[johnshenry]

First of all, I DID search on fog chillers, there lots of good stuff out there. I want to build one this year, we host a big Halloween party for 50-70 guests. 2 years ago I made a dry ice fog machine out of a metal trash can, 1200 watt heating element, muffing fans etc. We dumped 50 lbs of dry ice into it. Man it worked great, for maybe a minute (it was intended to be a "one time" effect).

This year I want softer, more pervasive permanent fog. I had seen all kinds of plans for ice chest fog chillers. I want to place it on top of an open staircase that leads down into our family room and have the fog drift down the stairs...

I'm looking for "state of the art" chiller plans. I will use this indoors, via remote control, so I don't need a huge volume. I can buy dry ice locally, so it strikes me that a DI cooler might be good.

Anyone built/used one?

Can I use a smaller cooler and get the same effect/life out of it?

How long does DI last in a chiller vs. water ice?

How big of a fog machine do I need? I have a Target-type one now, would buy a hotter one if needed.

Thanks in advance.

JH

 

[DeadTed]

Just my two cents which I've mentioned before:

From my brief research, dry-ice appears to be an inefficient way to achieve low-lying fog. It lasts a short time and costs more than regular ice that does the same thing. I have a small fog machine that I park in front of one of those black ribbed tubes (neighbor was getting rid of). I dump a 10lb bag of ice ($1) into the tube. The ice only lasts the night, but it DOES last the entire night.... the fog travels through the tube (8ft) and sticks to the ground like velcro.

I THINK, just a tube (pvc or this flexible black tube) filled with ice at the top of the stairs would work just fine. I don't have enough experience with dry-ice to know if it's "better" but I can't imagine it's worth the cost and effort.

What I keep seeing is that more watts = less down time for the fog machine. But I don't know how big a fog machine you'd need for this application... sooooo... that is probably no help...

 

[johnshenry]

Oh, so I just happen to have a ROLL of that 4" corrugated black PVC underground drain in the basement. Perfect idea. I was just reading after my first post that "wet" ice is better as it keeps the fog moist, and a longer (not bigger box) of travel for the fog in contact with the ice is best. So your idea sems ideal.

I'd tilt the tube up at one end too and put a drip pan at the low end.

2 questions though: Is the jet from the fog machine sufficient to propel it through an 8 or 10 foot section of tube, or would a muffin fan at the far end be needed?

Also, how do you get all the ice in the tube and kind of evenly distributed without blocking flow? I was thinking like a 1/3 over teh overall height of the tub e layer of ice?

Thanks

JH

 

[DeadTed]

I don't know the wattage of my fogger, but it IS a relatively small one and it works just fine. I used to use 4" PVC pipe until I found this drain pipe. I take the bag of ice, dump it in, and give a couple a shakes to let it run down the tube. Never had a blockage problem.

I suppose if I HAD a fan available, I'd use it, but I wouldn't go out of my way. I used mine on an even surface and besides a being a breezy night last year, I'll be doing it again this year. And it only costs me $1 for ice.

 

[The_Caretaker]

a fan will just stir up the fog like the wind so don't use them (exp). The expansion of the fog is sufficient to push the cool fog out of the pipe