OEM v. Aftermarket Haze fluid.

[lilricky]

We're using Smoke Factory II hazers. The price of the haze from Pangolin has gotten out of hand. When I bought them everyone said to stay with the oem fluid. I was at a production house today where they use a machine that looks like ours, only they use Froggy's fluid successfully. I'd hate to add another machine to the shelf of burned up hazers Or might anyone have a source for Smoke Factory fluid?

 

[Amiers]

I would say if you are going to switch to a cheaper fluid you do your research and make sure there isn’t a big difference in the make up. If they are close then you should clean the hazer a few times to get out the old fluid so they don’t mix and “cross streams”. I think that is where people mess up and just throw in a mix and it has to much glycol and gums up and blows your pump and coil.

You could take it one step further and call Froggy and ask them if their fluid works in said hazer and if so how much testing has been done to prove so. If they hesitate or fumble I would say use at your own risk and clean clean clean everything.

 

[Ancient Engineer]

I have had reasonable results with Froggy's in hazers and foggers. I buy ROSCO fluid by the 55gal barrel for the one fog effect that runs ~10hrs/day. Because the ROSCO fluid really extends the life of the IFS fog heads and meets an abundance of the safety requirements for this particular use...

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Stephen Ellison]

Having worked for Rosco in designing fog machines many years ago what I can add has to do with the formula. If you are working with a machine that uses a heat exchanger, then the fluid composition is matched to the temperature of said heat exchanger. If you run a fluid in a machine and it comes out as a wet fog then while you will not damage your machine you will also only get a mess. If you smell a burnt odor when using a fluid then stop immediately and flush the machine with distilled water. You are burning the fluid and that can lead to build up which will clog the machine. You may find a different fluid works fine and the temperatures match. Fog fluid is made up of a chemical family called Glycol's, there are a number of variations, some of which are toxic, like the one's used in anti-freeze. Years ago an unscrupulous dealer was selling anti-freeze, and got caught.

You will never go wrong with keeping the fluid and machine the same, but only testing will tell.