# What is the best way to create fog\smoke?



## liteglow

*What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

As the topic says....

I got alot of beams in the air, but i need some smoke to se them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

What is the best way of create fog\smoke indoor ?

Ah.. and NO i dont got a fog machine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


----------



## CliffS

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

When I'm soldering up laser pieces, the room winds up pretty smokey if theres no draft/wind/fans. Maybe melt a bunch of solder.

That, or buy a big cigar, and start puffin.


----------



## Ken_McE

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Fog machines are cheap and powerful. The downside is that the smoke doesn't smell good. Or you could burn incense or something.


----------



## liteglow

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

did try that one cliffs ¤but i got a insane head pain now¤

any other suggestions /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


----------



## Gabriel

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

A UK store, Maplin, sell 'Canned smoke'. One can sprays for about 5 minutes, fills a good size room and lasts thick for about an hour. I have a great personal experience with this stuff - One can is more than enough to do great laser effects. If you need, Liteglow, I can go to a store, get some, and send it out to you, or you can order from their website at http://www.maplin.co.uk


----------



## WildRice

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

SHHHHH, Mineral Oil. This is what the armed forces used for fogging up beaches durring WWII, and it is also what is sprayed on the exhaust of planes to do sky writing. It works best if atomized, like in a small sprayer. A small amount on a hot plate will make some white smoke. BE CAREFUL, mineral oil has a flashpoint, I dont recall what it is tho, if the hot surface is TOO hot and you mist alot of oil in the air, it can catch fire. But small amounts (a few drips) will make beans more visible.
Jeff

BTW some higher end camera stores sell canned smoke also.


----------



## CliffS

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Maybe some insence? Burn a few sticks, It'll smell nice and be real smokey /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


----------



## greenLED

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

dry ice in a bucket of water.


----------



## JWalker

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

I got a mini fogger, about $30 USD's. I think the brand is "American DJ" This thing is great and can use a cup of fog juice to smoke a room 20 times over. It doesn't smell too bad in my experience but if you're not too careful you wont be able to see your hand in front of your face. But I have turned my greenie into a lightsaber many times with it.


----------



## LED-FX

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Cheap fogger is the way to go, uses water based glycol fog fluid, now under £30 in the UK for a little one.

Fog in a can is O.K. but works out quite expensive, get a fogger for the price of a few cans of the stuff.

Only thing with gylcol fog is it dries out your throat, so get a few beers in as well ;-) One fog fluid maker actually used to advertise this as a feature, made customers drink more...

Adam


----------



## Raccoon

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Wow, I like all these suggestions. I'm especially interested in the can-o-smoke and mineral oil.

Does anyone have experience with the effects of these fogging/smoke agents on household items? It would be nice to know that smoking up a lot of mineral oil doesn't eventually turn your couch and lamp shades yellow or greasy.

I guess the question here is, which smoke/fog produces the cleanest effect?

Dry ice would certainly be the cleanest, but for an effectively smokey room, you would have to suffocate yourself in CO2. And inhaling soldering lux fumes is just stupid.


----------



## CliffS

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

[ QUOTE ]
*Raccoon said:*
And inhaling soldering lux fumes is just stupid. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I practice safe soldering, with a face breather dealie, if I know I'm going to be doing a lot of soldering.


----------



## Gabriel

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

I have experience with the maplin 'cans o' smoke'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif If anyone needs any I can order them in and ship them out - They provide an excellently clear photo.

~Christian


----------



## LED-FX

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Would stay away from mineral oil , it is used in some hazers, not foggers, but it is `cracked` using ultrasound or compressed air, heating it means it decomposes into other compounds , none of which are likely to be healthy.

For real old school health hazard, try sal ammoniac...

Adam


----------



## WildRice

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Canned smoke would probably be the cleanest. I got a can while at Devry many years ago. I smoled up my car before class, and 5 hrs later, inside of my car was still smoky. After I opened up the windows and the smoke cleard out, there was hardly any haze on the windows.
Jeff


----------



## cbfull

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

When we used to have these big all-night parties the quickest and easiest way to make a fog that is just like a fog machine, was to put glycerine in a clean pan on a hotplate and blow air across the hot liquid surface. You will be surprised at how well this works. Keep in mind that you must have air movement of some kind or you will quickly become engulfed.

Caution! It is possible for the glycerine to catch on fire. Lifting the pan off the hotplate is one way to better control the temp of the glycerine.

Also, use vegetable glycerine from a health food store.

This method is not perfect but it's pretty darn good!


----------



## oklalawman

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

In my youth I was a techie for stage productions. We had to have have a quick turn around as far as we could not have smell and so forth. We actually had built a fog machine. It was a 55 gallon drum with a heating element. On top of it was a blower and hose. You turn the heat element on and let the water get hot. Then threw in large amounts of dry ice. After a few minutes turn on the blower and viola. You could use a hot plate a deep pot to do the same. Maybe add a low velocity fan to move it. The dry ice has another great use. Get you one of those water jugs, usually the five gallon size. Fill it with water and add rootbeer dlavoring and sugar. Drop in the dry ice. It not only makes it icy cold it carbonates it. hmmmm I wonder if it woul work with Maragaritas??


----------



## badhorsey

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Frankincense is excellent. You'll need charcoal discs, and a heatproof surface - hold the disc in a flame until it starts sparking, then blow on it until it's glowing red all over. Put it on the surface and drop a few crystals of frankincense on it - it'll fill a room quickly and show up beams very well, but without fogging or obscuring vision.


----------



## Sub_Umbra

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

oklalawman has the story right on fog -- I also worked in technical theatre. I would advise Googling for smoke, fog and _theater_. There is lots of info out there.

To make things easier on yourself, be advised that in the real world _and_ the theatrical world, smoke and fog are very different things with very different properties and uses. For the most part, they are like apples and oranges in the way that they behave.

If you want to shoot beam-shots close to the ground fog _may_ be more appropriate, but I doubt it. Whether fog is man-made or naturally occurring, it is *heavy* and wants to be near the ground. It is very clean to deal with using variants on the method oklalawman outlined -- no poisons, smells or creepy residues -- but you'll probably have to stir it up a bit with a fan. Fog also dissipates very quickly and no matter what size you make your fog machine, the pause between repeat takes may be problematical.

Because artificial smoke is closer to room temperature it is much easier to disperse into a room in an un-stratified manner. Smoke is used much more at concerts because it gives the lighting folks more to work with.

On a side note, smoke can be made to emulate fog for a bit by cooling it down as it leaves the machine. This will make it hang closer to the floor.

I wouldn't use just any non-commercial agent to make smoke without quite a bit of research. Aside from weird toxic effects these agents will condense out *ON* and pretty much *IN* everything that they come in contact with. You probably don't want some oily condensate coating everything inside your laser, stereo amp, computer or TV. In nightclubs and theaters where smoke is used often it is very important to use an agent that will have minimum negative side effects (which can also include making the floors dangerously slick for dancers). Even using _professional products_ designed with these pit-falls in mind these problems can still occur during long runs of very *smoke heavy* shows.


----------



## liteglow

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Sub_Umbra : thanx alot for all that help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


----------



## LaserMod

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

I have had my smoke machine for a month now and if you see my images - my room and house have been well smoked out many times...I can't find any residue or after-effects so I guess it is clean.

It cost me £25 new from Argos.co.uk and complete with 'fog juice' as it's called. Thats about $50.


----------



## PhotonWrangler

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

I prefer the dry ice method. The smoke tends to cling to the ground because it's cold, but a fan will take care of that very nicely, and it's probably a lot healthier for your lungs than spraying a chemical into the air. Plus it had no odor and won't leave a residue. The downsides are that it's a lot harder to find and store, and you HAVE to handle it with gloves or tongs.


----------



## TheQase

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

[ QUOTE ]
*PhotonWrangler said:*
I prefer the dry ice method. The smoke tends to cling to the ground because it's cold, but a fan will take care of that very nicely, and it's probably a lot healthier for your lungs than spraying a chemical into the air. Plus it had no odor and won't leave a residue. The downsides are that it's a lot harder to find and store, and you HAVE to handle it with gloves or tongs. 

[/ QUOTE ]

If you blow dry ice with a fan, it will help the process out, but dry ice dissipates fast too. 

Also, Dry ice is Carbon Dioxide (as someone else pointed out already) which is not good for your lungs, because as you know the lungs like Oxygen /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I too would recommend the fog machine... If you dont like the smell... take it outside and run a cycle of fog thru it and it will cut down on the smell... Or you could get scented fog.. cherry or whatever... and its extremely cheap and efficient...

I too have made it to where i couldnt see my hand in front of my face, as well as fogged up a whole yard (and the neighbors -- about 2 acres worth) with my fog machine.

back to the dry ice thing... why not skip that and get a co2 container...

or you could try a fire extinguisher...

have fun


----------



## LambdaBunker

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Another method is to use an atomizer device in a tub of water, very very fine vapour rises like mist. I have one in my room, and it looks really nice.


----------



## LED-FX

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

Bit of terminology difference here, what used to be called `smoke` machines are now more usually referred to as `foggers`. Because people, especially paid talent, have concerns about breathing in `smoke`.

Foggers, previously known as smoke machines, uses water based glycol fog, glycol is used in things like cakes to make them remain moist. They work by pumping the fluid through a heater block which turns it into basically lingering steam.Heavy use will eventually leave deposits on things as the liquid condenses, but the key term is Heavy use.Low cost machines abound.

Dry ice foggers are water boilers that when frozen CO2 is dropped in , sublimes back to gas and the cold CO2 makes the moisture content in the air turn to fog. These are the classic low lying fog effects. Dry Ice is quite hazardous to handle , it freeze burns, is expensive and the effect is very short lived.

Hazers are a third type of atmospheric effect,used to create a very light but long hanging haze , not as dense as fog but enough to pick up light and laser beams. They use mineral oil and `crack` it into tiny droplets either by ultrasound like the atomiser someone else mentioned, or by compressed air, these machines are expensive.

CO2 jets similar to fire extingushers do exist, but the effect is very short lived and the equipment is expensive.

Liquid Nitrogen is used in some theme parks to create `natural` fog, cost and complication puts it at the space launch end of atmospheric effects.

Anything you use to fog up an area should be safe to breathe, buying a commercial product and using the manufacturers reccomended consumables, should ensure your safety.

Fog in a can is OK for the very occasional user.

HTH
Adam


----------



## Raccoon

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

With all this in mind, I think I'll just buy a cigar and smoke up the garage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Second-hand smoke never killed anyone! (Well, noone I know)


----------



## DaFiend

*Re: What is the best way to create fog\\smoke?*

or just Dutch it up!


----------

