Astro lava lamp bottle Blue-Green

A. Lava lamps become cloudy for two reasons; either they have been shaken or moved whilst hot or they have reached the end of their life (2000 hours). You can purchase a replacement bottle for your lava lamp here.

cloudy bottle - bottle cloudy - cloudy lava lamp - lava cloudy

A. Mathmos lava lamp bottles are manufactured in one of the highest quality automated bottling factories in Britian. Small bubbles are a normal part of this manufacturing process, it is not a fault.

glass imperfections - imperfections glass - bubble glass - small bubbles glass - bubbles bottles - bottle bubbles

A. A different lava formulation giving better lava flow, longer life, clearer liquids and more vivid colours. The metal parts are of a thicker, higher grade metal allowing us to hand polish them to a high shine. Our bulbs are directional taking the heat away from the base and directing the light into the lava. We have a higher standard of safety and build quality audited by a number of different bodies. We provide a comprehensive range of spare parts unlike other throw away products. We have 56 years of British manufacturing excellence to draw on.

A. Lava lamps should start working within an hour to an hour and a half of turning them on. First they will form stalagmite shapes, then they will start to form lava lamp shapes.  Please note, new bottles will take longer to heat up (up to three hours), but the heating time will decrease after several uses.

If your lava lamp does not warm up in this time it may be positioned in the wrong place or the room may be too cold. Lava lamps should be positioned away from drafts and air conditioning. The room should be at least 20 degrees centigrade.

how long warm up - how long start up - lava lamp start up time - lava lamp warm up time

A. The lava lamp is overheated. It could have been on too long (more than 8 hours), so please turn it off and allow it too cool. Or it is positioned in a room that is too hot (more than 24 degrees) or next to a heater. Please reposition your lamp.

lava stuck at the top

A. Please make a hole in the metal cap with a sharp point, then pour away the liquid. The bottle may then be recycled through your local recycling centre.

bottle throw away - dispose bottle

A. Lava lamp bottles are a sealed unit and should not be tampered with. We do not sell the liquids separately, but you can buy a new bottle and contents for Mathmos lava lamps here.

lava lamp liquid - new liquid lava lamp - refill - buy new liquids - buy new wax - buy new lava

A.

1. Check your bulb is working
2. Check you have positioned the lamp away from drafts, air conditioning or a window. Try the lamp in a new position in the room.
3. Make sure the room is at least 20 degrees centigrade.
4. The lamp will take longer to warm up the first few times; run the lamp for 4 – 6 hours each time.
5. If you have an older base check the correct light source is fitted: see bulb section for the possible bulbs here.
6. Check there is a coil at the bottom of the bottle.

A.

Bottles are now supplied with a lip which runs around the lower part of the bottle, to ensure it will sit straight in the base.  When the bottle is placed on the base, it should sit securely, although it will still be possible to move the bottle from side to side and a shadow gap may be visible.

There are minute variations in bottle and base size over time so it may be that occasionally for some much older products a new bottle does not fit in the base. If your bottle isn't sitting in the base, please contact our customer service team.

wonky lava lamp - wonky bottle - bottle wonky

A. Mathmos Lava lamp bottles last for approximately 2000 hours of use. After this you can buy a replacement bottle here.

lava lamp lifespan - lifespan lava lamp - lava lamp last

A. Clouding in a bottle which has been moved when it is in use or still warm is irreparable. You can try and run the bottle for a few times to see if this will improve it. If this does not help, you can buy a new bottle here.

A. Mathmos have made a huge number of colourways over our long history, it is not possible to keep all the colours in stock. Please choose from the current range and sign up to our social media channels to be notified of limited releases of other colours.

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A. We are not able to offer this service on an ongoing basis however if you sign up to our social media channels we may issue selected annual dates for collectors to have bottles refilled.

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A. This is a normal part of the warming up process. Please leave it on longer and then it will start to form moving lava shapes.

strange lava - lava sticks

A. Small bubbles in the lava are normal particularly when you first receive the lamp. As you use this over time the bubbles will reduce.

A. Over time the dye in the lava liquid will fade, particularly if it is positioned in direct sunlight. If you lamp was bought within warranty and the instructions were followed please contact our customer service team. If your lamp is out of warranty you can buy a new bottle here.

liquid clear - clear liquid

A. No Mathmos lava lamp bottles are sealed units. Do not attempt to take off the cap and on no account top up the liquid. The heat from a lava lamp causes the liquid to expand and topping it up could cause the lamp to be overfilled and put pressure on the glass as the liquids expand. If you are not happy with your bottle buy a new one here.

liquid low - liquid refill - top up liquid

A. If you use the lamp a few times this wax should join the rest of the lava. If this does not happen and your lamp was bought less than a year ago please contact us here. If you lamp is over a year old please buy a replacement bottle here.

A. No, however we do constantly add new colours so sign up to our mailing list to be notified of new colours as they are released. We do occasionally release short runs of special colours, please sign up to our social channels to be notified.

bespoke bottles - special bottles - custom bottles - custom colour

A. The metal spring is an essential component of a lava lamp bottle. However it should be sitting at the bottom of the bottle. Run the lamp for several hours and hopefully the spring will settle in its right place.

metal coil in bottle - metal spring in bottle

A. There should not be anything other than lava and liquid in the bottle. Sometimes you can see darker specs in the lava as it is flowing. Each batch is individually made and these are dye particles that are sometimes present. These often fade over time. If you see anything else in your bottle, please contact customer services here.

hair in lava lamp - hair in bottle - dirt in bottle - dirt in lava lamp

A. Dispose of as much liquid and lava as you can remove from the floor. Then use recommended cleaning methods for removing coloured water and wax for whatever floor you have.

bottle smashed - smashed bottle

A. Please contact customer services here.

replace - change bottle - ordered wrong bottle

A. No please buy a complete new bottle here.

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A. Mathmos lava lamp bottles last 2000 hours. The life of the bulbs vary depending on usage but replacement bulbs are available to buy from here here.

how long bottle - how long bulb - broken bulb - faulty bulb

A. The Mathmos brand is on the plastic base and either printed on the product itself, on a brand label on the lead or etched on the glass.

brand - logo - where

A. Some lamps have a shadow gap between the base and the bottle; this is normal.

gap - base - bottle - rim

A. Mathmos lava lamp bottles are made by hand so there will be small variations in colour. Also bear in mind that colours look very different in the dark and in the light, our photographs are taken in the light.

A. The formulation has improved since the 1960s making our lamps less likely to cloud in the heat or freeze in the cold. However we have not changed the formula in many years.

A. Bottles and base tolerances do vary a little over time. So it is possible that our new bottles may not fit older telstars please contact customer services here.

bottle doesn't fit - bottle won't fit - wonky bottle

A. No Neo formulation is different the bottles will overheat in other models and Astro Baby and Telstar bottles will run slowly or not at all in Neo.

A. The iO and the Lunar use the same bottles and are interchangeable.

bottle lunar

A. The bottle should be cleaned with glass cleaner and a cloth. Just use a soft cloth to clean the metal parts.

clean lava lamp - polish lava lamp

A. Yes it should do.

bottle copper lava lamp

A. Glitter bottles are not currently available.