Fog machines are great for Halloween... but fog tends to rise up into the air, spread out, and disappear. If you do not have a very powerful fog machine, this can ruin the whole effect.
The solution to this is to build a fog chiller. The fog chiller cools the hot fog from the machine, causing it to stay low and billow along the ground.
This is a small fog chiller, which works well and is cheap. It takes an hour or two to build.
The solution to this is to build a fog chiller. The fog chiller cools the hot fog from the machine, causing it to stay low and billow along the ground.
This is a small fog chiller, which works well and is cheap. It takes an hour or two to build.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Design and Theory
About Fog
The principles behind a fog chiller are the ideal gas laws. The warmer air is, the less dense it is, and therefore is pushed upwards by sinking cold air. Simply put, warm air rises, cool air sinks.
Fog machines work by pumping fog liquid onto a very hot "heat exchanger", which flash-vaporizes the liquid. This expansion pushes it out of the nozzle. The fog exiting the machine is very hot, and will rise up.
This device cools the air in which the fog is suspended, therefore causing it to sink to the ground.
Design
I designed this chiller myself, and I think the design is unique.
Fog enters the device at the top. At the top, there is a large expansion chamber, so that the fog can properly mix with the air.
Below this expansion area, there is ice. This cools the fog. Once the fog is cool, it will sink down below the ice into another chamber.
On one end of this chamber, there is a fan to blow the fog. On the other end, there is a hole for the fog to exit. This further mixes the fog with the air, and blows it out.
The theory is that the fog will expand in the first chamber, as well as cool. Once the hot fog has cooled enough to sink below normal air, it drops below the ice and is blown out.
If the amount of incoming fog is too fast for the cooling, then the fog will not cool as much, but will still be forced through the layer of ice, most likely resulting in enough cooling to retain the effect.
The whole device is fairly small, only about twice the size of a fog machine, and can be built with easily obtainable materials for not much money.
The principles behind a fog chiller are the ideal gas laws. The warmer air is, the less dense it is, and therefore is pushed upwards by sinking cold air. Simply put, warm air rises, cool air sinks.
Fog machines work by pumping fog liquid onto a very hot "heat exchanger", which flash-vaporizes the liquid. This expansion pushes it out of the nozzle. The fog exiting the machine is very hot, and will rise up.
This device cools the air in which the fog is suspended, therefore causing it to sink to the ground.
Design
I designed this chiller myself, and I think the design is unique.
Fog enters the device at the top. At the top, there is a large expansion chamber, so that the fog can properly mix with the air.
Below this expansion area, there is ice. This cools the fog. Once the fog is cool, it will sink down below the ice into another chamber.
On one end of this chamber, there is a fan to blow the fog. On the other end, there is a hole for the fog to exit. This further mixes the fog with the air, and blows it out.
The theory is that the fog will expand in the first chamber, as well as cool. Once the hot fog has cooled enough to sink below normal air, it drops below the ice and is blown out.
If the amount of incoming fog is too fast for the cooling, then the fog will not cool as much, but will still be forced through the layer of ice, most likely resulting in enough cooling to retain the effect.
The whole device is fairly small, only about twice the size of a fog machine, and can be built with easily obtainable materials for not much money.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
If you have dry ice and enough of it, then you may not need a fog machine? I suppose you could substitute dry ice for regular ice, but I wouldn't recommend, since placing dry ice is tricky and might not work as well with this particular construction? But if you do have dry ice and prefer to use it as a fog effect, here's what I've seen: When you add dry ice to water, you get a similar type of fog effect, except its much more volatile and much more fun, when used safely and appropriately. (The First Rule to Remember, When Using Dry Ice is Handle With Care and Always Use Protective Wear. Since Dry Ice Is Actually the Solid Form of Carbon Dioxide, in This State Its Much Lower in Temperature than Frozen H2O, It Can Burn the Skin.) Depending on amount of dry ice, amount of water, temperature of water, and type of container used, determines how long, how fast, and how much liquid fog is produced. Lets say you have an 8oz glass of water at room temperature approximately one inch from the top and you drop one to two cubes or chunks of dry ice, what you get is an immediate chain reaction like a bubbling boiled effect which rushes a liquid fog over and down the glass.If you use a much larger or longer tub, container, or cauldron of water filled almost to the top, but not to deep, you'll need several bricks of dry ice to continue adding through the night, because it can go fast. As the dry ice or carbon dioxide is added to water, it changes to its gaseous state creating a bubbling boiling fog over the top and down along the ground effect. The hotter the water, the faster and quicker the effect. Also, you can drop colorful glow sticks as the dry ice is added and watch the amazing flare of colors look like they are boiling over. Some clubs safely use this effect on their specialty drinks with color, once evaporated. With enough Dry Ice you can create a low lying thicker fog, but may or may not produce as much, as fast a fog as a machine. To each is own. Some local grocery store chains carry dry ice, since its used for shipping cold items. t seems like you can never buy enough, sometimes, so plan wisely. It can be costly, too. Keep frozen until use, eventually it will dissipate into a safe gas, since a regular freezer is warmer than dry ice at 32 degrees.
I'm glad to see a smaller way to create a fog chiller and with the small fan, its genius! I'm gonna try it out. I'm a DJ who uses Fog and tons of lights every year at Halloween. Its a curse, I'm mean a calling to decorate my house and street during the holidays. Halloween and Christmas are a DJ's favorite time of year. Of course I'm the kind of girl who probably goes a little over the top, but at least I have fun.
Maybe, If you want to try different materials for your chiller, perhaps using a wider tube such as an aluminum dryer tube attached to the fog machine via aluminum tape, while running the tube through a fitted hole down or through the top of the lid of a larger bucket (painters bucket), tub, tote, or small 13 gallon garbage container through the interior and then out the side, instead and sealed with the aluminum tape. Add regular ice as needed. The pressure of the fog machine should be great enough to create a low flow of fog with out the extra fan, to create the same effect, though a fan may definitely help if the night is too still? If the tube is wider, made of metal or aluminum, with the right amount of regular ice, it should keep nice and chilled like a bartender's tumbler, as the fog machine blows the hot fog through the frosty aluminum tunnel it will instantly react and create a spectacle of low moving fog across a multitude of colored lights or gravely scenes.
Just sayingâ¦.Sorry So Longâ¦.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
1) The dry ice may be so cold that it re-condenses the vaporized gasses out of the air. I am not familiar with the exact physical explanation for fog, so this may not be a problem at all.
2) The cold CO2 generated by subliming dry ice will sink and displace the oxygen in a confined space. Don't put large amounts of dry ice in a confined space. The small amounts used here would not be a concern to me.
I recommend you try it out, it has the potential to work much better than regular ice.
do i need a few batteries in series?
thanks
I'll try more ice and a low circulating fan.