Hi all i have 2 oil derricks 1 my grandfather gave my dad and then gave to me from the fifties and 1 that i bought from 1990s and both do the same thing wrong. i start them up and they start moving but the bubbles dont start even after 10 20 min until i go under the unit and pull the thing that holds the light buld and click it back in place and them it will bubble right away and will not stop till the next time i start them again.
Is it a light bulb heated unit? Does the bulb come on when you “pull the thing”? Is the bulb re-positioning?
Bulb is on and it stayes on even when i pull the tab down and when i seat it back the sucker will bubble doesnt make any sense since it works off of heat from the light
Those tubes are the same ones used in christmas tree bubble lights. It takes a lot of heat to get them started. Sometimes a gentle tap will get them going, I have taken them out and held them againstt a regular lite bulb and the heat fires them right up.
Try inserting something to space it so it fits tight. A strip of electrical tape or the likes. I also found the running it at 14V will help. It has to be seated on the heat unit to get to bubble [it is the old Christmas tree blubs used when I was a kid].
I think you will find as I have that it’s good to keep a small screwdriver handy to tap the very bottom of the bubble cylinder. No need to do this from underneath just a gentle tap near the bottom while it’s running will start it up. You’ll also find that trying lower voltage bulbs will make it work more quickly for a while until the bulbs age. Mike S.
After you tap it and put tape on it to make it more snug, try storing it upside down for about a week. My water tower bubble tube has a bad habbit of taking forever and I have turned it upside down for a few days and it worked better.