Thread: vortex / vortex questions.

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well i just finished building my vortex.

i picked up all my parts from a local army surplus.

dc fan-$2
ac/dc adapter-$2
dental mirror (had to break it from the handle) $1

the only expensive part ws the gun lazer. (it was the only green lazer i could find)

assembly was easy, couple 90* brackets to hold the fan and a small piece of steel to attach the scope clamp to.

i pre-bent my brackets to achive the correct angle (no ajustment in the lazer)
and fastened everything to a piece of plywood.


works like a charm and was farely inexpensive to build, but i do have a couple questions.


i don't have a garage and mywindows are already filled with props.
i'll be mounting the vortex outside. i want to shine it down the driveway, mounted up under the roof of my porch.

anybody mount thier vortex outside? if so how do you go about getting/keeping the fog close to the vortex?

i've considered mounting pvc pipeing, pointing the fogger at the wall and things of that nature to channel the fog to the vortex
anybody got a bright idea? i'd love to hear it.


thx guys.

I think the problem you would have is wind and street lights.

Originally Posted by icyuod2

well i just finished building my vortex.

i picked up all my parts from a local army surplus.

dc fan-$2
ac/dc adapter-$2
dental mirror (had to break it from the handle) $1

the only expensive part ws the gun lazer. (it was the only green lazer i could find)

assembly was easy, couple 90* brackets to hold the fan and a small piece of steel to attach the scope clamp to.

i pre-bent my brackets to achive the correct angle (no ajustment in the lazer)
and fastened everything to a piece of plywood.


works like a charm and was farely inexpensive to build, but i do have a couple questions.


i don't have a garage and mywindows are already filled with props.
i'll be mounting the vortex outside. i want to shine it down the driveway, mounted up under the roof of my porch.

anybody mount thier vortex outside? if so how do you go about getting/keeping the fog close to the vortex?

i've considered mounting pvc pipeing, pointing the fogger at the wall and things of that nature to channel the fog to the vortex
anybody got a bright idea? i'd love to hear it.


thx guys.

Yeah I have to mount mine outside also. I am going to buy cheap fogger and let it run in the garage with the door up just enough to throw the fog out under it.
I may have to get some dryer vent material.
The vortex is going inside a makeshift crate I made yesterday and will sit in on a shelf in it on the driveway. I made it from pallet material after i boarded up the window and then I coverd the box in burlap so you cant see it.
The Vortex aimed towards garage door about ten feet away but is movable, fog coming from under door. At least thats the plan I will check it out tonight.

slingshot, check! pellet gun,check!

oh street lights aren't a problem

the box is a fantastic idea! looks like i have some more work ahead of me.

I find just having the fog in the area of the laser looks good. I think having the fog waft through the beam/vortex looks better then just having a room filled with fog. My laser set up uses three fans with mirrors attached so that I get a "Spri-o-graph" projection on the neighbors garage. Every once in a while ill stop two of the mirrors from spinning so that i just have the Vortex illusion.

My laser sits on the ground, and the low lying fog gets to that area.

Your set up looks great.

How powerful is the laser (looks killer)? Any line-of-sight issues with TOT's eyes?

I've really liked this effect for a long time but I've not been sure how to use it.

Do you guys have people walk near it? Is it just on the side lines?
I have a haunted house and I am trying to figure out where to put this.... Just as something that they walk near to look at, or walk thru it? How much room do I need?
Do they need to walk toward the light or how does it look if your walking away?

The hoses that you need to use is black plastic sump pump hoses. You can get a lot of it for fairly cheap. I have hundreds of feet of it for my displays. You use pvc Y splits to get your smoke to your other displays. If you are getting too much fog at 1 display and not enough at another, then put a small strip of duck tape on the exit of the hose. Just run the hose where you want it.

Originally Posted by Lynn

Do they need to walk toward the light or how does it look if your walking away?

I think it looks better when you "Walk into the light......."

Is it ok if they look right at the light then?

They wouldnt be able to walk toward the light for long though because the person ahead would block the light from showing for the people in the back of the group... hmm.... how could I work this in....

Really love this ... Great job on this!