[Diabolik]

I've got 3 foggers right now. 2 of them are just cheap 400 watt no names I picked up locally. They work fine for prop usage, but are useless outside. My workhorse is a Lite F/X 700 watt unit I got from Kmart sevral years ago and has served me well. I use it outside with my chiller and it has never let me down. I'm in the position this year to invest in a new workhorse fogger for my yard. I'm looking to spend somewhere around $150. I'm leaning towards the Chauvet F1250 (and yes, I am aware of the whole wattage debacle) . I am more concerned with reliability and performance. It seemed that before that, nobody had any problems with the Chauvet and that most were satisfied with it's performance. I haven't seen anything else in that range that seemed to be as good of a machine overall for the money.

Does anyone have a good reason why I shouldn't buy the Chauvet besides the fact that they might not be totally honest with their product specifications ? I have read some opinions on here and it goes one of 2 ways, someone either suggests foggers that are much more expensive, or are convinced that cheaper no-name foggers are just as good.

Does anyone know if Chauvet offers any type of support as far as repair parts go for their foggers ?

Thanks,

 

[wonderboy]

I'm curious as to why you want to switch in the first place ? I was taught .. if something works for you , and it works to your expectations , why change ? IMO - if you were happy with the "el cheapo" Kmart brand , why not go with that again? Not sure if I missed why you aren't going to use the old "faithful" you were using , but , hey... if it did what you wanted ... why switch ?
I have a Chauvet and not impressed at all with it . ( for the monies , I think the "el cheapo" ones do just as good as the one I had to give my first born son for )
Although, I am interested in what others have to say .
My feelings are like stereos ... use a cheap pair of speakers , and no matter HOW expensive the stereo/player is/was, those cheap speakers make the stereo seem like crapola in the first degree.
So , what does that mean ? buy some Froggys fog juice and those "el cheapo" foggers do just as good as a Chauvet , if not better !! ( its the juice ... its the juice .... its all in the juice ... - LOL )

 

[Diabolik]

I'm not really looking to "switch" per say. I don't know how much longer my Lite F/X will hold up, I hope for years, but I don't want to be caught without one.

unfortunately, I don't think the Lite F/X's are made anymore or I would buy one in a minute. It seems as all the locally sold units are junk. In weight alone, they are half the machine of my Lite F/X and from what I have seen they will never keep up as a ground fogger.

which model Chauvet do you own ? I have also never used good fog juice. Something else I plan on investing in this year.

 

[wonderboy]

regretfully the 1250 ( or should I say .. the "suppose to be" 1250 )

 

[kprimm]

Not really sure what advice to offer here but here is a site that has tons of different fog machines. May be worthwhile to browse and see what you think.

Fog machine, halloween, smoke machine, mini cheap fog machine, fog machine fluid, fogger

 

[Scatterbrains]

The Juice is important...we had a fog off at our summer gathering and the stuff you get at the Big Box stores just couldn't compete. We found that Theatrical Effects juice was the densest then came froggy's.

We fired a V940 and a V950 side by side at the same time...the 940 was far more impressive because it had the better juice. With the same juice, the 950 kicked it's butt. Think about where you are going to have the fogger...a 950 is overkill in a coffin, but works great in a spook alley when you need a lot of area covered

 

[Terra]

I've only used my Chauvet 1050's once (last Halloween) and loved them. They looked like champs to me. I also used the tiny Chauvet 650 and it worked great in the coffin.

 

[Diabolik]

The Juice is important...we had a fog off at our summer gathering and the stuff you get at the Big Box stores just couldn't compete. We found that Theatrical Effects juice was the densest then came froggy's.

We fired a V940 and a V950 side by side at the same time...the 940 was far more impressive because it had the better juice. With the same juice, the 950 kicked it's butt. Think about where you are going to have the fogger...a 950 is overkill in a coffin, but works great in a spook alley when you need a lot of area covered

What is your overall opinion of the VEI foggers ? Did you have the chance to compare them with any of the Chauvet foggers ? I have read plenty about the Chauvet foggers, but have not seen too much said about the VEI's
I wish there was someplace locally I could see both machines side by side. The VEI seems like a pretty hefty machine at like 23lbs for the V950.

 

[McScreamin]

I have been using a VEI 950 for at least 4 years now with no probems. I cannot say how it compares to the Chavet, but I can say that if my current 950 ever breaks, I will get another. On a calm night with Froggy's juice, it puts out so much fog, I cannot run it continously. It fogs my yard, my neighbors' yards and unfortunately the road in front of my house. It's a little pricey, but I have been very satisfied.

 

[Scatterbrains]

We didn't have a straight up same size fogger by different brand comparison. But I remember how much bigger the 950 is than the 940 when side by side. When you look online, they look like the same machine

Notes from our fog off -

To everyone who brought and/ or participate in the Fog off, thanks and I hope everyone had fun. I believe the all around favorite fog Juice was "Theatre Effects Famous Fog Fluids". Sorry for miss quoting the price it was ROSCO that cost $16.00 for the litter bottle.

The Famous Fog is $9.00 a quart or $90 for a case of 12, One Gallon $25.00 or $90.00 for a case of 4 purchased from their internet site.

http://www.theatrefx.com/store/commerce.cgi?product=fog_fluids<http://www.theatrefx.com/store/commerce.cgi?product=fog_fluids>

ROSCO solution showed well but I'm going to stick with Theatre Effects.

Froggy's Swap Juice also showed well when chilled.

 

[Otaku]

I have a F-1250 that hasn't yet given me any problems. I did get a tip clog once, but a needle fixed that in 2 seconds. Most of the issues I've heard about the 1250 have to do with out-of-box failures; fogger doesn't work, makes lots of noise etc. I once called Chauvet regarding a replacement pump - they get about $90 for it.
As far as fog juice goes, I like the Froggy's Swamp Juice. Wish the shipping wasn't so high, though.
BTW, I have one of those old Lite/FX 700 watt foggers (model 1741), and yeah, it's a workhorse. I broke the pump once but was able to repair it successfully. I see them on Ebay once in a while, but never with the timer remote.

 

[Diabolik]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I've been looking around a bit and it seems as though the Chauvet or the VEI would serve my needs as a ground fogger for my yard. I am also making a point of buying some good juice this year too. I do believe that the juice will make a dramatic difference. Up until now I have always used whatever Big Box store juice I grabbed up locally. Even between brands of that I have noticed a big difference in performance.

Otaku, I am using a wired Timer/Controller I got at Walmart on my Lite F/X and it works great. Can't remember the name, but came in a green box and Walmart has had the same ones the last 3 years.

 

[Otaku]

Otaku, I am using a wired Timer/Controller I got at Walmart on my Lite F/X and it works great. Can't remember the name, but came in a green box and Walmart has had the same ones the last 3 years.

Cool. Is your Lite/FX a model 1741? The original timers for those are very hard to find.

 

[Diabolik]

Cool. Is your Lite/FX a model 1741? The original timers for those are very hard to find.

This is the one I have. It is a 700 watt, not 100% sure of the model number. Will have to go home and dig it out and check.

I think this is the timer I am using here....