I am wanting to use a fog machine instead of a flash pot for a production cabinet. Any suggestions that will provide enough fog to work would be appreciated.

Dan Allender

Halloween is the perfect time of year to find inexpensive fog machines. Party stores, and even WalMarts carry them. That may be a good way to test the concept without forking out a lot of money. You can always upgrade later. This type of fog hangs in the air and will nicely fill a small cabinet in seconds.

If you would like to try a dry ice fog machine, they are fairly easy to construct, but it puts you in the dilemma of keeping dry ice on hand at each show. That can be a pain, but a dry ice fog fed from the top of a cabinet gives a really cool waterfall of fog effect.

Good fog machines and lighting can often be found at a music store. DJ's and musicians use them for stage effects too.
Get one that uses standard Fog juice.

I just saw a Fog Machine at WalMart in the Halloween stuff....it's no more than $20.00....remember though....you get what you pay for....

I got a very good one from Spencer's Gifts for around 30 bucks. There are often hose attachments you cant get or make that can be helpful in directing the fog.

For you application I believe you should get one with remote control operation and one that will operate continuously, even during the heating cycle.

Regan

You can make a fog machine for relatively cheap, that is if you need more fog than the small ones give you.

Brummett,

Yes, you can build a fog machine, however, in most places unless the machine you are using is UL listed it will be against fire code to use it indoors.

There are many good machines out there that will do what you need. However, if you are looking for one that will need to work at a certain time, every time, make sure to get one that is always ready to go once it heats up. There is nothing more embarassing than your fog machine in a reheat cycle when you need it to cover your appearance!

Look for machines that are always ready to go once they heat up. Each manufacturer has a different name for this feature so you'll have to read the spec sheets on each machine. Personally, I have an American DJ Fog Storm 1700 on my smoke chamber. This model, for instance, has this feature.

Good luck!

Sincerely....
David

Don't build one. It won't be legal. Just buy one. They are a lot cheaper than they used to be. I've been using them for more than 30 years and they really enhance lighting etc. Get one with a remote switch.
However, using one instead of a flash pot may be tricky. You'd have to get a really good one to put out that much fog at a moments notice. If you could contain the fog in one area and then blow it out on que,with a fan, you might be able to get away with a cheaper unit.

It isn't that hard to build one up to code. I worked special effects for a while and the nice thing about building is you could place it anywhere so you could change the size. Sure, you'll probably have to get a book and read a bit, but it's possible to build a safe one, up to code. Again, only if it would benefit you. If you only need one and a small one, than buy.