UK Lava

Why one earth would I chase down the largest commercially made Lava Lamp in the world? Easy – ’cause I didn’t have one. Now I do.

Pinside is a dangerous place. Dangerous to your pocketbook for sure. I was clicking around looking at forum posts when I saw the one called “Lava Lamps”. Sounds innocent enough. Reading through the posts was like going back in time. Remembering what those lamps were like when I first saw them in the mid-70’s and finally acquired one in the late 70’s. Pretty sure I got mine from Spencer’s – the old mall retailer of “things you certainly don’t need but really, really want”. It was in this Pinside thread that I came across the grand daddy of all Lava Lamp companies … Mathmos.

It was clear that from the invention of the Lava Lamp to even today, Mathmos owns the market on quality lamps. I’m sure there are Chinese makers that far exceed the Mathmos production but if you want a great quality lamp, get it from Mathmos

OK, now I was interested. I’m always curious and eager to add the next unique item/gadget to the Pinball Loft. After spending a few minutes on the Mathmos site, I stumbled on the “Giant IO”. This was it! A lava lamp to beat all lava lamps. At 2 1/2 feet tall it was HUGE. I was ready to order … but … the price, oh my gosh, the price. Mathmos was in the UK and when I did the conversion from pounds to dollars it came out at $515.00 just for the lamp without shipping included. OK, just how bad did I really want that lamp? Turns out, pretty bad. I was about to click “order” and wanted to review shipping policies and costs. It was then that I noticed the other (bigger) problem. Mathmos does not ship to the US.

Ugh. Now what? Well, I went back to Pinside and saw that other folks were using a forwarding company based in the UK. You sign up for a “free” account. They give you a UK address. You order something and have it shipped to your new UK address (which is one of their warehouses). Then they in turn freight it out to you in the US (or anywhere in the world). They make their money on an upcharge on the freight.

Seemed like a lot of work. I did nothing for almost 2 weeks. I put the idea on hold. Then I decided I was going to “do it”. I went to “Forward2Me” and signed up for an account and got my UK address. With that done, I was both excited and committed to ordering my new Lava Lamp. The Mathmos Giant IO. I raced over to the Mathmos website and … out. of. stock. Crap. My delay had cost me. I quickly emailed them. I pleaded my case – don’t you have just ONE MORE left? I got a quick answer – no. So I signed up for the email blast that would tell me when they would make more of my dream lava lamp.

Almost 3 months passed. I got an email. They were back! I quickly did the math on the price (it got a little more pricey) and put in my order, using my new UK address. I was “lucky” and the black Giant IO that I ordered was one of the signature models – one of the “First 100” to be produced. I was very excited! The lamp was now $531.00 and the shipping was a whopping $191.66 – holy cow, this was getting out of hand. Too late as I was now committed and it was headed my way and at an all in price of close to $725.00. Ouch!

I had another concern about my new purchase. It was wired to work in the UK at the nominal 230 volts AC that everything in England runs on. I would need to “convert it” when it arrived here so it worked properly. I’ll spare you the hours of work I did to understand the electrical amps/volts/current that I was dealing with. I considered a converter box that is readily available but they are expensive and not small so ditched that direction. Following that you are left with pulling the existing bulb (after all, it’s made to run on 230 volts not 110) and replacing it with a US based 110 volt halogen bulb of a comparable wattage (actually, it’s the “heat” output that matters here), then cutting the EU plug off the wire and wiring up a new US plug. That’s what I did.

To make it simple for you. I tried both a 75 and 100 watt halogen US bulb and went with the 100 watter. The 75 just did not have the heat to make the lamp perform. I was terribly worried that the 100 might overheat the lamp (remember the UK bulb was 80 watts) but it works fine. I also added an inexpensive dimmer that allows me to dial up the 100 watt bulb to full intensity or dial it down if the lamp overheats. So far, I’ve not had to reduce the power.

I got an email from Forward2Me almost immediately after Mathmos told me the lamp had shipped. I was floored by how fast they moved. A day after I chose my shipping rate/method I got another email confirming shipping and that within 48 hours, I would have my lamp! The big box showed up just 4 days after leaving the Mathmos facility – from England to Tennessee in under 100 hours. Amazing.

I was, of course excited to get it all working. I had purchased the new US based bulbs and a new plug end for the lamp cord in prep for its arrival. I eagerly popped on the outer box and began to photograph the unboxing and separate the parts.

When I pulled the bottle out, I noticed the cardboard was wet. Ugh. You’re kidding me right? All the way from the UK just to have it leak in the box? I carefully unwrapped the bottle to find it was not broken and the amount of liquid that leaked was very small – in fact the cardboard was more “damp” than soaked.

I closely examined the cap and saw that it was probably bumped in shipping and loosened. I made the call on the spot to remove it and see if I could re-seal it. After unscrewing the cap, I could see that it was glued on in addition to screwing it on physically. The glue acting as a watertight (or so we hoped) seal. I cleaned it all up, added a bead of E6000 and screwed it back on tight. I then sat the bottle into the lamp to see if the missing liquid had lowered the level enough to be visibly missing when viewing the bottle installed in the lamp structure – it was not an issue. Not even close. My repair was a success, I plugged it in and a few hours later I was basking in it’s full lava blob glory!

The quality of the Mathmos Giant IO varies from good to great. It is NOT a finely machined piece that you may be led to believe through forum hyperbole or marketing language. It is, however, not cheaply made either. It’s finish is very good. The appearance as a result is very nice.

Look super close and you’ll see some unevenness in the finish and a few places where joints are not “perfect”. You would need to be a perfectionist and a jerk to complain. I’m the former but not the latter so I’m just fine with the product.

So what’s it like owning a Giant IO? It’s cool! Or should I say “hot”? It’s a great conversation piece no matter your age. Baby boomers (like me) remember when they were in vogue and can reminisce about those times. Younger folks will simply marvel at what it is and what it does. Sometimes baffled by the “why do you need it” part but mesmerized nonetheless.

Like the vinyl records that were popular when Lava Lamps came out, living with a lava lamp takes patience and presence. Let’s start with the vinyl record analogy. You need to be present. You start a record manually, if you want to hear it you sit in front of that turntable/speakers and soak it in. You need to be “OK” with and planful of your time. You WILL be sitting in front of that turntable for 20-30 mins (per side). You also have to wait. Want to hear your favorite cut on the album? Well, unless you want to get up and lift/move the needle, you’ll just have to wait – there are 2 songs ahead of it.

Lava Lamps are the same. Want to enjoy your lamp? Turn the power switch on about an hour and a half before you want to see it in motion. And to really enjoy it? You need to be there. Sitting there. In front of it or near it. It does no good to have it on if your not around – it’s all about seeing that motion and experiencing the calming effect it can have on you in those moments.

If that all sounds like your disposition – in other words, you’re patient and can sit still for a while, then buy one. Mathmos makes a wide variety of lamps starting at around $100. They are well crafted and a joy to look at. In today’s insanely paced world, they are a nice reminder for us to pause, reflect and relax once in a while.

More unboxing pics after the “game over”

Unboxing the Mathmos Giant IO