Thread: Need help and advice fine tuning my fog idea

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So this year, I am doing up the inside of my house for the first time. We are doing a haunted hotel. The outside will be primarily cemetery/undead themed, and I was looking for a way to tie the two together.

I thought it would be cool to put some luggage on the lawn a little in front of a window, with clothes strewn about and coming out of it, as if it were tossed from the window by a ghost. [there will be an FCG in each of my 2 forward windows]

now Here's my idea/desired effect:

the larger of the luggage will be cracked open, with chilled fog coming out of it. probably lit inside with a few LED's [green, red, orange?] I am considering having the luggage slowly lift open and then drop shut [using a fcg like motor, with a snail shaped cam, if you don't understand the concept just trust me it can work fine]

My thinking is that when the luggage drops shut, it will let out a puff of fog and create a good effect. My only worry is that the force of the lid shutting will do more harm than good for the chilled fog coming from the output hole cut into the back of the luggage.

a word about the luggage. It is medium sized, and the kind from like the 70s/80s that is hard shell and opens clam shell style.

I also am toying with how to chill it. If I can avoid a large ice chest a few feet behind the piece of luggage, that would be great, but I would really like the fog to flow out and over the edge of the luggage so it needs to be a halfway descent chiller. I was considering just using frozen water bottles inside large diameter tubing, but I dunno.

The lid moving open and shut is just my idea of taking it a step further, it is not absolutely necessary. I am not sure I want to build the motor structure just to not use it so I am looking for opinions on that...

also, creative ideas on chilling the fog on its route out to the luggage is more than encouraged.

wow this fell down to the 2nd page without any response so bump for a little help.

I not good with this type of operation, but why not rig the luggage to close all but a half inch (or quarter) so that you don't stop the flow of the fog completely. maybe have an hand sticking out so the lid stops because of the hand.

Also, can you hide the fog chiller behind something? bush? tombstone and cover your conduit (hose, what ever) with leaves so it can't be seen?

good suggestions... I was thinking about hiding the chiller, but I dunno yet.

the lid would only be closed for a second or two before it started to lift again. But i still dunno about that. Maybe I'll buy the supplies and try it out if I have time. They can always be re-appropriated for another prop.

Maybe instead of having the luggage scattered like it was thrown out, have it stacked crookedly like the folks just set it down and saw the hotel and skedaddled without their luggage? Or that they hastily packed it (thus the clothes hanging out and maybe a path of it out from the door)?

If you stacked the luggage, (minimum of 3 suitcases) you could put the fogger INSIDE the bottom one, (with some ventilation holes discretely drilled) run some duct work inside that up to the middle suitcase (make it the chiller using frozen bottles of water and have holes drilled for the ductwork to enter). Then run the duct work up to the top suitcase, which will contain the motor that opens and closes and any light you're thinking of having.

You would have to screw them all together, have holes cut for power cords and seal off the openings around the ductwork (caulk?) as it passes from one to the other, but it could work. I can picture it in my head anyway...

It would look awesome, tho... possessed luggage!

Frankies Girl - THANK YOU. that is exactly what I needed. What a great idea.

Now the only thing that I am worried about is how to give the fog enough velocity to go up that far and out. Will the natural pressure from the fog output push the fog, even chilled, up that far?

I have read briefly about fans recondensing the fog and making it "non fog". any suggestions on how to get the fog to route up to the chiller, and then up to the exit suitcase?

This is definately what I will be doing I think, now I just have to make it work.

That was a good idea. I was just thinking that if the way the fog reacts to the case opening and closing is your concern then it would be easy to test by pumping the fog in and moving it open and closed by hand to study the effects before you build a mechanism.

One impression I get is that guests might not get the link between suitcases and your theme so positioning it near the Hotel sign and/or other props might make it play better. Baggage cart, check in sign, doorman from hell...

Hmmmm... I just picture the luggage on the ground just out of the window and I think, the spouse must have kicked someone out of the house? lol.

compoast, as cool as the doorman from hell idea is, Im already in over my head this halloween so adding any more projects to my list is asking for trouble.

I plan on hanging a hotel sign from the house and then not to far from that will be the luggage. Hopefully that will be good.

My main concern now, is how to get the fog UP through the suitcase chiller and out the top. Fan?? or i dunno what else...

hey I was just bringing this back up for an opinion on weather I should try and incorporate a fan to bring the fog up and out the top?

Scott Axworthy (3 Jun 1995):

Even if you buy a fogger you still have to get the fog where you want it. A fog distribution system can really help if you want to maximize your fogger's capabilities. The best fog distribution systems consist of a fog reservoir, a blower, and flexible tubing to deliver the fog where you want it. The blower is typically enclosed within a reservoir box and blows directly into the tubing. The fog machine is aimed at a opening in the reservoir box. The blower produces suction in the box and the fog is drawn in. The fog is then distributed out the tubing. The extra air pulled in helps increase the volume of fog produced as well. I used my dry-ice fogger as my reservoir as it already had a blower mounted on it and tubing attachments. I directed tubes outside, and into my shop and garage. I used dryer vent ducting for my tubes but you can also use ADS flexible drainage pipe. I then fed the pipe into carved pumpkins. These pumpkins had a large hole cut in the back for the tubing and used lights instead of candle. The fog shooting out of the eyes and mouth looked great.

from this website: Fog Chiller

I am still kind of "foggy" on how this proffesional system works exactly and how exactly the squirrel cage fan works with it. Can anyone help me out?