A cheap and easy cooler that belches fog into your party.

Any mention of this project must provide a link to www.zieak.com with credit to Ryan McFarland.

Step 1: Collect Materials

For this project you will need:

*55 gallon metal drum (try industrial sites or the local landfill for a free one)
*32 gallon plastic garbage can
*square
*marker
*circular saw with metal cutting blade or a hand saw
*hearing and eye protection
*metal file
*biohazard sticker or magnet (cheap ones at labsafety.com) or paint and a steady hand
*fog machine
*duct tape
*ice

If you don't want to cut the metal you can easily use a hand saw and cut the handles off of the garbage can. I wanted to keep the handles on my garbage can and have access to more barrels so opted to cut the barrel. Put the garbage can on top of the drum. If you plan on having the drum against a wall or in a corner offset the garbage can so that the gap between their rims will allow the fog out toward your guests. Mark where the cuts will have to be made with a marker.

Step 2: Test the Fit

Cut the slots for the garbage can handle deep enough to allow the barrel to hang with the rim at the same height as the rim of the metal drum. If you cut the handles off of the plastic garbage can then you'll need to make something to raise the liner up and still allow the fog machine space to sit below. Filled with ice and cold beverages, the liner will be quite heavy. Test the fit of the liner and make any changes necessary. File any sharp rasps off of the metal barrel.

Step 3: Assemble and Decorate

Put the fog machine in with the cord hanging out. Ideally your machine will have a corded remote or have dials that set the frequency and duration of the fog. I had intended on painting a biohazard symbol on the barrel but found a cheap and very large magnet at labsafety.com. This saved me a lot of hassle, looks more authentic, and gives me a huge magnet for the fridge.

Step 4: Fill With Ice and Enjoy

It takes a lot of ice to fill a container that big!

Fog machines heat the fluid used to make the fog. As the fog passes by the cooled garbage can it drops the temperature of the fog and makes it flow down the outside of the barrel instead of just suspending in the room.