[jscaldwell]

Hey all,

I'm finally pulling the trigger on a new fog machine this year (thinking about a Chauvet 1301) but wanted to see if anyone knows of anything new and/or better that has come out recently which I should consider instead. Thanks.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Well.

I don't know about new and better. Frankly, I'd be wary of Chauvet. I've never had trouble with my other machines, but lost 2 Chauvets in 3 years to bad heating elements.

 

[giantstogie]

I bought a Chauvet last year and love it. I honestly believe that all fog machines are made to fail. I am really pleased how well the chauvet worked. I used Foggies freezing fog and poured it through a paint strainer. I followed all of the instructions to clean it from chauvet. So i hope that all is well. Always have a spare.

 

[FTWingRiders]

I think it all depends on your needs.. I want to fill my haunted woods so I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of Swamp Creeper 3000's.. Haven't received them yet, but look promising..

http://www.halloweenfxprops.com/swamp-creeper-3000-watt-continuous-low-lying-ground-fog-machine/

 

[SpookyDude44]

I bought the Chauvet 1301 in 2015 and it's served us really well. Granted, it only runs on Halloween night, for about 6 hours or so. It gets completely cleaned within a few days after the big night. I've only used Freezin Fog Outdoor Low Lying Ground Fog Juice in it and Fog Machine Cleaner Fluid - Froggys Fully Clean as my cleaner. I'm sure that using quality fluid, keeping it clean, storing it inside the house when not in use, etc. has helped.

The Swamp Creeper 3000 looks amazing!

 

[Kwll2112]

I have a Swamp Creeper 3000 and it is pretty amazing. It's also really expensive. However, where we wanted to use it precluded the use of a DIY chiller, as space was limited. They bill it as a continuous fog machine; I had my doubts, but it does run continuously, which is really cool. The wired remote control gives you the ability to control how much fog comes out, which is needed, otherwise it would be too much fog. You can also set it to timed fog, so it goes off at regular intervals.

We have it in our courtyard, just to the side fo the front door, and it spills out ground fog nicely - so long as the weather cooperates. When the wind is calm and the evening/night isn't too hot, the fog is spectacular. Rolls along the ground, out the courtyard and down through the front lawn, where the cemetery is.

I did have an issue with the pump the second year, but halloweenfxprops sent me a new one and it's been working great. I think the issue is that the cleaning fluid is too acidic or base and gums everything up or dries it out, I'm not sure which. This last time, I left the fog fluid in from the last use. Checked it a month ago and it worked great.

The Swamp Creeper 3000 looks amazing!

 

[jscaldwell]

I have a Swamp Creeper 3000 and it is pretty amazing. It's also really expensive, too. However, where we wanted to use it precluded the use of a DIY chiller, as space was limited. They bill it as a continuous fog machine; I had my doubts, but it does run continuously, which is really cool. The wired remote control gives you the ability to control how much fog comes out, which is needed, otherwise it would be too much fog. You can also set it to timed fog, so it goes off at regular intervals.

We have it in our courtyard, just to the side fo the front door, and it spills out ground fog nicely - so long as the weather cooperates. When the wind is calm and the evening/night isn't too hot, the fog is spectacular. Rolls along the ground, out the courtyard and down through the front lawn, where the cemetery is.

View attachment 557055

I did have an issue with the pump the second year, but halloweenfxprops sent me a new one and it's been working great. I think the issue is that the cleaning fluid is too acidic or base and gums everything up or dries it out, I'm not sure which. This last time, I left the fog fluid in from the last use. Checked it a month ago and it worked great.

Holy cow - that's a serious machine. Wish I could justify spending that much but I can't and our yard isn't that big...

Thanks for sharing though, looks nice.

 

[jscaldwell]

SpookyDude, do you have your Chauvet on a timer? How do you run it (through a chiller, every X minutes, etc.)? Thanks.

 

[SpookyDude44]

SpookyDude, do you have your Chauvet on a timer? How do you run it (through a chiller, every X minutes, etc.)? Thanks.

Yes, it's on a timer 10 min interval with a 20-second duration (the highest setting). We do tweak a little depending on the wind, but that's our standard setup. We do run through a chiller as well. It's your standard ice chest with a cage through the middle for the fog to move through it. Using the Freezin Fog Outdoor Low Lying Ground Fog Juice, in combination with the chiller, keeps the fog low to the ground. I've always used regular ice, this year I'm planning on using dry ice to experiment.

 

[mwalz]

Just bought a new Chauvet Hurricane 1600 and it really pumps out the fog. Had a Chauvet 1300 for quite a few years but I believe my tenancy to not clean it out made the pump go bad. I have 2 American DJ foggers as well and they have been great, one is 6 or 7 years old and works like new.

 

[Ryounglaw]

I have two Chav DJ 1200's - got them for $90isk each. Was not worth the CFM difference go bigger due to price. They have been great last 4 years.

 

[SpookyDude44]

That's great that they replaced the pump! I always remember companies that take care of their customers.

I have a Swamp Creeper 3000 and it is pretty amazing. It's also really expensive. However, where we wanted to use it precluded the use of a DIY chiller, as space was limited. They bill it as a continuous fog machine; I had my doubts, but it does run continuously, which is really cool. The wired remote control gives you the ability to control how much fog comes out, which is needed, otherwise it would be too much fog. You can also set it to timed fog, so it goes off at regular intervals.

We have it in our courtyard, just to the side fo the front door, and it spills out ground fog nicely - so long as the weather cooperates. When the wind is calm and the evening/night isn't too hot, the fog is spectacular. Rolls along the ground, out the courtyard and down through the front lawn, where the cemetery is.

View attachment 557055

I did have an issue with the pump the second year, but halloweenfxprops sent me a new one and it's been working great. I think the issue is that the cleaning fluid is too acidic or base and gums everything up or dries it out, I'm not sure which. This last time, I left the fog fluid in from the last use. Checked it a month ago and it worked great.

 

[scaryflying]

Just bought a new Chauvet Hurricane 1600 and it really pumps out the fog. Had a Chauvet 1300 for quite a few years but I believe my tenancy to not clean it out made the pump go bad. I have 2 American DJ foggers as well and they have been great, one is 6 or 7 years old and works like new.

Do you like the 1600 more than the 1300? Is there a lot of difference between the two?

 

[mwalz]

Do you like the 1600 more than the 1300? Is there a lot of difference between the two?

The only real difference I notice is the thickness of fog. Looks like slightly more fog output but not enough imo to consider an upgrade. I tested with what I had left of Black Label fog juice.

However, what is a really nice feature is the incredibly quick warm up time as well as the machine being able to have very long burst of fog. The 1300 could only go for 30 seconds or so, and then have to cycle somewhat. The 1600 is more efficient which we tend to have windy halloweens, so that is important to me.

Great machine, no complaints thus far but haven't gotten to really but it through its paces. I think It would make a great fog chiller fog machine as well.

Can't wait to put it through some corrugated pipe and see if output remains the same.

 

[annamarykahn]

do not use the cheap fog juice that pretty much everyone sells ... the quality of the cheap juice is extremely poor

froggy's is extremely high quality & it isn't that much more expensive

years ago i wanted a continuous fogger ... did a bunch or research and got an adj fog fury 3000 ... its $300 on amazon ... i didn't do any research for lower prices & I don't remember how much it was when i purchased it ... i just use it on the lowest setting for my laser vortex ... anything higher it produces too much fog ... i tested it on the max setting and it makes too much for my yard ... btw i use perforated corrugated pipe & fine tune its location as the wind changes direction

amk

 

[jmax5105]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the Chauvet 1301 and the 1302 models? Is the 1302 just a new version of the 1301 (and therefore better?) I hear so many good reviews for the 1301 that I'm not sure if I even look at the 1302. Thoughts? I have the 1000 right now and it does an ok job, but I need more fog! lol.

 

[Redsand187]

I have a Swamp Creeper 3000 and it is pretty amazing. It's also really expensive. However, where we wanted to use it precluded the use of a DIY chiller, as space was limited. They bill it as a continuous fog machine; I had my doubts, but it does run continuously, which is really cool. The wired remote control gives you the ability to control how much fog comes out, which is needed, otherwise it would be too much fog. You can also set it to timed fog, so it goes off at regular intervals.

We have it in our courtyard, just to the side fo the front door, and it spills out ground fog nicely - so long as the weather cooperates. When the wind is calm and the evening/night isn't too hot, the fog is spectacular. Rolls along the ground, out the courtyard and down through the front lawn, where the cemetery is.

View attachment 557055

I did have an issue with the pump the second year, but halloweenfxprops sent me a new one and it's been working great. I think the issue is that the cleaning fluid is too acidic or base and gums everything up or dries it out, I'm not sure which. This last time, I left the fog fluid in from the last use. Checked it a month ago and it worked great.

I bought what looks to be the exact same thing from ebay a few years ago for like $250. However, I never really got to use it much. It blew it's internal fuse after about an hour, and I had way too much fog the first year I used it. The second year, it worked 1 night, then stopped. I'm pretty sure the heater is bad. I'll probably tear it apart soon and try to figure out a way to fix it.

I really want ground fog, but it's always so cold here, that I doubt I can really have it. Normally, it's ~40 degrees outside. I don't know that I can chill fog enough to really get it to hug the ground.

 

[jmax5105]

I have the same problem with it being cold on ToT night. I still run the fog chiller and think it helps a little, but I'd love a warm Halloween one of these years just for the ground fog! I am going to see if I can get the fog chiller even colder this year with some ice melt and maybe some dry ice in the bottom and see if it helps.

 

[LouNroxLuv]

So what would be the best bang for my buck in terms of fog machines. I would like to stay under $100. my front yard is small, and a lot of fog just takes over everything, I need a new machine and found a Chauvet hurricane H700 with a black light on amazon for $65.00 but I have not hit the button yet. I have been looking at post here. I just do not need a big one yet.

 

[jmax5105]

I really like the Chauvet DJ foggers, I have a Hurricane 1000 and just ordered a 1302. With that being said, I did purchase a 700 last year and sent it back. It did not produce as much fog as I had hoped / planned, and it didn't have a port where you could plug in a timer. I would go with the Hurricane 1000.... sounds like that will give you plenty of fog for what you need, but not too much. My theory is that if you think you need the 700, get the 1000, if you think you need the 1000, get the 1302, etc. You WILL always want more fog than your unit produces and you can always tone it down with the timer if needed. I've been very happy with my 1000, but like I said... I want more fog now.