TheatreFX Fog Cabin?

[Chris Chapman]

Anyone have any experience with the Theatre FX Fog Cabin chillers? Its a chiller unit for a Glycol Fogger to create low level fog instead of using dry ice.

I don't have easy access to a Dry Ice supplier in my area and am looking at the Chiller option.

Any reviews?

-Chris Chapman
TD, Greenville Performing Arts Center
Greenville, MI

 

[avkid]

Odds are that this place has dry ice:
Greenville Truck & Welding Supply
201 W Greenville West Dr
Greenville, MI 48838
(616) 754-6120

 

[Goph704]

Just taking a quick look at what your thinking about, it looks cool. I like it, but there seem to be some caveats I'd be a little cautious about.
1. I could be wrong about this, but it seemed like it was an adaptor tool for something like their pea souper and it's not a fogger itself. I think it would make more sense to buy the new fogger instead of buying a cool adptor and a cheap fogger. But if you've already got one, rock on.
2. Personaly, I'm always kind of eeehhhh about haloween effects places because they tend to be a lot cheper but you get what you pay for.
I understand this is just the dealer, but even so. Sometimes your gear is awsome sometimes it's not. Of course I haven't done grip work for a while so I've gotten Comfy with my Le Marite and Martin stuff.

That's pretty much it. But hey, keep us posted if you go with the Fog Cabin Chiller, I'd love to hear how it goes.

 

[Footer]

I have built the exact same thing with an old radiator, a cooler, and some pipe. All you need is about 4 bags of ice and it is a pretty easy thing to do.

 

[adude23]

Don't know if this helps you but for £109 GBP you can get this little gem
http://www.djstore.com/item/smoke/promrko01.htm
it's just a conventional fog machine with an ice hopper fitted onto the front fill it up with regular ice cubes and it will give u that 'dry ice' effect for around 4-5 hours but don't quote me on that it all depends on quantity of ice and type of fog your using

 

[gafftaper]

I replied to this once but it got lost in a database error... search for "chiller" and you'll find all kinds of good info on the topic. Like this thread here.

 

[Chris Chapman]

My reply got zapped too.

Anyhow... The short of it is a guy at another local venue is dumping old gear, and I'm picking up 2 Antari ICE units for get this..... $600.

Sometimes it's a good world.

-Chris

 

[bobgaggle]

these guys do it for holloween, but all the ideas still work for theatre

http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Fog/fogchl_FogChiller69.html

 

[cdub260]

An alternative you might consider looking into is the CITC Polar Controller. It is a ground fogger with a refrigeration unit built into it to chill the fog. With the compressor going it is a bit noisier than a standard fog machine, and requires two 15 amp circuits for it's power, but ours has performed very well. Now the fog is not going to hover a foot above the ground like CO2 fog does. It will be more on the lines of 2 to 3 feet of fog, but it doesn't dissipate as quickly as CO2, and is much easier to use.

 

[TimMiller]

I was thinking about finding an a/c condenser and running liquid nitrogen through it, and then putting a fogger infront of the condenser.

 

[dramatech]

We purchased two of the units in question, and have used them on several shows. We have used them with Rosco foggers, and some really cheap ones. They work great, and if you use the lemaitre low lying formula fog juice, they are even better. Our big problem is getting the volunteer teenagers, that operate them, to quit socializing with the cute girl techs, long enough to make sure the foggers have enough juice.
Even though they work great, you are going to be disapointed when you see them. They are large (tailgate size) ice chests with some baffles in the bottom and a mesh basket made from hardware cloth on top. The entrance and exit holes are 3" pvc. The lid has extra gasket material and door catches to keep it closed under pressure. If we ever need more than two, we will build our own. We really love the effect they make and have quit using our dry ice foggers.

 

[magic]

hey do they have a drain tube for the leftover water?

 

[gafftaper]

A year or so back there were a couple of good discussions of building your own chiller. The Fog Cabin is the same thing. You could build it yourself for less than $30 depending on if you get a good deal on an old ice chest. However you have to hassle with cutting holes in an ice chest and getting good seals around the tubing.

For some of us it's worth it to purchase one for $150 and not worry about it. For others... especially if you've got an old ice chest in the garage... it's worth the time and effort to do it yourself.

hey do they have a drain tube for the leftover water?

It's an ice chest they use the built in drain.