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Fogger Chiller


TJ Hvasta

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The chillers in this thread is what creates this effect. The idea is to get the fog cooler than the surrounding air so it lays low.

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I understand the logistics behind it etc was just wondering if there was some other secret behind the picture lol

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So since I'm not doing an actual light show...I'm thinking of just making my front yard as a cemetery and use a few of my controllers. I want to use a couple foggers. I understand how the chiller works, but can someone recommend a fogger that take dmx input so I can control the burst. I don’t really want to hack into one of those cheap foggers....just being lazy.

Kevin

Edit:

Just found this one...Any good?

http://www.chauvetli...-1800-flex.html

Edited by CLD Kevin
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I think is grumpy neighbours that don't like flashy lights and people and the fact that they are more popular than they are !!, ..... Tell you you what if Kevin lived on my street a I would want to sync my house with his lol !!!!!

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Kevin, hacking the cheaper ones is really easy.. granted the ones I hacked I got from Goodwill for cheap ($12/ea) so i wouldnt have lost much if they cooked, but the idea is the same using a non-dmx fogger.. One DMX Chauvet will cost a LOT more than an armful of chinese units. You could solder the relay across the socket, so it wouldn't require any clipping / cutting / hacking any wires.

I used a 120vac relay from Radio Shack, and a C9 socket & bulb (for the resistive load across the relay). Two of the foggers had plug in remotes, so I wired the relays across the tabs on the socket so I could still use the hand remote. the first fogger I did, the remote was hard-wired in, so I clipped the remote off and ran the power for the relay out the back. That plugs into a LOR channel, LOR channel turns on when I want it to, makes the relay pull in, closes the circuit, turns on the fogger pump, spits out the fog.

Looking at the picture, it looks like the fogger/chiller (probably a 1000watt-er) sits just off camera, middle of the right side of the photo.. fog comes out, slides across the ground.. lit from behind and below.. a big thing tho is to have some sort of fence to trap the fog, keep it from rolling off the yard.. last year we used the low, cemetery fencing (6" tall 3-panel stuff from Spirit Store). Lined the top with orange LEDs from BigLots (.50/box after year before's After- sale).. the fencing kept the fog from rolling off the yard, made abt 4" deep.. looked really cool with multiple channels creating "waves" using blue/green mini lights for the pirate ship display.. the fog looked amazing over the lights..

Edited by TJ Hvasta
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All fog machines I have purchase have the same control thingy. A switch that turns fog on and off. They all interchange with one another. I got a wireless controller from the local Halloween store for 12 bucks last year. Plugs in the same way. Seems like if some one made a cheap device like that to turn a cheap fog machine controllable via DMX or LOR and had a store front to sell them even if it was a simple DIY kit they might have some interest. I personally have 3 fog machine I would love to incorporate but the cost of going with one that has it built in isn't worth it to me.

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It isnt really tough or expensive to do. The relay is $10 from RatShack, unless you buy them "in bulk" (maybe 4-10) on eBay or some electronics box store (Frys, etc).. and if you have a C7 or C9 socket & bulb, the total mod costs you $10 for the relay.

If you dont want to break open the case (um, it's 10 screws), you'd have to mount the relay and load in a plastic box, run a cord to the LOR dongle. The other end of the box, would need a male PC plug to plug into the fogger socket. However, there are a bunch of foggers that do not have removable remotes. The hand remote is hard-wired in. Those you'd have to open up to do any mods.

If I wasnt working, that would be a nice little business for the haunter or Christmas community. If it takes more than 20 minutes to make one, I'd be surprised.

Edited by TJ Hvasta
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It sounds easy. Maybe I'll go that route. Do you have a pic of how its put together? And just any 120vac relay from the Shack?

Kevin

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Kev, RS has just one 120vac relay.. I think the pn ends in -217, something like that.. and it's $9.99. I'll try to write up a pic and text how to do it in the next day or two, but basically:

Open the hand remote case. black wire comes up from the fogger, to the neon "pump ready" light, goes to the push/rocker button, down the white wire to the pump. Green wire goes from the neon light to the fogger plug's "ground lug".

Place the relay inside the fogger case, Run a (I used a computer ps cord) cord from the first row (side by side) lugs on the relay outthe back of the fogger (this is the relay power from the controller) . The black wire to the hand remote goes to the second relay lug. The White wire (from the pump) goes to the third relay lug.

The "flow" here is.. AC hot & neuteral from the controller goes to the first row relay lugs. The relay is turned On by the controller . When the channel turn On, it pulls the relay closed. The Black Hot line from the foggers normal power cord, goes to the second relay lug, the White Hot goes from the third relay lug to the pump, so when the relay closes, current flows from second relay lug to third relay lug, then to the pump. When the controller channel turns Off, the relay opens, opening the circuit between the hot and pump, pump stops. This sounds harder than it is to picture (doing this from memory whilst in the hotel in DC).

Real simple block description: controller sends power up cord, closes the relay. Power from the foggers heater (black wire) goes to one side of the relay, when relay closes, power flows thru to white wire going to pump. Controller cuts power to relay. Relay opens, power stops at relay, pump stops.

Hope thats clear.. :wacko:

What I did as a real help, was to drill a ..(I think it's 3/8") hole, in the back of the fogger to mount the neon "Ready" light. I can see it from across the yard. When the heater reaches temp, it turns on the lamp, so I can see if it'll fog when the controller triggers the fogger. if it closes the relay, but the fogger's not ready, I adjust the timing in the sequence to allow it to heat.

The above wiring should be close.. My three foggers mfgr's were different companys, but he wiring was similar, tho not exact. I just carefully traced the lines from the fogger, to the remote, back down to the fogger.

Two additional items:

1) you will need a C7 or C9 to go across the first row of lugs on the relay, to act as a load, so the relay isnt seen as a dead short to the controller channel cord.

2) you can solder the black, white and green lines for the relaey and lamp to the same tabs on the hand remote socket inside the case, to allow you to leave the socket for the hand remote when you dont want to use the controller. You will have to protect the plug that would go to the controller dongle tho, as the prongs could be live (this I'm not 100% sure of, but no use taking a chance).

This should take abt 20mins to wire in. I've done three, on two 400watt-ers and one 1000watt-er foggers.

Edited by TJ Hvasta
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  • 2 weeks later...

You've seen movies and halloween yards where the fog coming out hugs the ground, rolling along as a slow pace, instead of rising and disappating rapidly??

Thats accomplished by making a Fogger Chiller. Done many ways, the basic premise, is that chilled fog (with normal, or dry, ice) makes the fog heavier than air, more dense, causing it to sink and roll along the ground.

They can be made from plastic trash cans or large coleman coolers (what I used) or even styro, if large enough. The idea is to route the fog inside of a container that is chilled, then let it escape.

1) Obtain some type of container.. can be a trash can, large box, cardboard is ok), cooler (either camping, or styro). The Coleman cooler I got was $5 at Goodwill.

2) Some sort of 3" or 4" dryer ducting (prefereably metal for better temperature transfer), and about 10' is a good length. HomeDepot was $10 for this.. you might find it at Goodwill, or Habitat For Humanity ReStore, DAV, etc..

3) Ice, either regular cubed, or dry ice. A couple bags.. 10lbs of normal ice, if you use a cooler or trash can will last the whole night.

Construction:

Take your container, and the ducting. cut a hole in the bottom side of the container, (box, cooler, trash can) the size of the ducting for the fog exit. Feed that ducting into the hole. coil the ducting INSIDE the container. Cut another hole for the duct entrance.. this is ewhere the fogger will "plug into" the ducting, so make it so the fogger has someplace to sit (either on a box, chair, stump, someplace its sturdy. If you use a large trash can, you may be able to lace the fogger inside the trashcan, on a dry plywood platform, placed on top of the ice so its all self-contained.

Once the ducting is in place, you can seal the duct with GreatStuff expanding foam if you desire, just keeps the cold in. It isnt really nessessary, but it helps. Fill the can / cooler / box (if you use cardboard box, put the ducting and ice in several large trash bags to help insulate the paper) withthe bags of ice.. it isnt even nessessary to take the ice out of the bags. Fill the container with the ice, close it up.

Place the fogger next to the container, and slip the fogger nozzle into the Chiller inlet. It should look like fog goes from the fogger, into the cooler, swirling around the ice-covered duct, then exiting out along the ground.

You can see how it looks, starting @ 1:18 to 2:10

what size smoke machine was used for that effect in your video TJ

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Has anyone tried DMX Relay boards for this purpose?

All fog machines I have purchase have the same control thingy. A switch that turns fog on and off. They all interchange with one another. I got a wireless controller from the local Halloween store for 12 bucks last year. Plugs in the same way. Seems like if some one made a cheap device like that to turn a cheap fog machine controllable via DMX or LOR and had a store front to sell them even if it was a simple DIY kit they might have some interest. I personally have 3 fog machine I would love to incorporate but the cost of going with one that has it built in isn't worth it to me.

Not sure how much you consider as "cheap": http://www.allspectrum.com/store/dmx-controlled-relay-switch-kit-p-1537.html?gclid=CISe_uCjrLICFYFo4AodtwEAZQ @ $36 is a DMX Relay board. I am very sure I have found cheaper ones before... I am using a 8 channel version for some water features...

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Dan, were you just thumbs-up'ing this or did you ferget to type something :)

and what part of Vienna (or did I ask that already).. My folks lived in Oakton for a buncha years..

Edited by TJ Hvasta
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woz a 400w fogger.. dint get me 1000watt'er til this spring.. th' chiller works wonders, 'mate..

Edited by TJ Hvasta
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Thanks TJ I've made my chiller and I've been making ice cubes since reading this post and I get my smoke machine next week I've ordered a 800w

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