Can I use any brand of smoke fluid in my smoke machine?
Our job would be so much easier if the answer was 'yes', but the answer is NO and here's why:
Smoke generators are designed around a specific mixture of chemicals, with specific boiling ranges. Using a
smoke fluid that, for example, is based on propylene glycol and water, which has a relatively low boiling range, through a generator set for glycerine / water (with a much higher boiling range) potentially can crack the chemical, forming unpleasant and potentially toxic compounds (acroleins, aldehydes
etc). Even changing the % of water in a mixture can have an
effect.
A few years ago all the major UK manufacturers prepared a joint letter stressing the potential dangers of mixing and matching
smoke chemicals, stressing that so called 'generic
smoke fluids' simply could not be relied upon to produce a consistent and safe
smoke in every generator.
Safe
smoke that is non-toxic to breathe in is your responsibility!
The use of generic
smoke chemical in place of the manufacturer's recommended fluid leaves you wide open to all sorts of legal recourse relating to health &
safety, reliability of your machine and servicing costs. It simply isn't worth the risk.
Do smoke machines make you cough?
No they should not - and if you have experienced coughing it may be due to the operator using a cheap 'generic'
smoke fluid to save money - something we strongly advise against (see question above). If you have a respiratory condition or are asthmatic, we don't recommend you go into dense
smoke. Occasionally people will experience a psychosomatic reaction to seeing
smoke and cough for the sake of it (even though the
smoke isn't actually causing this reaction in a physical sense).