New fog machines

[techieman33]

A local ballet company has asked me to recommend some new fog machines. They have been renting some F-100s but have decided they want to buy their own now. They want 2 machines with a budget of around $1000 a machine. Is an FQ-100 still a good choice? Is there something better? Reliability will be important as they will probably only get pulled out and used for one or two weeks a year, and probably see minimal maintenance.

 

[Amiers]

Two weeks a year if not clean properly will just brick after the first buy without someone really maintaining them.

Is renting for two weeks really that costly?

 

[techieman33]

Two weeks a year if not clean properly will just brick after the first buy without someone really maintaining them.

Is renting for two weeks really that costly?

I think they're paying around $400 a week for the pair. I'll talk to them about the maintenance needs, and what they need to do, but I'm not sure how well it will be done.

 

[Amiers]

Oh wow. For the 1500? crap they could buy 1 for that price at 2 weeks. Now I see why they are asking.

The 1500s are nice for the price. You dip anywhere below into the ADJ stuff you start to look at troubleshooting at the slightest glance.

I think if you showed them any number of videos there are on YouTube on how to clean the fog machine I think they will be happy campers.

 

[BillESC]

UltratecFX's Power Fox Industrial would be my suggestion. Just a bit over your budget but exceptional performance.

Features

• Heavy-Duty Stainless Steel Chassis
• Powder Paint Black Finish
• Rapid Change Heat Exchanger Design
• Built-in DMX Control
• 5-Pin DMX Connectors
• LED DMX Indicator
• Steel Construction Remote Control
• Terminal Strip Connection for Show Control (Dry Contacts)
• 5 Pin XLR Locking Connector to Remote
• Optional - Remote Timer/Duration
• Optional - Remote Show Control

Output
Run Time: Continuous
Reheat Time: None
Fluid Consumption: Burst - 127 cc/ min. - Continuous - 57 cc/ min.
Technical Benchmark Spec.: Continuous - 4,000 cfm @ 1 meter visibility;
Burst - 8,900 cfm @ 1 meter visibility

http://www.ultratecfx.com/Products/fog/power-fog-industrial

 

[LightParts]

A local ballet company has asked me to recommend some new fog machines. They have been renting some F-100s but have decided they want to buy their own now. They want 2 machines with a budget of around $1000 a machine. Is an FQ-100 still a good choice? Is there something better? Reliability will be important as they will probably only get pulled out and used for one or two weeks a year, and probably see minimal maintenance.

FQ-100 is an excellent machine. We don't subscribe to the idea of "cleaning" foggers, unless the manufacturer calls for it in their instructions. High End does not on the FQ-100. Just use the fluid designed for it and you should have years of reliable performance. Problems most often occur when people use fluids with scents and colors that were not designed to be vaporized in their fluids. One other thing to know is that fog fluid has a shelf life not to exceed six months. It's made of food grade constituents, so stuff WILL grow in it after a few months, especially after the container is opened and allowed to oxidize. And if it's warm, that doesn't help either. If you're going to use them once or twice a year, be sure to put good clean fluid in them prior to use. I can't stress "good clean fluid" enough when talking about foggers and reliability.

Robert Mokry
LightParts Inc.
www.lightparts.com

 

[StradivariusBone]

We bought a Martin Magnum 2000 a couple years back after our Rosco machine was stolen. Great output, but I see now that it is discontinued. Might be able to find a unit on eBay. It has a separate module for DMX input that was purchased separate from the unit itself.