Carramar lava lamps

[John]

Hi team. My name is John & I've purchased a few lava lamps online & picked up a blue volcano lamp. I thought it looked cool & like the previous owner I originally had no idea what it was. Fortunately there's one listed on eBay with a good description & a Google search led me here. I'm in New Zealand so using a 120 volt bulb was not an option & it took awhile to find a bulb that will work in this lamp. Eventually finding the GE Lighting "Light Bulb Lustre 25W Clear E27 Edison Screw" bulb fits & works well. I'd be keen to know more about these vintage lava lamps - how many colours was made available & how many of these lamps was made? Now that I've got a blue lamp it's motivated me to look for more. Alas it's clearly going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find another & it's shear luck I have one at all.

[John]

I couldn't help myself & after asking if they'd send it to NZ I have made it mine. Was around the same price as PJ & they just come in a tiny cardboard box. Will have to put a hook on the wall & display this close to the lamps. I wonder if they didn't make this type of lightbulb for long as all of my lamps that came with a bulb had the round type.

[John]

The new addition a first looked like it had spent a decade on the floor of a workshop that das never been cleaned. After a really good clean & polish it looked like a new & with a new bulb started flowing immediately. Was thinking that this one might have been pretty nacked & if need be could be used for parts. I also found a lightbulb in one of the other lamps similar to the one Mark Addison mentioned except it fits perfectly in the lamp. I changed it because it's only 25 watt & I'd noticed it was struggling to flow. Another thing I've found is that unlike many types of lava lamps you can't slightly unscrew the bulb to get it closer to the bottle to help reduce warm up. I tried doing it to all of them thinking that it wasn't going to be a problem & it obviously broke the circuit. I might have come across more of these NOS lightbulbs (pictured) in plastic packaging made by Carramar Lighting which I presume they made before using the round bulbs that are available through PJ White & Co. If I'm able to get them all I could have a few spare should anyone else here want one.

[Joel]

I have 40 + carramar bulbs I won years ago on Ebay. They are the 25W ones that have the flat top, I have a pic I posted of the two types but i think you reposted it earlier.. Curious as to where i can get a new lamp in a box? i really want a yellow one. Only have a green and red 

[John]

If someone wants that type of lightbulb they should really come & talk nicely to you then? I'd really like a black five leg Volcano but this may never happen & I consider myself very lucky to be getting the yellow lamp. The whole time I've been looking I have only seen one red for sale online but by the time I noticed it was too late & the yellow came about purely by chance. Unfortunately he only had the one lamp & a small amount of lightbulbs to sell. Will take plenty of pictures of it all when it arrives & add them to this thread.

[Bohdan]

I have never seen the Black 5 leg version and perhaps a silver version could be done in a Black Anodized finish.

[John]

Hey Joel. Is this one of your pictures & are the bulbs you have the same?

[Joel]

Yes that is one of my pictures! That was a one off that I bought from a lighting shop, the bulbs I have are the same but they are in plain white boxes not the actual Carramar packaging. The person I bought them off said they were from the Carramar factory.. all 25W. The one in the genuine packet from the shop said '30W' but on the actual bulb it has 25W printed on it.. 

[John]

Cheers mate, that removes any confusion about the different light bulbs.

[John]

I've deleted a post above simply to deter the get rich merchants who aren't collecting lava lamps & are just going to sell if they get one. I thought about selling my used lamps, for about 40 minutes & realised my life would really be less without them. Now a five leg, it's going to be passed on with the rest to someone important when I knock off for good. I have a good idea of how to try to find another or as I hope more & will share this with you fair dinkum Aussies collectors. I'm unable to put this into use being in NZ & despite the whole anti AUS versus NZL rubbish. I want to see these lamps on this site & stay in Australia with proper collectors who will appreciate them. So let's be friends, enough said.

[Mark]

I'd be curious to know as well, as mr lavaluva's are 30W?

[John]

All of the lightbulbs I have & have coming are 30w. Have some from PJ White & Co as well as the ones pictured in my last post.

[John]

It's a great day as the new five leg Volcano & six bulbs arrived & they're in perfect condition. The box is the same size as the three leg Volcano box that we have & Carramar pack the two types of lamp the same. With the cap & base in plastic bags inside a smaller cardboard box & the bottle in a plastic bag with a polystyrene insert at both ends. The box itself has two different pictures both on two sides of the box & the details on the top of the box. Pictured on the box IMHO is the ultimate five star Volcano as everything is better when it's all black! ;-)