# Fog chiller questions



## FUN4ME (May 1, 2012)

I have read most of the threads on fog chillers.
I haven't seen any Vortex (reverse vortex) chillers made from a trash can.
Is it a bad idea? you see, I am cheap and I can get a trash can for under $10.
Any thoughts?
Thanks


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Actually a Trash can is Fine. Although most of my chillers are home built out of thick pink foam, there is absolutely no advantage to using insulated material in a vortex or Reverse Vortex. You are pumping very HOT fog into a chamber, then cooling the fog with Ice from within. The only advantage to using an insulated material is that you might have ice leftover the next day after you shut down your foggers. The other advantage of insulated material is that I have control over the way the lid seals, BUT with some creativity you can get an every day trash can to have a decent seal as well.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Are you looking for something like these?

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=17360&highlight=trash+chiller

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=8686&highlight=trash+chiller

Link from that second one:

http://www.ghostsofhalloween.com/projects/fog_chiller/

BTW, Niblique has a lot of experience with fog chiller designs, so he's a good resource if you have questions.


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

Not sure if you've seen these but check them out -

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=3577

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=21589&page=7

I've built several of the Vortex chillers from the kitty litter buckets and they work great!


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## FUN4ME (May 1, 2012)

Thanks for the links, I had read all but one of those.

@ niblique71 I have read and reread your build nice work
That is why I want to do a reverse vortex chiller.
I am not worried about the amount of ice that melts so I was thinking a trash can would be a quick easy way of making one.
　
@halfstaf, I have a chauvet f1050 that I think would be too much for a smaller chiller.

I have some strange ideas that I will share when I start the project .
Thanks again


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

Last Halloween in found a need for a larger better fog chiller but didn't have time to build one from scratch. A quick trip to the hardware store for a large garbage can some 3 inch PVC and a large round BBQ grate and I was able to put one together in about and hour and a half. It can work as a vortex chiller or reverse vortex depending on witch side I pump the hazer into. With a 1000 watt hazer it produced more fog than all 3 of my Ice chest chillers. I found that all that room creates a nice expansion chamber that makes a real difference. The only problem was getting a proper seal on the lid. That was solved by using a trash bag and some duct tape. As a bonus I found that if I left the lid off the trash bag would inflate like a balloon when the hazer was pumping and then deflate as the haze settled down through the ice. I haven't figured out what to do with this kind of neat side effect but there must be something. If not I can allways just put the lid back on.


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## FUN4ME (May 1, 2012)

R. Lamb said:


> That was solved by using a trash bag and some duct tape. As a bonus I found that if I left the lid off the trash bag would inflate like a balloon when the hazer was pumping and then deflate as the haze settled down through the ice. I haven't figured out what to do with this kind of neat side effect but there must be something. .


that was my strange idea I guess it works
Thanks


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## Horror Roots Productions (Jul 8, 2012)

I'm just curious, since I am constantly told I have the mind of a child by my wife... I'd like to think that's a good thing.... Nothing says I have to actually "mature" as I age!

Anyway, my inquisitive inner child self has been looking at these "vortex fog chillers" which are selling for ridiculous amounts of money, yet claim that they are some how more sophisticated than the homemade ice coolers... so I some how got the misconception that they were freezing, compressing and heating tetrafluoroethane. Which doesn't seem to be the case, it just seems that they are containers filled with ice and fitted with all the nifty little plumbing accessories that I can find at any hardware store. Which would make paying 10x the cost for a container and some fittings, assembled by somebody who can slap a pretty sticker on it, seem... absurd.

Well, possibly they are implementing that technology in their $12,000 unit - which basically (from my limited understanding) would just make it a large air conditioner / freezer, which for money like that i could just buy a walk in freezer fitted with industrial air movers and have my entire neighborhood fogged out...

I guess i'm ranting now. Has anyone purchased fog chillers and compared them to the home made units? If its just ice implemented in these units, I cant imagine there is too much more you can do to it to chill the fog...

I do have an old mini refrigerator that i bought and hid in the garage when my wife had me on a diet and didn't want me drinking beer... i think i will pull that out and see what i can do with that. Maybe I just drill a hole straight in/out and use that as my fogger. Has anyone attempted anything of this sort? I'd sure like to find a way to cool the fog faster and not need to deal with drainage and ice refills, and I do recall those beers tasting oh so satisfyingly frosty and ice cold...

-H.R.P.


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## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

yup, the Cold Fusion is basically just a kitty litter container, some PVC and a screen to hold the ice. No real magic involved. As far as I can tell, the larger units are just scaled up versions of the design to handle more ice and more fog being pushed through it.


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## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

you can find a couple of photos of the innards here: http://creepcrafters.com/Products/Pics/vortex_instruction_manual.jpg


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## FUN4ME (May 1, 2012)

*finished*

OK so it has been a while, thought I should share what I have done.
sorry for the bad cell phone picks
Got a trash can for my B-day in September and got to this stage about 2 weeks later









It stayed in that condition until earlier this week when I added this









Today I made a template for the expanded metal and cut it to fit.




















Hopefully I can get a test in this weekend
Thanks to everyone who has gone before me and shared their experience and knowledge
I couldn't have done it without your help


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

Looks great! Use Froggy's and you won't be sorry.


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