normal for my lava lamp (containing the springs) to behave like the one without the springs but worse? Mine takes almost two hours, and I'm genuinely confused. I'm always questioning and waiting for someone to explain to me why my Lava Lamp behaves differently than others. It also sparked my curiosity, so I decided to search. But after watching this, I noticed it was normal for them to have springs. Still confusing, though.

[@Makstuff]

Dunno, I guess its always a balance thing between bottle size and bulb wattage. A large lamp with a weaker bulb will take long to heat up, but also will not overheat as easily as a small lamp with a strong bulb. I don't think the spring matters a lot for heat up time.

[@allthewade]

Thank ypu for your post I made the mistake of shaking and it wont work any more . Do you know what wax to use and where to get it Thanks for tour time

[@Makstuff]

Give it a bit of runtime, maybe it will recover. If not, replacing the wax is quite complicated and you are probably better off buying a new lamp. At least if it's a cheap one.

[@GinaLWolf]

What kind of lamp do you have? I like the twist cap

[@Makstuff]

Mathmos Astro 😌

[@Ohkeh640]

I have a lava lamp and it says to use a 30 watt bulb. Can I use a higher one like 40??

[@Makstuff]

Yep, should be fine, just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn anything. Best solution is combining it with a a plugin-dimmer to gradually increase the heat.

[@DrTalk]

No, it’s not to help heat the wax. It’s a surface tension breaker.

[@louleeman9903]

coils?.... we don't need no stinking coils..

[@kurtiskoppdrums]

Big fat money

[@SidShakal]

@@kurtiskoppdrums what im hearing here is lava lamp is in the pocket of big coil 🤔🤔🤔 😄

[@sirelleannebonayon6853]

Daaaa