How much energy costs a smoke machine?

[borgqueenx]

care to tell where you bought it?, always interesting to find new stores

www.prowebshop.nl

 

[Xtrm2Rick]

:thanks: i gues ill order a small one some day just for fun @ home....then i can finaly make some better beamshots

if only my canon 550d didnt drop:yabbem:

o and bout the energy cost.
shouldnt be that bad, i gues you dont have to put it on for hours

my 52inch lcd tv uses something like 380W iirc and its on from when i get home till i go to sleep, and the energy bill still isnt killing me so i gues it wouldnt be that bad

 

[DJNY]

I´m happy with my smoke cartidges, good and cheap

 

[borgqueenx]

Well im not paying energy but my parents do. But i dont wanna get blamed for any bill or something

 

[DJNY]

Well im not paying energy but my parents do. But i dont wanna get blamed for any bill or something

They would be more happy with a few € more on the bill than with smoke cartidges Ask my girl

 

[Doofus]

Heh, I've owned my fair share of foggers over the years, ask avery. Last time he was by, I think I whipped out like 3 400-1000W machines. 400W = plenty for indoor beam shots. it all just depends on the size of the room, and your intentions. Like if you want to make ground fog, just take a Styrofoam box, put a tube through the middle, and fill the box with ice. It won't produce as much fog, but what's there will hug the ground for a while (and you don't have to mess with dry ice). Using a fan in combination with a fog machine will fill a room much quicker but with thinner fog. If you can make or find a timer, I highly recommend it, so you don't have to stand there and push the button everytime it gets warm enough (once every few minutes or so).

It just all depends on what you want to do, given enough time and a relatively sealed room, even a 400W can fill a large room. 700W is a little better, it just releases fog for longer per heat cycle, or more fog for the same time (depending on model).

I'd say the majority of the active posters on this forum are intelligent people and could probably come up with a suggestion if you have some specific questions besides the power issue, I only say it because I learned some neat tricks with the fog machine on another forum long ago and have been extremely happy with some of the stuff I've learned about it.

Couple of things NOT to do:

Don't breathe the water based fogjuice for longer than you have to, eventually it starts to bother your lungs (probably like an hour later). Don't fog a room for excessive periods of time, it leaves weird sticky/slimy residue if you concentrate it too long/too much. NEVER fog your car, trust me on this, please, it messes with the window lowering and raising motors and makes your automatic windows squeak for eternity, not to mention it can deteriorate your weather stripping.

Fun times though.

Xtrm2rick: If you can get a hold of dry ice (I get it from the Grocery store), instead of buying a fog machine, I'd put some dry ice in a bucket of lukewarm to warm water and put a fan on low nearby, it'll create enough fog for beam shots. Don't do it in a sealed room though.

 

[thallium]

may I suggest a vertical fogger.....they are much better for laser shows.

I personally use an irradient 1000w vertical fogger which I purchased off ebay for $150 shipped. Once it is warmed up i run it on full blast (under 1 min) and every venue was immediatly filled. It also does not use alot fog juice. so far ive had it at 3-4 8hr parties (starting with full tank) and im currently at half a tank.

 

[borgqueenx]

Thanks doofus. But what about partys? Small discos? Then i plan on using the machine for <3 hours, but more then one and a half.

 

[Doofus]

You're buying/bought a 700W, that's plenty. If I had time I'd record the differences, but really, that's entirely too much effort lol. (I only have about one day off a week). You'll find that as long as you can hit the button whenever it's warm enough, you can fog a room in 5-10min with a 700W, although when I say room, I mean a 20m x 20m enclosure. It won't be that thick, but it will be foggy, especially if you use a fan.

 

[Benm]

The actual energy bill is likely to be very low - most indoor applications only require you to run the smoke machine for a minute or so, and perhaps again after half an hour when it dissipates.

The only benefit of a high powred unit is that you can quickly fill a dancefloor with smoke for a more dramtic effect. Thats why many clubs use several kilowatt powered machines, and are able to fog up the place in 10 seconds. It might take you a minute or two with the 700 watt, but both the end result and energy consumption would be very similar.

 

[Xtrm2Rick]

Heh, I've owned my fair share of foggers over the years, ask avery. Last time he was by, I think I whipped out like 3 400-1000W machines. 400W = plenty for indoor beam shots. it all just depends on the size of the room, and your intentions. Like if you want to make ground fog, just take a Styrofoam box, put a tube through the middle, and fill the box with ice. It won't produce as much fog, but what's there will hug the ground for a while (and you don't have to mess with dry ice). Using a fan in combination with a fog machine will fill a room much quicker but with thinner fog. If you can make or find a timer, I highly recommend it, so you don't have to stand there and push the button everytime it gets warm enough (once every few minutes or so).

It just all depends on what you want to do, given enough time and a relatively sealed room, even a 400W can fill a large room. 700W is a little better, it just releases fog for longer per heat cycle, or more fog for the same time (depending on model).

I'd say the majority of the active posters on this forum are intelligent people and could probably come up with a suggestion if you have some specific questions besides the power issue, I only say it because I learned some neat tricks with the fog machine on another forum long ago and have been extremely happy with some of the stuff I've learned about it.

Couple of things NOT to do:

Don't breathe the water based fogjuice for longer than you have to, eventually it starts to bother your lungs (probably like an hour later). Don't fog a room for excessive periods of time, it leaves weird sticky/slimy residue if you concentrate it too long/too much. NEVER fog your car, trust me on this, please, it messes with the window lowering and raising motors and makes your automatic windows squeak for eternity, not to mention it can deteriorate your weather stripping.

Fun times though.

Xtrm2rick: If you can get a hold of dry ice (I get it from the Grocery store), instead of buying a fog machine, I'd put some dry ice in a bucket of lukewarm to warm water and put a fan on low nearby, it'll create enough fog for beam shots. Don't do it in a sealed room though.

i had dry ice in mind first but when i looked for it i couldnt find it anywhere near here...then i was thinking bout smoke cartidges but i read somewhere that they leave a nasty smell.
now i use the bathroom after i took a shower lol

 

[thallium]

Thanks doofus. But what about partys? Small discos? Then i plan on using the machine for <3 hours, but more then one and a half.

what about small discos and partys?

 

[borgqueenx]

@thallium: i dont understand.

Anyway i will have my machine tommorow.
I have a small bedroom. About 6x6x2 meters. With much electric gadgets. So i can test it there without damaging something or having problems?

 

[thallium]

eh nevermind

just make sure that wherever you test it out (indoors) that there are no smoke alarms (or turn them off)......fog can set them off

 

[Xtrm2Rick]

eh nevermind

just make sure that wherever you test it out (indoors) that there are no smoke alarms (or turn them off)......fog can set them off

Arent those alarms triggered by the carbon dioxide ( iirc ) wich is in the smoke from fires and other burning things?
do these foggers emit thatcrap to ? i tought it was just some harmless vapor

 

[Toke]

Arent those alarms triggered by the carbon dioxide ( iirc ) wich is in the smoke from fires and other burning things?
do these foggers emit thatcrap to ? i tought it was just some harmless vapor

No, smoke alarms do not react to CO2.

The optical ones react to smoke that blocks light.
The radioactive ones react to ionised gasses, or more accurately to a change in the conductivity of the air.