[SML] Ultrasonic low fog machines....

[Dale Farmer]

On 9/7/2024 9:43 AM, Jerry Durand via Stagecraft wrote:
>     I've run dryer hose to a cardboard box taped to a fan blowing
>     through a surplus air conditioner coil. Then back into another
>     cardboard box and another drier hose to where it needed to vent.
> 
>     Salted ice water was pumped through the coils from/to an ice chest.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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That kicks off a thought for low budget fog chillers.    Those chest 
freezers have become far more popular in the last few years such that 
anyplace selling kitchen appliances will have them.     Pick up a 
scratch and dent from a dealer, possibly even a donation, or find a used 
one cheap.   This would freeze up quite a large amount of ice to be 
available for chilling the fog, and leaving it plugged in would refreeze 
any melted water for the next performance.  No need to fetch ice or dry 
ice daily.

   For a borrowed one, lift up the cover and lay a sheet of plywood in 
place.   Fill the inside with bottled water.  Fill the bottom, lay in a 
sheet of plywood with a dryer hose to take the chilled fog from the 
bottom layer.  fill in the next layer with bottled water, another layer 
of plywood. Drill large hole for fog to travel down through the plywood 
layers, in opposite corners.  repeat until full, and pump the warm fog 
in from the top.   this should provide enough reserve of coolth to pump 
large volumes of fog through a long performance.  It will take a little 
while from starting the fogger to get the cold fog out, so test your 
timing.

   Don't try making holes in the sides of the chest freezers, as there 
are refrigerant lines in the walls.  Only the lid is free of them, and 
might also carry wires if there are lights inside.    Also, the 
compressors in these things are typically sized to keep things already 
frozen, so that initial freezing of the bottled water may take a couple 
days.   As a bonus, you will have plenty of frozen water for cool drinks 
during strike.   You will want to empty it out between runs and clean 
it, as fog juice residue will accumulate.  If you are touring with it, 
the top layer of bottled water will have melted some while in transit, 
providing ready source of cold water during load in.

If anyone tries this, let us know how it worked out.
Dale