I just picked up a "low Lying Fogger" at Walmart. $35.00 It has a recepticle for ice in the front of the fogger. The fog jets into the ice chamber and directly hits the ice then is directed downward both from inside and outside. Has anyone had any experience with this unit? Does it really perform as advertised? How long does the ice in the chamber last? It appears to me that if the fog comes out as hot as I've been told then this can't be good for Ice longevity. If I am right then I have a few ideas: 1) I want to build an Ice chute into the top of the unit to continuously feed ice into the fogger. Then instead of using a bag to collect the runoff solution, I'll just place the runoff tube into a tub. 2) Will I get more mileage out of using dry Ice in the ice chamber? Do you think that will have a longer half-life or shorter? The only reason for using the more expensive dry ice is to avoid building the hopper. But if the dry ice will burn off too fast then it is not in my best interest.
There are several websites that detail how to build a fog chiller. Basically, you can attach a hose at the fog discharge point, then run it through a "heat exchanger" of ice cold water in an ice chest.
I have never seen dry ice used, as cold ice water is a good solution that is cheap.
edit: google "Fog Chiller" and you will find a quick how to modify any unit to keep the fog on the ground.
Last edited on Tue Sep 18th, 2007 09:59 pm by Dale W
This unit is supposed to have a built-in fog chiller. I was wondering if anyone had experience with it's functionality. I may need to build my own fog-chiller, but if this one works well, then I stick with it.
I've been doing a lot of research on this today. Opinion has been about 3:1 against this unit. The big problem being the one that I pointed out, it does not have a big enough reservoir for ice. The hopper idea is a good one if you can devise it so that the ice does not bind up. I returned the one that I got, unopened and bought a cheapie at Raley's for $17.99. I'll probably do the PVC channel chiller. It seems to be about the cheapest effective solution that I've found.
Here's what I ended up doing. I bought the 17.99 Raleys fogger then bought a control unit elsewhere. I chilled the fog using a large black drainage duct (plastic ribbed pipe with numerous holes lining the 4 inch tube) I then filled a bunch of small plastic pepsi bottles (the 16 oz variety) with water and froze them. I simply slid the bottles down the length of the tube until the tube was full and placed one end of the tube about 2 inches from the fogger outlet. It worked wonderfully. I'll buy another one this year to enhance the effect.
I built my chiller out of a cooler. I set the fogger on top, pvc channels the fog through the cooler. I used wire cage to form a tunnel in the cooler. It works very well with dry ice but no so good with regular ice.
I am thinking about using a trash can and dryer vent hose to make one to use regular ice (I have an unlimited and free supply of regular ice). The kids will definately miss playing with the dry ice.
I saw directions on the 'net for making those chillers, but I ultimately did not go that route for two reasons. 1) seemed like a lot of work. I already had a lot to do that month and did not want to add to it any. 2) I'd have to store the thing once I made it. The chiller tube stores much easier and I simply recycle the pepsi bottles.
Your way probably generates a much better fog though. Especially with higher output foggers.
I built this one for a friend that was doing a play and it worked well indoors. I know one problem for outdoor use is when it is already cold outside (winter) you have to get the fog really really cold. I did use it outside for halloween one year and had to add rock salt to help drop the temp evem more.
There is fog fluid that is made for "ground fog" that is supose too be heavy and lay on the ground longer, but I have not tried it yet.
I thought I read one place that indicated that ground fog juice was just blended to fade faster, so it would disappear before it had a chance to warm up and rise..
I built my fog chiller out of a 30 gallon plastic tub from Target and two 9' x 4" expandable metal hoses.
Run one end of the hose out of the tub to the fog machine either sitting right behind the tub or on top of it. Make sure to seal it up well. The other end sticks out about 4" or so and outputs the chilled fog directly or you can add a short piece of PVC to which you can couple a plastic dryer hose in order to route the fog to a different location. That is what I did.
The 4" metal hose is extended and bent around inside the tub. Dump about 20 lbs of crushed ice all around the hose. The longer the hot fog travels through the hose surrounded by ice, the colder the fog becomes and the longer it will linger close to the ground.
Forget about low lying fog on windy nights. The wind wins the contest of control over the ice.
Man! I like these ideas! My friend and I have been talking about this for the last few weeks...and we have some ideas. Logan on http://www.christmasdisplays.net has a tutorial for making a fog chiller. My friend and I have to do concerts this year, so we're just buying a low lying fog machine...it's a Mr. Cool made by American DJ.
I like the drainage pipe idea! We may have to try that! We're going to buy a hazer and a low lying fog machine.
Most low lying fog machines are made by cooling the fog with ice...and some higher end models use a mini "refrigeration" system in there, and others use C02. My friend's church does passion plays, and they are into drama...and they have lights and fog galore...and they use a C02 machine that pipes it out, to make fog.
Haze, on the other hand, is made by I guess smaller "molecules" that can disperse faster throughout the air.
