# dry ice or fogger for cauldron?



## dudeamis (Oct 16, 2011)

For those of you that haven't seen my cauldron WIP, my cauldron is about 28" wide and 22" tall and is held about 4" off the ground by its legs. I plan on putting a net across the inside to hold candy and run either a fogger with chiller or a small bucket with dry ice. Which option do you think would be best for this? The net will be put on hooks along the sides for easy removal.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I think each method will have some pros/cons. It's hard to say which you prefer without knowing more about the setup..a few items I can think of:

Fogger 
Pros:
- compact source of dense fog
- can likely go all night without 'tending'
- relatively cheap - assuming you have the fogger, you're just out a few cents for electricity and fog juice.
- you only have to fog when needed...no kiddies for 20 minutes means you don't HAVE to turn on the fog, saving some juice.

Cons:
- Will make a 'hissing sound' - you'd definitely know it's a fogger unless some other soundtrack is loud
- as you say,fog will rise like smoke which may not look 'cauldron' like unless you add a chiller, which may be another issue in limited space, and it may require tending of it's ice, which negates one of the pros above

Dry ice:
Pros:
- will make a dense 'sinking' fog typically associated with cauldrons
- relatively quite, you might hear some bubbling/boiling, but that is what cauldrons sound like anyway

Cons:
- Fairly expensive with dry ice running a couple bucks a pound, you could easily go through several pounds per hour for heavy fog
- Needs 'tending' - for the best effect, you need to change out cold water and add warm water (or have some small heater to keep the water warm) and add dry ice periodically.
- Will fog relatively continuously once started...unless you snatch the dry ice out of the water, put it in a cooler, then drop it back in when needed. May waste dry ice if no one is around.

I've been known to chuck dry ice in a punch bowl for effect, but I think in this instance I might tend toward the fogger, especially if you have some way to incorporate the chiller effectively. Seems like that MIGHT be a bit easier to deal with once set-up vs the dry ice. If there is one thing I hate, it's running around tending props during a party/TOT night - though I always seem to do it to some extent....things which work fine for the previous 20 days will always 'give up the ghost' on Halloween night!

PS - one other possibility you might consider is an ultrasonic fogger. These make a decent effect in very small spaces, like a cauldron, but run continuously and use nothing but water to make the fog.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

I agree with Corey.
Before I made fog chillers I used to use dry ice which is still my favorite type of fog. I placed a small black crockpot inside of a larger black plastic cauldron to keep the water warm/hot. Started off by adding boiling water. The effect is fantastic but high maintenance. I would not hesitate to use it again near my front door. 

Problem is that a small scoop of dry ice pellets will produce fog for only a few minutes but it hangs for a bit. It also made the floor a little wet after a while. That might moisten the candy wrappers if it is to be used for a candy bowl.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

The major issue I can see with the use of an ultrasonic mister is that it doesn't leave the TOTs an area they can reach into without getting wet, or possibly damaging the mister.
They put out a nice mist, but it's not very dense and won't cover an area much larger than it's own dish.
Dry ice is a cool effect, but expensive to maintain, and can be dangerous for those that may touch it directly.
A fogger would work fine eith a fog cooler hooked in line, but that means you end up cutting a hole in your cauldron to pipe in the fog or you use a hose or some other prop, maybe through a "paddle" that a witch or wizard is stirring the pot with, and have the paddle made from PVC pipe so that the fog can run into the cauldron through it.


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## rbrittigan (Sep 8, 2008)

I used a fogger, and attach a hose near the bottom of the cauldron on the side away from the TOTs, hose distance can be up to ~10 feet away or so (semi-negating the hiss), and by the time it 'flows' through it kind of seeps up to the top. I use a barbecue grate to keep the candy up off the bottom / away from the hose, and LEDs inside under the grate for additional 'glow'. Betting a bit of beef netting strecthed under the grate might even conceal the lighting / look like coals and yet still let the fog seep up... *runs off to try it*


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