Hazer question?

[lightcue35go]

So, here's a doozy and I was curious on everyone's opinion of this.

I'm working for a low budget opera production. I had a great idea for building my own hazer and i wanted to know how practical it is.

I basically wanted to use the principal of oil cracking, except using a water/glycol mix (probably just by buying some cheap hazer fluid). We can't actually afford a hazer, so...here's what I had in mind. It's semi-based off of something that I found on the internet somewhere...don't remember where.

I've read that oil-crackers used to use compressed gas. I do have access to an air compressor, so what my plan is is to hook up the air compressor to a non dim and hide it in the green room. Run a hose from the air compressor to a plastic gasoline container in the wings filled with hazer fluid. this would aerosol the fluid and force the fluid into a series of copper tubings, which would run from the gas can and be embedded into the set platforming. There would be holes drilled in them pointing directly up to send the hazing fluid straight up into the air. I would downlight it with some pars to create the effect of a green vnsp light wall...any thoughts let me know please....its the first time i've tried something as ghetto as this...and please don't recommend buying any fogger or hazer box because my budget is literally 300 dollars and i still need to buy gobos and color and circuiting, because we have no circuiting.

 

[cdub260]

Have you looked into either renting or borrowing a hazer?

 

[FatherMurphy]

It's semi-based off of something that I found on the internet somewhere...don't remember where.

Red flag #1 - at the very least, re-find the internet site you're starting from, so you have it to refer to, and to refresh your memory of the mistakes they made and advice they give, and so you can re-evaluate how much you wish to follow their advice.

my plan is to hook up the air compressor to a non dim and hide it in the green room.

Non-dims are not the same as true hot power. They often clip the curve of the AC sine wave, and cause motors to become unhappy. You risk burning out the motor of the compressor.

Run a hose from the air compressor to a plastic gasoline container in the wings filled with hazer fluid.

What PSI are you thinking of? Plastic gas cans don't exactly qualify as pressure vessels. What's your cleanup plan if the gas can pops like a balloon while full of glycol?

this would aerosol the fluid and force the fluid into a series of copper tubings, which would run from the gas can and be embedded into the set platforming. There would be holes drilled in them pointing directly up to send the hazing fluid straight up into the air.

You'd need a lot of PSI, or cubic footage volume, to loft any fluid, aerosol or not, very high into the air like this. High pressure behind a vertically oriented nozzle is a more likely solution, and that would require a sizable air compressor and a real tank supplying the tubes.

BTW, how do you propose to attach the copper tubing fittings to a plastic gas can? They don't have very big openings to reach through and thread lock nuts onto fittings, and tapping the sides wouldn't be very strong.

I would downlight it with some pars to create the effect of a green vnsp light wall

Sounds like your real question isn't 'how to build a hazer', but 'how to make a wall of green light upstage'. Is a multilayer scrim of cheesecloth an option? A snowbag loaded with flour? A couple DJ foggers and box fans? Dry ice fogger above the stage, shooting down a PVC pipe with lots of holes in the bottom? Blacklight paint effect on a drop?

please don't recommend buying any fogger or hazer box because my budget is literally 300 dollars and i still need to buy gobos and color and circuiting, because we have no circuiting.

Sounds like you have bigger fish to fry. Although building a fogger from odds and ends sounds like a fun project, it's more than likely to soak up all your time and budget, and not yield a useful result.

 

[icewolf08]

I know that you don't want to hear it, but you are really going to want to rent/buy/beg/borrow/steal a real hazer for an effect like this. The only other option, which has been mentioned is a dry ice solution, but for what you want to achieve, could be expensive and hard to rig as well.

Also consider that many hazers that use compressed gas still require heating the fluid to crack it. Take a look at machines like the MDG Atmosphere, it uses compressed CO2, but still has to heat up. You won't be able to safely apply heat to a gas can, even if you do figure out how to pressurize it.

Keep in mind also that by definition, haze will want to disperse evenly through your space. So if you are looking to create a "wall" effect, it will be quite difficult. This is actually where a dry ice setup may function a lot better as the fog would stay mostly contained as it fell.

 

[Amiers]

Are you going for the Haze look or the Fog look because Foggers are easier to make because all you need is a heating element some fog juice. If the latter is the care then check out this link for build information complements of google.

 

[Dalamar]

Also consider that many hazers that use compressed gas still require heating the fluid to crack it. Take a look at machines like the MDG Atmosphere, it uses compressed CO2, but still has to heat up. You won't be able to safely apply heat to a gas can, even if you do figure out how to pressurize it.

Friendly correction here.

The MDG ATM isn't a cracker but rather a haze generator, thus the need for heat. The "cracking" technology (more rightly defined as the "pulverizing" technology) does not always require heat even if inert gases are used to force a given substance into a small orifice.

Also, adding to FatherMurphy's flags, using compressed air is a bad idea if you persue the path of a heating element of any kind, as air contains oxygen and is flammable. Why do you think we use inert gases to begin with?

I'll have to go with the family, here: rent one. Most rental houses have MDG Atmosphere for you to enjoy I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than trying to re-invent the wheel.

~ Cheers!