Can you show us what this bulb looks like? Either a picture or a link?

Right now its at my dad's apt. (at my sister, a few blocks away.

I just bought some 7w bulbs (Satco) to try and see if that makes it more tolerable.

You can put in a low watt bulb and guess what; If it stays cool enough for comfort, It will not be hot enough to do the job. I think your device could use a redesign. In the meantime, your only recourse might be to not put an overload of wax in it.

Sorry that happened, but now that you know better, check out Scentsy plug-in warmers (now called night lights). Yes, the wax HAS to melt to release the fragrance. And it won't disappear because you're not "burning" anything, just releasing fragrance. Scensty is formulated to warm at a lower temperature than other bargain fragrance wax cubes. You can stick your fingers in it, pour it on yourself, it won't hurt children or pets. Does the ceramic warmer get hot to the touch? Yes. That's why you use the base to put it out of the wall. LOVE this stuff. I'm totally addicted and have a yummy smelling house all the time. No candles, no soot, no breathing carcinogens, no flames. To find a consultant in your location you can go to www.scentsy.com and click on "find consultant". Oh, only put one cube in a plug-in size warmer. To remove melted wax from carpets or clothing, put a paper bag over the area and use a hot iron on top of the sack to transfer the wax and color. Keep moving the sack till no more wax transfers to the sack. Sometimes, if the color is dark enough, there may still be some colorant stain.