This lava lamp is amazing (1.95 gallons)! Works great, and way better than the normal-sized one that this replaced. (Warning: I've only owned it for a short time, but so far, no problems.)

Instructions say it can take 4 to 6 hours for it to warm up, but not to run it more than 10 hours at a time. Hmm.... Well, I have it on a timer (sold separately) that starts it warming at 1:00pm, so it's ready to see me by the time I get home from work, then it turns off at 11:00pm. Fortunately, my lava lamp wasn't cloudy (due to shaking in transit) as others have reported. I just ordered a replacement bulb to have on hand (lavalamp.com MODEL 5010 100 Watt Reflector Light Bulb).

The only negative is that my lava lamp was clearly a return. The styrofoam was broken in many places, the "remove this sticker before first use" was already removed, and there's quite a bit of glass scratches towards the base. So I feel like I got a used lava lamp. The bulb socket at the bottom was not centered, and I had to bend it back to the center, as otherwise, the edge of the heavy glass bottle (that's concave on the bottom) was resting directly on it! But apart from all that, I love it.

Wow. I love this!!! I bought the purple fluid with pink wax. The "lava" looks a translucent red. It is incredible! If you fight anxiety or adhd this is the color scheme to buy without a doubt. To say this 27"er is large is an understatement. Everyone that see's this instantly wants one too. Heat up time is crazy long about 5 1/2 hours. I am going to get a lamp timer so it turns off in the middle of the night after I fall asleep and turns on 6 hours before I go to bed. It runs hot with a 100 watt light bulb. Safe enough for around small kids though I would not suggest it. My unit had no foggy fluid and ran great right out of the box. Note this IS made in China..
Which is disappointing. I also wish they made a less than retro looking version.

We are old hands at lava style lamps going back close to 50 years. Cloudy is an understatement. The attached picture speaks for itself. Somewhere in that dense haze, there is a lava lamp going on. This one has been cycled several times already, is unlikely to adequately clear up, and will be returned.

I don't blame the product entirely. Unless the vendor knows what they are doing (and they really need to travel upright), the wax charge, the globe, and the entire lamp assembly bounces around on its side like a basketball in the outer box before it arrives. The inside of the globe is covered in wax smears and chunks from all the impacts (which usually can be cleared). Even cold, the globe fluid becomes contaminated with fine wax particulate, and it is very hard to draw the residue back out of suspension. That often cannot be fully cleared up, even with repeated cycling. That almost certainly happened here.

But these are not your father or grandfather's lava lamps. The old ones from the 70s and 80s were terrific, crystal clear and well made. These post-2003 Chinese made ones, not so much. The glass quality has improved in the past seven years, but they are still nowhere near as nice as the old ones. And Mathmos (and they are the best and priced accordingly) does not make a 120vac UL-approved US model (But for those who are really serious about these lamps, their TOTL copper base model uses a GU10 style bulb . . . ) . And if you are spending around $100 for one of these 27 inch ones, you are likely serious about lava lamps.

Hopefully, the latest owner of lava lamps decides to move production back to the US so we can get nice ones again. So this is what we are stuck with, unless you can find an older one in good shape, are willing to do fluid exchanges, or are creative with other options. For now, these are hit or miss in any case. You may need to buy several before getting a good one. I'm not prepared to go through that, even though Amazon is terrific with returns.

A pro tip: Unless buying locally, buy these in the winter. The cold weather helps keep the wax more intact during the journey. But even that will not help in instances like this one. And for the true aficionados, carefully decipher the GU10 note above for other options . . .

I knew this was the largest Lava~Lamp that the "Lava Lite Company sold".
But I was unable to find the one with the blue liquid and yellow Lava~Goo on amazon. It actually looks a lot like neon green.
By the time I set it on the base and addded to top? WALLA! An instant piece of furniture. LOL
Its HUGE and it's beautiful!!!! I bought it for my dresser but It is MUCH too impressive to hide it in my bedroom!
I put it in the living room, on my entertainment center. Everyone that comes over LOVES it!
If you want this color in this size and you cant find it on Amazon.
Just click on the company name in blue on any lava lamp Amazon item.
This size and color is there. And the purchase does go through Amazon. I highly recommend this size lamp.
Totally worth every penny. The bulb is included.
I was not too impressed with UPS's handling of the item.
The very first thing a UPS driver should learn is...When a box says "'This side up?" It MEANS this side up.
Fortunately the company and Amazon Packed it very secure.

This huge Lava Lamp arrived in super condition. Inner light base is not center though but once I put the bulb that came with it in and it started heating up, seems to be working perfectly. Maby this is norma that the base is off center? I noticed other folk complaining about the glass, that it has flaws with bubbles or whatever...this is normal! These are hand blown glass, as it states on the leaflet and each globe is unique. They looked like this back in the 70s...like sparkles on the glass. Takes a while to heat up but this is normal. My home is cool, like 63 degrees. Shouldn't matter much if it's cool or not in my opinion. Back in the 70s, we kept the AC going and ours still worked, same as this one. Take care putting it on the base so you don't crack the bulb. It's a big sucker. Whatever you do, don't shake it. It's clear with blue tint "water" and yellow blobs but look green because of the blue water.( blue and yellow =green) Anyway, love it. Working perfectly. Got it in today. Placed in room I keep at 63 degrees so I know they will work in a cold room. If your lamp looks weird and cloudy ( like soupy) return it. It should be clear with the liquid color tinted, if you ordered one with tinted liquid. Took two days to ship on Prime. Thanks.