building dry ice fog machine

[gafftaper]

Originally Posted by BillESC

When we were building fog machines we ordered our 55 gallon drums lined with an epoxy phenolic compound... Our "Fog-It Super" could hold 150 pounds of ice.

For those who don't know, BillESC used to have a company that made and sold their own dry ice fog machines. From what I've heard they were pretty good.

[Van]

Originally Posted by gafftaper

For those who don't know, BillESC used to have a company that made and sold their own dry ice fog machines. From what I've heard they were pretty good.

I think I've owned a couple over the years, that's where I stole all my ideas......

[draco17315]

I understand completely, we just got done doing Les mis.....and our school has the particle detectors as well and they won't let us use fog machines either so we built 2 dry ice foggers. Here is what we did....

1) We took a new, 20 gallon metal trash can and lid and built a wooden base for it to sit on with casters on the bottom. This is only for mobility.
2) We put a rim aroud the base to be able to sit the trash can fogger on the base without it sliding off, yet we could remove the can if we needed to. We used 2X4s for this rim.
3) Then we purchased a hot water tank heating element from Lowe's. I think it was around $15.00.
4) I started by using some solder to water tighten all of the seals of the trash can (any where the metal is crimped during manufacturing to piece the can together) on the outside
(if you know anyone who welds, they may be able to weld it water tight, not sure).
5) Then we lined up the heating element where we wanted it on the inside and marked the 2 holes where the mounting nuts are and the one in the center where the wires are.
6) Now we used the rubber gasket that was included and we mounted the heating element about 4 inches from the bottom of the can.
7) The inside should be water tight by using this gasket, but on the outside, once in it's final position, we used some of that plumbers putty that hardens once you mix a and
b together (again Lowes has this) and we spread that around the nuts and the areas we had made holes for the wireing and such.
8) Allow this to harden over night.
9) Now fill with water and check for any leaks. You want it to be water tight. If any leaks are found (we let it sit filled for several hours), empty, dry, and use more plumbers putty
or soilder).
10) Once water tight, we built a wooden box that the back side was cut to follow the curve of the can. We mounted this box about 4 inches from the top lip of the can, this
was used for the wiring and a safety on off key switch w/ and LED light that shows when it was on.We also installed a female 2 prong plug (from Radio shack) to be the
power source for the computer fan we used on the lid. We did this as a plug so that the lid could be unplugged and completely removed if need be.
11) You want to take the wires from the heating element and run them to the inside of your "control" box and attach an on-off toggle switch (for AC power) between these wires
and your power source which should be a heavy duty extension cord with the female end cut off.
(this allows you to turn on and off your heating element, and you may want to add another LED to show that the heating element is on becasue this gets very very hot and
will burn very easily and should never be on without being fully submersed in water!!!)
12) You also want to wire a basic on-off toggle switch between the power supply and the female plug to the fan. (I understand we aren't supposed to talk about wireing on here
so feel free to email me @ with any questions.) But if you know a professional, have them do all the wireing.
13) Once that was all finished, we cut a hole in the lid of the can (lined up with the center of the "control box") and mounted the fan to the top of the can lid with the blades
facing in the direction that would blow air into the can, not out!
14) Now wire (or have a professional) wire the Male end of the 2 prong plug that you got at Radio Shack so that when plugged into the control box "fan switch" you can turn the
fan on or off.
15) Next we used flexable dryer vent tubing for the outlet.
(this ended up working, but it does start to come unraveled if you get the foil type....spend the extra money to get something stronger)
16) Measure and cut a hole on what will be the Front side of your trash can lid just big enough for a piece of 3" PVC pipe.
(the center of this one should be streight across from the fan hole, one on either side of the Handle of the can)
17) You want to cut a piece of this 3" PVC pipe about 6 inches in length.
18) Once your hole is cut as snug as you can for the PVC pipe, install the pipe so that 1/2 is under the lid (inside the can when the lid is closed) and 1/2 in on the outside
(this is where you mount your exit tube).
19) Seal with plumbers putty and or caulk. Allow to dry completely.
20) use a hose clamp and attach the flexable tubbing to the 3" of PVC pipe now sticking out of the top of your can lid and tighten the hose clamp
(if you run into a problem with this, you can also use some 1" dry wall screws to secure your flexable tubing to your pvc).
21) Then we took some of that foam rubber weather strip that is sticky on one side (again from lowes), we used the 1/4 " thick, and we ran this around the inside edge of the
trash can lid near the bottom. This did work for us, but it does tend to come off every now and then, but not to bad.
22) One option to help add your dry ice to the hot water safely is to get a metal basket of some kind. Attach this to a piece of stage line (the black rope for stages with the
thin piece of cable inside) or a piece of thick wire or something strong.
23) Drill a hole in the center of your can lid, pull the rope or whatever through this hole to the top of the can and tie a good knot so that it doesn't slip back into the can.
Be sure to only give enough slack that the basket will be submerged when lowerd.
24) Then you fill your basket with dry ice with no slack in the rope and the basket close to the underside of your can lid. Close your lid and when ready, use the rope to lower
the metal basket and ice into the hot water.
25) Now you are ready to try it out. Never turn on without water in it!!!
(this is why I used a keyed safety switch so that the kids could plug it in to get ready for the show, but I had to turn the key to complete the circuit and power on the fogger)!!
26) Fill with water (the hotter you can get the faster it will heat up, but you can use cold water).
27) Check one more time for any leaks. You only need to fill the can about 5 inches over the heating element. If being used for prolonged periods of time, you may want more
water, but never go more than 1/2 way or so.
28) Turn on the power switch for the heating element and wait about 30 minutes or so until the water is nice and hot.
(time will depend on how cold or hot your water is that you started with)
29) When the water is heated, put on your safety glasses and your safety gloves!!!!!
(dry ice is dangerous and will give you a nasty burn, yes a burn to your skin and the checmical reaction between the dry ice and the hot water is very violent).
30) Now drop in about 1 lb of dry ice to start with (adjust for your needs) and give it about 20 seconds to react then turn on the switch for the fan.
This will force fresh air into the can and in return flush out the chilled dry ice fog out the flexible vent tube and onto your stage.

I know there are many other ways on the internet to do this, especially with how to heat your water, but I did months of research and found that if the wiring is done by a professional and everything is tested and done step by step without rushing it, for someone who needs a moveable, self heating, dry ice fogger, this is the only way to go!!! Ours worked great for 2 different shows now!!! There is also the option of renting, we found that this is way to expensive for a normal High School Production with little to no budget. I know there seem to be alot of steps, but I tried to make it as exact as I could. I even came back now that I had more time and re-organized my paragraphs...sorry. To build this fogger, it ran me around $75.00 versus the rental price for a dry ice fogger that is anywhere from $50.00 per hour to $200.00 per day. Not to mention the size and weight of these rentals.....anyway, hope this helps someone out there.... Good Luck!

[BillESC]

I'm dreaming of paragraphs.

[BillESC]

Originally Posted by Van

I think I've owned a couple over the years, that's where I stole all my ideas......

Probably... We built several thousand during the disco years. Fog-it was the brand name.

They were the machine of choice in most of the NYC clubs at the time and were distributed by Altmans, Aclone, Chicago Stage, etc.

[draco17315]

chill...(no pun intended I was running short on time...edited the information for easier reading when I had a few minutes.....

[draco17315]

We talked to the Local fire chief who's son was in our crew along with 4 other Jr. volunteer fire fighters and the school and the schools insurance company would still not allow us to use fog machines, even the newer "water based" fluids. The fire chief even offered to have a truck outside the auditorium and the fire fighters to staff the entire run of the show at no charge to the school. There was no way that they were going to allow this. And please let me also reiterate the importance of safety when using items like this. There are always safer more perfect ways of doing things, I am not arguing that, it's just unfortunately in the world today, people need an alternative that is used properly and supervised, is just as safe and workable as something 5 times the price.

[Van]

Originally Posted by draco17315

chill...(no pun intended I was running short on time...edited the information for easier reading when I had a few minutes.....

Thank You! that gave me a headache!

[gafftaper]

I want to repeat again the safety warning that any of these home made projects involve A LOT of water that is nearly boiling in temperature and electricity. The danger potential is very high be sure to test everything thoroughly and consult an electrician if you have any questions about the wiring. Don't cut any corners.

I would strongly advise running home made devices through a circuit that has GFCI protection. It's your best safe guard against electrocuting half the cast and crew if something goes wrong.

[draco17315]

Sure, no problem........LOL......sorry.........I will try to be better at that.....I have ADD as well so that doesn't help, my fingers can't move as fast as my brain does.......LOL....thanks for being patient, I just hope this all helps someone out there....oh and I fully agree about the GFCI switch, that is a great idea if you end up having to go the homemade route! Safety,
safety, Safety!!!