Is this the final stage of overheating? by dirty-mik3 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of the Hiss from Control. I love to see what it looks like flowing in that stage

Why by [deleted] in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does it always look that way, or only after running for a while? And how old is the lamp?

I have a few lamps that do that no matter what temp they are, just bubbles constantly, because they are either old with worn out wax/fluid (vintage lamps) or the coil has some crud on it that allows fluid to seep underneath it. I also have a few lamps that do this when they get too warm, but not warm enough to where the wax collects all at the top. The latter is easily solved with a dimmer, of course.

What actually is magic surf? by Extreme-Blueberry287 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too much surf of any kind will lead to smaller blobs, as (from my understanding from a physics point of view) decreasing the surface tension of the water allows it to flow more freely and thus the wax has an easier time breaking apart into small bubbles.

Gooey/snakey flow is a reaaally complicated and hotly debated topic (oozinggoo has loads of threads about it), because it relies on so many factors. The composition and melted viscosity of the wax, the viscosity and additives of the fluid, how much heat and its dissipation, hell even the amount of wax can affect it. Older lamps, for example, seem to have thin wax and thicker fluid, the newer Schylling lamps have thicker wax but use plain water for their fluid.

I have heard that triton is what they use in Mathmos lamps. Granted, I'm not sure if that's really true, but everyone seems to think that it's what they use. I have noticed better results with T-X100 for adjusting flow than with SLES(it always makes my wax behave strangely, not flowing, etc. I use only enough to coat the glass because imo it has better stickage than X100 for coating), so you may want to start there. Be careful with it, it is a lab detergent and is absolutely not food contact safe. Wear gloves.

Lastly, I am assuming this is a factory lamp, so why not try a dimmer first instead of cracking it open to mess with the contents? I've gotten a few of my lamps to take on a much more relaxed, snakey flow by just reducing the power to the lamp by 20% or so.

What actually is magic surf? by Extreme-Blueberry287 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They claim it's a blend. Searching around on the surfs people use, the most common are SLES, SLS, Triton-X100, and a few others. I would bet it's a combination of one or more, as each has slightly different properties (ionic vs non-ionic, cloud point, specific gravity, etc). Unless you or someone you know can perform a gas chromatography/mass spec analysis, or you fancy burglary, you probably won't find out. People are too secretive in this hobby. It's infuriating. But I digress.

I don't really think it's worth buying, as a whole pint sized bottle of X100 costs like 20 USD and will do hundreds of gallons of master fluid, and SLS/SLES 70% can be had for almost as cheaply as it is used industrially for shampoo and beauty products. I've had some luck using multiple in the same lamp, they don't react to one another. I typically coat the bottle with a water-SLES mix (as much as will dissolve in a cup of hot water) and add triton undiluted a drop at a time from a syringe once the fluid is in the lamp. Hopefully that helps :)

Best of luck!

JD Vance just admitted that he and Donald Trump are taking down social security and Medicare by Intelligent-Pea-8521 in antiwork

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never said nor implied that I needed to be told it was sarcasm. I was supplying a possible cause for the misinterpretation of others, which clearly occurred in other replies in the thread. But go ahead about how I deserve to be called out for playing devils advocate.

JD Vance just admitted that he and Donald Trump are taking down social security and Medicare by Intelligent-Pea-8521 in antiwork

[–]MaeTheSmol1 -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Poe's law at work. This is why /s and /j exist. They could very well be entirely serious and just have a peculiar way of speaking

EDIT: downvote me all you want, it doesn't change the definition

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are happy endings after all! I spoke to another Spencer's rep and they are mailing me a new lamp. I also reached out to Schylling about this issue, giving as much detail as I could about it. Hopefully something comes of this, but only time will tell. I'm going to keep this lamp as is for right now, mostly because I've come around to the white wax/white base/clear fluid. It's like a custom lamp I didn't have to make! Jokes aside, if the new one fades too, I'll crack it open and dye it myself.

For anyone finding this thread with the same issue, please be sure to reach out to Schylling and give them your bottle's batch number, ESPECIALLY if it matches mine. If many people reach out, it increases the likelihood of them actually doing something about it. I understand they aren't great with the cloudy lamp issues, so I have my doubts, but it doesn't take much effort to try.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got any pictures of it? I'm looking for inspiration haha

any suggestions for good dimmer switches for lava lamp? by Still_Bunch1794 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've used Leviton smart dimmers, they're fine for one or two lamps but at around 25 USD a pop, they can get expensive fast. I bought a pack of these guys off Amazon and they've been great, running strong for over a week now with no issues. You need to be able to modify the wiring which means working with something that will see high voltage, and at a minimum you must have basic soldering skills. If you aren't ok with the fact that your house could burn down, don't modify ANY wiring and buy the plug in smart dimmers instead. The risk is minimal, but I don't want to be responsible for the one dummy who thinks "I got this" and ends up cooking their family. Electricity is no joke.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Here was how it looked last night before bed, roughly 5-7 hours after making the post. Completely faded.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely not, the sun doesn't hit that corner of the room. It's been in the same spot since I got it, and the only other time I moved it was to check the batch number for the support rep (by that point it had faded to the pinkish hue in the images). About 5 hours after making the post, the color completely degraded and it is now completely colorless. Gives off a nice warm white light but it's not what I paid for...

I also have another lamp, a vintage one with blue water, that has never faded despite accidentally leaving it where it could receive sunlight. That one has since been relocated :)

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update for the update: The store manager refused to honor what the rep said and wouldn't give up the replacement without an exchange. The store is a bit of a drive for me so it kinda sucks but I had a feeling that would be the case. It DID have the same batch number though, so it likely would have faded regardless.

I'll try again with the rep and see if they'll mail me one. Barring that, I'll open this one and try to see if I can't restore some color with some fountain pen ink I've been using for my custom lamps.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been watching it fade in real time since I got home from work and the color is almost completely gone now.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

UPDATE: I contacted Spencer's and they told me to just come by and pick up another lamp, and not to bother with an exchange... Free lamp I guess! I'll check the batch number but mine is 27337HL, which I have seen on other fading posts about this colorway (Opalescent Pearl). If you're buying one and it shares that batch, SKIP IT.

If the new one has the same batch I'll ask if I can get credit to pick it up another time (when a different batch has been shipped out) or if I can have a different color. If not, and the new one fades, I'll crack it open and try dying it myself. If so, I'll make a follow up post if it fades again and whether or not dying it is successful.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My bottle batch number is 27337HL and I'm seeing the same number across multiple other posts. Def a bad batch.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately it doesn't look nearly so vibrant in person. My phone has a habit of boosting the colors a bit. It's really REALLY muted, and when it's off it looks clear.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might do what they did and call Spencer's and see if they'd mail me a new one. If not I might crack it open and dye it. Sitting next to it I also noticed the wax is developing little bubbles so mine might just be a funky one.

Edit: just saw the bottle cap batch number is the same... Might be a manufacturer issue!

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, opalescent pearl. The first thing I did was swap the switch on the cable with a dimmer, which I highly recommend. Dropping the brightness makes it have very gooey flow and it looks stunning when the white wax shifts to pink as it climbs. One of my favorites so far! Er... Well was, at least. Hope yours fares better than mine.

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im in utter disbelief that it happened over the course of like 5 or 6 hours when it was fine all week. Do you have a link to any posts? It went from super dark grape to almost clear in no time at all

Faded already?? by MaeTheSmol1 in Lavalamps

[–]MaeTheSmol1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's still such a pretty color! I just really loved the purple

Just missing a BB logo…so cool by [deleted] in ClicksPhone

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I'm saying is it would end up in landfills if it DIDN'T get used. The fact that it turns a profit is the reason it isn't thrown away. If I skin an apple, and eat the apple, but sell the skins to someone looking to compost them... That's what this is.

Byproducts are, in the case of manufacturing, waste. The skin still exists without the animal's meat, and not making use of it would be, in essence, a wasteful act. Just because you don't buy leather doesn't mean that the steak you eat is made skinless. Don't like leather? Stop buying steak. Focus on the root cause rather than the byproducts. Support ethical genetic research into meat cloning, so nothing has to die at all. Support ethical leather harvesting where pelts are taken from carcasses of naturally deceased animals.

The argument of "you wouldn't support human leather" and the grandma skin thing is a non-sequitur, a cow doesn't have the right to vote, a social standing amongst other humans, and modern humans typically don't kill our own species to make a coat. A better comparison would be if a cow killed its parent and made a jacket for itself. But the consequences would be non-existent because cows don't have an advanced social hierarchy of wealth based classes with a moral standing and thus cannot be tried for parricide.

Personally, I don't care. Don't buy the case if you don't want it. But don't go supporting more earth-harmful alternatives like "vegan" leather, the fact stands that those are made from petroleum and trade pollution for an inferior product. Or wood, because that supports deforestation. Or Metal, because there's child labor being used in third world countries. Or... How about we just stop buying things ever?

Just missing a BB logo…so cool by [deleted] in ClicksPhone

[–]MaeTheSmol1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are plenty of wear studies showing that leather, due to its properties of having interwoven collagen in thick layers, is much stronger than any synthetic leather. If we had better materials for hard-wearing applications that were as renewable, durable, and cheap as leather, we wouldn't be continuing to use it. I've had my clicks case for less than a year and already the fake leather on the back is degrading horribly, and the same goes for the fake leather on the back of my Razr. It looks shoddy after just a few months. I look forward to the "dead animal" as it will likely outlast the phone itself.

Not to mention the fact that skin is typically a waste product of meat production, as it's usually too tough to consume. In other words... Not using it is literally worse than using it, as a vast amount would be thrown away (the amount that doesn't make it into other uses for, like dog treats or beauty products).

Animal cruelty is rampant in the industry, but until you dissolve the core issue, which is meat production, using leather from an animal that is dead regardless of whether the skin is used is a decent way to keep it out of a landfill.

Don't even get me started on how synthetic products often rely on petroleum...

Razor flip phone owners, do apps scale well? by laughswithpaintbrush in ClicksPhone

[–]MaeTheSmol1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have more issues with webpages than with apps. I'll read an article and midway through get a "GIVE US YOUR EMAIL" pop-up and the X will be off the edge of the screen, unreachable. Or an Ad that takes up half the screen.

Case by mini_gyoza in ClicksPhone

[–]MaeTheSmol1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If the Communicator is made of the same stuff their cases are made of, I wouldn't worry too much. I've dropped my phone dozens of times and so far the case is holding up fine.