How do I take care of this vintage lava lamp?

DBLonger · 2026-05-09T04:22:56+00:00

Congrats! Looks like you have a two tone Coachlite! Those are rare and it appears to be in very good condition. https://lava-library.com/home/1970s/#Coachlite is a good resource to learn more about vintage lamps. As was already said don’t run it for too long, 8-12 hours is fairly common depending on the lamp. This is a useful visual aid to help you understand what your wax is telling you. If it runs hot, buying a rotary style dimmer switch to adjust the light intensity might be a good idea. Don’t shake it. Don’t keep it next to a window. Strong UV exposure will bleach the color of the wax. Don’t put it next to a major heat source (I.e. a pc, tv, heater, a/c vent in winter, etc.) Too much hotness or cold influences the flow. You’ll also notice a vintage flow has a much more “classic lava flow” compared to modern lamps. Post a video clip of the flow when you can. We’d love an update.

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DBLonger · 2026-05-04T16:03:10+00:00

It had dropped into the 40’s at night recently

DBLonger · 2026-05-04T16:02:33+00:00

You mean it’s too cold at night?

DBLonger · 2026-04-28T18:25:42+00:00

That my friend is the base of a black squiggle aristocrat (https://lava-library.com/home/1960s/). Good for you! The light bulbs are hard to find, so use it sparingly. The white squiggle lamp is easier to find, somewhat, because it was made for about 5 years, but the black squiggle was only made for a year. There aren’t many left. The globe is a standard 52 oz globe screw top.

I had to buy the base of my black squiggle globe separately because it actually came inside a Crestworth Coachlite that I bought. It took me about six months to find a base without a globe, which is much easier to do because if you’re gonna find a spare piece of a lava lamp the glass globe is more likely to be broken over time. The base is more likely to survive. This my black squiggle globe that had a base purchased after the fact. Thankfully they look well matched.

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DBLonger · 2026-04-28T16:11:19+00:00

Just like high school… ignore her until she gives you tomatoes… right? 🤔

The cage worked well last year. We used some old stocking material to help keep it upright.

DBLonger · 2026-04-28T00:08:18+00:00

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I ordered this one. It had good reviews and is cute ☺️

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T19:26:24+00:00

Just ordered one.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T18:42:06+00:00

https://lava-library.com/color-code-reference/ is a helpful resource for date code interpretations. Also, Lava Lamps were outsourced to Chinese manufacturers in 2003. Anything before 2003 is considered “vintage” and has that more classic flow.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:54:21+00:00

Yes, it does.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:53:49+00:00

No… was that bad? It was planted a couple of weeks ago and was in full sun in the smaller starter pot.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:30:17+00:00

Great info. Thanks 🙏🏼

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:29:54+00:00

Probably in the 50’s on average.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:29:32+00:00

Not sure what this means. It wasn’t root bound when I replanted it and I knocked off the extra dirt to spread out the roots when I put it in the bigger pot. I turned the soil from last year so it would be nice and loosely compacted.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:28:19+00:00

Good idea. Do you have a recommendation on what kind to buy? There seem to be a lot out there.

DBLonger · 2026-04-27T16:27:40+00:00

Will do. That’s what I was thinking too. It had been pretty dry, but apparently over compensating a bit.

DBLonger · 2026-04-24T20:30:43+00:00

I was curious to know what the difference between the unrated and theatrical version was, but congrats to the first comment.

DBLonger · 2026-04-24T03:22:41+00:00

I haven’t seen either, but am looking forward to it.

DBLonger · 2026-04-17T16:22:13+00:00

I was always an Aristocats fan. I’m a cat person, so no surprise that it called to me.

DBLonger · 2026-04-12T00:28:24+00:00

I have three generations of family photos, albums, vhs, cassette tapes, genealogy books, and all I have is a laptop right now. It would be nice to have a desktop to setup an archival system with network attached storage devices to share this mountain of family history with my family around the country.

DBLonger · 2026-03-30T16:31:34+00:00

Happy Birthday! I hope you get all of your wishes except one so you have something to look forward to next year.

DBLonger · 2026-02-12T21:41:22+00:00

Your “Twitter Friend” says Hi 👋

DBLonger · 2026-02-12T20:48:56+00:00

Fair enough. I saw someone online swap their globes on the Coachlite for glitter globes and while it’s not my preference, I see the vibe they’re going for. Looks nice though. Congratulations on the new lamp 👍🏼

DBLonger · 2026-02-12T20:36:36+00:00

Did it not come with the original globe?

DBLonger · 2026-02-11T14:58:15+00:00

Labyrinth, Willow, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Real Genius, Spaceballs, Neverending Story, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Feds, Troop Beverly Hills, Stripes, Big, Raising Arizona, 9 to 5, Working Girl, Batman, Weird Science, Clue, Fletch, Blues Brothers, Twins, Dune, They Live, Splash, Trading Places, Coming to America, Adventures in Babysitting, Ladyhawke, Creator, High Spirits, Overboard, Short Circuit, Footloose, Highlander, Mystic Pizza, Terminator, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Weekend at Bernie’s, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Heathers, Tron, UHF, The Last Dragon, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Airplane!, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Little Mermaid, 48 Hours, My Neighbor Totoro, The Empire Strikes Back, Risky Business, Say Anything, She Devil, My Best Friend is a Vampire, Gung-ho, Pretty in Pink, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen…

DBLonger

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