The original lava lamp, since 1965
New color
Purple wax drifts through clear liquid over a glossy, iridescent black base. It stands 14.5 inches tall, takes a 25 W bulb and reaches full flow in 2 to 3 hours.
Lava Lite in brief
No. 1 by ratings
Yellow wax in blue liquid
$39.99
No. 2 by ratings
Purple wax in blue liquid
$31.26
No. 3 by ratings
White wax in clear liquid
$42.71
No. 4 by ratings
For 14.5 in, 20 oz lamps
$12.59
No. 5 by ratings
Yellow wax in blue liquid
$65.99
No. 6 by ratings
Purple wax in blue liquid
$36.80Lava Lite is a brand of lava lamps, glitter lamps and replacement bulbs, sold on Amazon, known for the Lava Lite Yellow & Blue Classic Lava Lamp, 14.5 Inch.
How a Lava Lite lamp works
Set the lamp on a flat surface away from the window and switch it on. The bulb in the base is the light and the heater in one.
Give the wax 2 to 3 hours. It softens, stretches into a column and lets go of its first blob. A brand-new lamp can take up to 6.
Blobs rise, cool at the top and sink again. Enjoy it for up to 10 hours, then switch off and let the lamp cool.
Three sizes
Every Lava Lite wax lamp works the same way. What changes is how much glass you look at: 12, 20 or 52 ounces.
A 12 oz globe for a small desk, plus battery minis that need no outlet.
4 designs · from $29.99
The classic: a 20 oz globe, a 25 W bulb and the widest choice of colors.
25 designs · from $31.26
The big one: a 52 oz globe, 5.9 inches across, with a 40 W bulb.
2 designs · from $49.89
Shop by color
The color you see comes from two things: the wax and the liquid it floats in. Yellow wax in blue liquid reads green. White wax in a tinted globe changes color as it rises.
From buyers
Easiest Installation, Will Make Your Place Look Nicer
What a great idea. Totally giftable, water is already in the lamp. Easiest setup I ever had to do and works in roughly two hours of turning it on. One gripe I got about it is you aren't supposed to leave it on for over ten hours. But it also comes with a switch-flicker so you don't have to plug and unplug it. The tempered glass will make your place look much nicer, and is large enough to be noticed. Great for end tables. As long as you can be careful around it, don't have any toddlers or pets around you should be safe to use this. I highly recommend this, it's well worth over what I paid for it.
Replacement Light Bulb seems to do the trick!
Overall, I would say this product is pretty good! I bought my lava lamp years ago, and the original light bulb had since burnt out. I searched around to find a decent light replacement, and I decided to try this one. It has been months, and the replacement light bulb still works! I don't use it every day (or even every week for that matter), but I've used it enough times to see that it is decent! I think the best part is the price per bulb, seeing that this is a two-pack.
What a great lamp!!
My teen loves her new lava lamp! At first I was a bit concerned because it didn't seem to be working correctly but thanks to the many reviews here we realized that we just had to give it time. We made sure it was set up correctly. The first day it took 8 hours to warm up and it didn't really work right. You can see in the pictures that it was just making one long blob instead of the smaller ones like it normally would. Day 2 it took 6 hours to warm up and was making the smaller blobs. By day 3 it warmed up within 2 hours of being plugged in and was working like a charm. Just give it time and you wont be disappointed! Its very mezmorizing!
Our story
The first motion lamp was designed in 1963 by Edward Craven Walker, an English engineer, who sold it as the Astro Lamp. Two years later two Americans saw it at a trade show in Brussels, bought the rights and formed the Lava Corporation in Chicago. The Lava Lite name has been on the lamp in the United States ever since.
Six decades on, the lamp works the same way. A sealed glass globe holds a blend of wax in liquid. A bulb in the base gives the light and the heat. A loose coil on the bottom of the globe gathers that heat, and the wax does the rest.
What has changed is the choice. The Lava Lite range now runs from a 12 oz lamp for a small desk to a 52 oz globe for the living room, with glitter lamps that swirl at once and battery minis for a shelf with no outlet.
Three sizes cover most rooms. The 11.5 inch lamp holds 12 oz and runs on a 15 W bulb, which suits a desk or a bedside table. The 14.5 inch lamp holds 20 oz on a 25 W bulb and is the one most people picture. The 16.3 inch lamp holds 52 oz, takes a 40 W bulb and wants a sideboard of its own.
Color is the other choice. Our classic lamps pair one wax with one liquid, so yellow wax in blue liquid reads green and stays green. The printed bases and the glitter lamps change the mood more than the motion. Pick the color you want to look at for an evening, because you will.
A Lava Lite lamp is a mood light, not a reading light. It gives a low glow, enough to see the room by and not enough to work by. Put it where you sit in the evening, away from direct sunlight and from heaters and air conditioners, and let it run while you do something else.
We keep the instructions short because the lamp is simple. Give it a flat surface, a room of 68 to 75°F and a few hours of patience. Do not shake it while it is warm, do not open the cap, and do not run it past 10 hours.
The Lava Lite team answers questions about sizes, bulbs and cloudy lamps by email. If your wax will not flow, tell us the size and how long it has been on.
Short answers
Lava Lite is the original American lava lamp brand: the name has been in use in the United States since November 1, 1965. Today the range has 34 lamps, mini lights and replacement bulbs.
Start with a 14.5 inch lamp: it is the classic size, with a 20 oz globe and a 25 W bulb, and it comes in 25 colors and prints. The yellow-and-blue classic on a silver base is the one most buyers choose.
A 14.5 inch Lava Lite lamp costs from $31.26, a 16.3 inch lamp from $49.89 and a 2-pack of replacement bulbs from $8.60.
Answers
Using your lampHow Long Does a Lava Lamp Take to Warm Up?Warm-up times, the 10 hour limit and what an evening of flow costs.
TroubleshootingWhy Is My Lava Lamp Cloudy, and How to Fix ItWhat clouds the liquid, the four-step fix and what to do when the wax will not flow.
BulbsLava Lamp Bulb Size Chart: Which Bulb Fits Which LampThe bulb for each lamp size, why LED bulbs do not work and how to change a bulb.
ChoosingLava Lamp Sizes: 11.5, 14.5 and 16.3 Inch ComparedHeight, globe volume, weight and bulb for every size, with a chart to scale.
The scienceHow Does a Lava Lamp Work?Why the wax rises and falls, what is in the globe and who came up with it in 1963.Need a hand?
11.5, 14.5 or 16.3 inches: see what fits your shelf.
Compare the sizesBlue, purple, pink, red, green, yellow or rainbow.
See every lava lamp15 W, 25 W or 100 W: match it to the lamp.
Open the bulb chartWrite to us: flow@thelavalite.com
