# Crystal Skull Lava Lamp



## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

I have been trying to figure out what to do with a large empty vodka bottle that looks like a crystal skull. It hit me that turning it into a Lava Lamp might be a nifty idea. I took an old lava lamp and poured the insides into the crystal skull, then I simmered the bottle in water until the wax/oil softened and added that to the skull. put a little heat under the whole thing after it had cooled off and...Complete failure! Anybody out there have any ideas on how to make this work? (I have to admit that the lava lamp was probably 40 years old)


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## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

I don't think there's enough space inside the skull to allow the wax to cool and fall back to the bottom.


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

That may be so but in this case, the wax just sits there and melts. It may be that the specific gravity of the clear liquid is no longer correct to make it float. I may try it again with a new lava lamp. I've checked online and found that the liquids in a lava lamp are proprietary. So, there seems to be little chance that I can make up my own version.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

This site might have some information you can use. Note there are disclaimers you should read first:

http://www.oozinggoo.com/howto.html


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## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

When you figure this out, please be sure to post pix and a tutorial! I think lots of us have bottles like that. I saved one and don't think I used it yet.


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

I will keep working on this but so far, all of my attempts have failed. I am now working on changing the alkalinity of the water to see if that may help but, I do not have great hopes for this. I may, in the end, just fill it with water and put a Betta fish in it.


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

Roxy, I checked that site in the beginning and, while I may have missed a glaring answer, I couldn't find any help there. I will surly be working with info in there until I have exhausted all options.


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## Lambchop (Jan 28, 2011)

The problem may be that a normal lava lamp is tall and narrow and the skull bottle, if I am thinking of the same one I have seen, is short and round. The problem could be that there is not enough pressure from depth to make the lava rise as it would in a narrow fixture. Otherwise you would probably see lava skulls, lava heads, lava pets, ect... for sale.


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

I agree. I am beginning to believe that the problem is in the fact that the bottom of the scull is about an inch thick. By the time I can heat the wax up enough to move, the rest of the water in the scull is also heated up. I may have to go with the gold fish option if I want a more dynamic crystal skull. On the other hand, Making a more dynamic "Crystal Skull" from an old vodka bottle would be a great challenge for this community.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:I like the lava lamp idea, but I have no clue how to get it to work. I do, however, think this is an awesome idea for the skull bottle.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I think the big key (as others have mentioned) is that you need a hot bottom, cool top to make a lava lamp work. You will also note real lava lamps sit in a base which generally focuses the heat on the sides. Most also have a 'heat spreader' coil of wire fitting in the bottom which helps get heat into the 'lava'. I suspect the shape also leads to a nice, even convection current which helps hot lava well up in the center and cool liquid flow down the smooth outer sides. All this would be lacking in the skull shape.

The 'pro' lamps are also sealed, so they build pressure when heated. I'm not sure if this pressure is critical to operation, or just a side effect of being 100% sealed. But at any rate, at least one person has been killed by an exploding lava lamp:

http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4139111.html
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/lavalamp.asp

And Mythbusters did a segment which found quite a violent explosion, and multiple videos on youtube. So definitely be careful with any sealing you do.

A couple of options may be to fill it with water made slightly cloudy by any number of ingredients, then shine a light from the bottom to make a glowing skull. If it were a blacklight shining up and you happened to use the ink pad from a highlighter to dissolve in the water, it would make a fluorescing / glowing skull. If you are super crafty, pull a vacuum on the skull, backfill with a noble gas (neon/argon seems to be popular) and make a plasma globe. Fill with normal water and goldfish? tequila and worms?


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

I thank you one and all for the posts and opinions here. As for the future of a Lava Lamp crystal skull, I have little hope. Corey872, I actually work quite often with Jamie and Adam from "Mythbusters" and it never even dawned on me to ask them about it. I guess I'm just getting stubborn in my old age. As for the lighting ideas, I have done it. I was just looking for something more dynamic. I may have to go back to putting a color changing L.E.D. under it and adding a Betta fish for motion. On the other hand, that Crystal Skull porch light was really cool!


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

R. Lamb said:


> On the other hand, that Crystal Skull porch light was really cool!


:jol:I know...right??? Just saying...and you could always make a pair...another good reason to drink up a bottle of vodka. 
P.S. You could make them into wall sconces....on either side of your bed? Talk about creepy ambiance lighting! I love the looks of those guys.


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