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Fog straight
from the machine |
Fog through the
chiller without ice |
Fog through the
chiller with ice |
Filling the night
air with menacing fog, which your trick-or-treaters must venture
through and wonder what could be lurking within it, a fog machine is
an absolute must for a truly creepy Halloween haunt or party. But
there are times when you might want the fog to hung the ground rather
than disperse through out the air. A perfect example would be for a
graveyard scene in your front yard. Instead of filling the air, you
want the fog to slowly drift over the ground, around tombstones and
over burial mounds, or maybe you'd like it to flow out from under
your porch or even over your roof.
Unfortunately, the
very nature of how these machines produce fog makes this difficult,
as the fog fluid is heated to generate fog which comes out hot and
rises in the air. To discourage the fog from rising it has to be
cooled down before it is released into the air. The general idea is
to build a device that the hot fog enters and is cooled down as it
passes through. A Fog Chiller. We designed our Fog Chiller to be easy
to build, relatively inexpensive and be a completely self-contained
unit that could be moved around as needed.
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Parts and
Materials List
1 - 48 quart ice-chest (cooler)
2 - Feet of 3"
diameter ABS plastic pipe
2 - 3" ABS plastic
90 degree elbow joints (NIBCO 5807-V)
2 - 3" ABS plastic
coupling hubs (NIBCO C5801)
1 - 3"x2" ABS
plastic reducer coupling hub (NIBCO 5801)
1 - 2'x3' piece of
1/2" square hole wire mesh
2 - 5" expandable clamps
1 - Tube of clear drying
silicone caulk
1 - Can of flat black
spray paint |
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The
ice-chest is the standard type found in most department stores and
only cost around $15.00, but be sure to keep an eye out at garage
sales for a used (and cheaper) one. The ABS plastic pipe and
connectors are simple to work with, can be found in the plumbing
department at all major hardware stores, and the pieces slip together easily.
The first step is
to cut a hole through each end of the ice-chest. We used a 4"
bi-metal hole saw attached to a drill to cut the holes through the
center of each end. These unique saw blades (Vermont American Tool
Company) can be found at most hardware stores, and simply fit into a
drill to cut perfectly round holes. The 4 inch size is a bit
expensive at around $25.00, so an alternative would be to use a
compass to the mark the circle for the hole and then use a jig-saw to
cut it out.
You will
need to cut three lengths of the 3" ABS pipe, i.e. two at 3
inches long and the third one about 12 inches long, with a hack-saw.
The 12 inch piece is only a rough estimate for the length and will be
re-cut later.
Using wire
cutters, cut the 1/2" screen wire into a X inch by 12 inch
piece. The "X" represents the inside length of the cooler (19-1/2
inches with ours). When cutting the length-wise side cut the further
end of the wire so that they are left to stick out. These will be
used to attached the wire to its self when rolled (pictured below-left).
Roll the
screen wire piece around a spare piece of 3 inch ABS pipe so that it
has a basic tube shape. Lower the wire tube into the cooler and slide
the 3" id double-female connectors (the two 3" long pieces
of ABS pipe you cut) through the holes you cut so that an equal
amount sticks out either side. Twist the screen wire into as tight a
tube as you can and attach the clamps.
Using needle-nose
pliers, bend those end wires you purposely left on under and over the
lower screen wire to hold it in its tube shape (pictured center). If
a few of these break off its not a problem, but if a lot break off
you may need to use some light-weight bailing wire to re-enforce the
seam of the wire cage. What you should have is a tube-shaped wire
cage that is attached at both ends of the chest (pictured right).
This is the chamber that the fog will pass through and be cooled in.
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Fog Chillers intake components
from top to bottom.
3" to 2" ABS Reducer
3" section of 3" ABS
pipe (not visible)
3" ABS 90 degree
elbow joint
12" long section of
3" ABS pipe
3" ABS 90 degree
elbow joint
3" section of 3" ABS
pipe (not visible)
3" ABS plastic
double-female connector |
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Do not
glue these pieces of the intake assembly together. Once they are
pushed together they will stay in place. This way if you need to
swivel the section or disassemble it you'll be able to.
To prevent
fog from leaking out, seal the two 4 inch double-female connectors
into the chest with some clear silicone
caulk, inside and outside of the cooler.
To help camouflage the unit at night, paint the exterior of the chest
with flat black spray paint.
Allow the paint and caulk to dry for 24 hours.
Since we cut the
mid-section of 3 inch ABS pipe that runs between the two elbow joints
extra long, you need to set your fog machine on top of the Fog
Chiller and cut off any excess until the fog machines exit
nozzle is aligned with the Fog Chillers intake nozzle.
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Your Fog Chilling unit is
now complete and ready to go. When you're ready to use
it all you have to do is fill it up to the top with ordinary ice
cubes (ours took 35 pounds) and close the lid tightly.
Standard sized ice cubes work
great. You should try to avoid very small ice cubes as they might
slip through the screen wire into the cooling chamber and impede the
flow of the fog. Using dry ice will improve
performance, but dry ice costs a lot more. |
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During use, align the the
fog machines exit nozzle to be centered with and about an inch away
from the Fog Chillers intake nozzle. This allows outside cool air to
be drawn in during operation.
The trick to getting the best low
lying fog is to use short bursts from your fog machine, separated by
a few seconds to allow cold air to refill the cooling chamber. |
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You can also attach a section of
five inch diameter flexible tubing to the exit pipe on the Fog
Chiller to direct the fog where you want it.
In general, you don't want to
attach more than six or eight feet of tubing, as the fog won't have
enough power to travel through its entire length.
The Fog Master |
Copyright 2002 http://www.gotfog.com |
