# I have questions about buying and using my first fogger



## flyonglideslope (Sep 20, 2016)

Could you please help me? I'm about to buy my first fogger, and do want to "get it right" for a successful first Halloween that is upon us. 

I want to have a graveyard scene in my yard with low lying fog. I will use Froggy's. I will make a good chiller. I've seen photos and videos so I know that it will not be a problem to make a good one the firs time around. I do understand that wind and outside air temperature variables will affect my display.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible for me to have continuous fog for about 5 hours on Halloween night? Can that be accomplished with the machines going on and off. 

2. How do the timers work? Are they different than a typical "home away lamp timer?"

3. I live in a suburban track house. So I have a short, 30 foot long sidewalk that goes from my driveway up to my front porch. My graveyard will be small to medium in size. I have about $400 could spend on the fogger setup. Would it be better to buy 3 or four low wattage units or 1 or 2 higher wattage units?

4. In a large cooler chiller (not purchased yet, so exact size not known.. but of the larger variety), How many pounds of ice would I need for a typical 400, 700, and 1000w units? Again, this is for 5 hours running time, on a 40 degree night. I don't mind adding ice every half hour, if needed, but I don't want to go to the store to buy it. I would put the stocked ice in other coolers. I don't mind having an extra 30 pounds or so left over, unused. How much dry ice, if any?

5. If it is 40F outside, how high will the fog go before dissapating on a calm night? Do I need to be concerned about childern not finding the front door?

Thank you for helping me make this a perfect first Halloween display! I'm so excited.


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## flyonglideslope (Sep 20, 2016)

Also: How much Froggy's juice should I buy? I don't want to run out, and wouldn't mind having $50 worth of juice left over to use the next year. I wouldn't want $150 left over.....
Thanks!


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Hello Fly, and welcome to the forum.

I will try to answer the best I can. These are my opinions but here goes.

Buy one nicer machine not 3 or 4 smaller ones. I have two american DJ 1200 fog storms. They are pretty nice and not too expensive. My next machine will move up to a 1700watt unit as I want a bit more power. For your area you described one machine should do the trick. I added a 20 foot piece of black drain tile you get at home depot and put an inline duct fan in it to push the air through the holes I drilled (3/4) inch, Duct taped the end closed so it would go out the holes evenly, and it puts fog all along a path. You can try that if you want even fog throughout.

You said you were using Froggys. Use the freezin fog for the effect you want. 5 hours of run time should be about 2 gallons of fog with a bit left over unless you have it non stop. I would suggest you set the fog time to throw out fog for 15 seconds then have 20 seconds of down time and back again. Most timers will allow you to do this.

What you need to realize is unless you buy a 1000 dollar unit it is intermittent. The machine has heat cycles where it won't fire. Most of the time that is minimal unless you throw it on continuous and then it will be down for several minutes every 2 minutes of fog or so. My machine on a timer works well and hardly has any down time.

As far as ice, plan to replace it fully once over 5 hours if you have a good size chiller. I ran a machine in a parade for 1.5 hours with 30 pounds of ice and I still have 15 pounds left at the end. And this was in 80 degree weather. So you need ice to fill and ice to fill again, depending on the size of your chiller. Mine is the cube cooler which holds 30 pounds. If your chiller only holds 10 pounds you will need to replace it way more often.

Froggys freezin fog will last a long time in 40 degree weather but it should stay low. You will need to adjust the time accordingly for wind and hang time of the fog. You can easily bury your home with fog, especially froggys.

The timers work in conjunction with the machine allowing the heater to kick on when needed and to start right up again when the heat has reached temperature. It is not the same as the home timers. You need one specifically for your machine.

Here are my suggestions.

Fog machine: https://smile.amazon.com/American-F...d=1474377160&sr=8-2&keywords=american+dj+1200

fog timer: https://smile.amazon.com/American-F...g_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FFTXD33F6GGGQXCV02EM

fog: https://smile.amazon.com/Freezin-Fo...7_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3NXMEKT24RZ1PYVFWH3Q

Duct fan optional: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncourt-Inductor-4-in-Corded-In-Line-Duct-Fan-DB204C/206584727

Drain tile optional: http://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-10-ft-Corex-Drain-Pipe-Perforated-4040010/100211970


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Here is the step up machine from American DJ. It has an included wireless remote. So this may be a much better option for you.

https://smile.amazon.com/ADJ-Products-VF1600-1500-Watt-Machine/dp/B00MLARIDY/ref=dp_ob_title_ce


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## flyonglideslope (Sep 20, 2016)

Thanks for the help. And I like the family friendly nature of haunt of the falls. Cool.


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## Saruman of Many Colours (Sep 11, 2010)

Haunted Spider said:


> Hello Fly, and welcome to the forum.
> 
> I will try to answer the best I can. These are my opinions but here goes.
> 
> ...


A very informative and thorough post. Thanks for sharing your fogger expertise. I too hope finally to use a decent fogger this year, weather permitting. (Had tried a cheap Party City 400w unit 2 years ago, but it died within minutes of turning it on that Halloween night.)


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Glad it helped. Look at the fogger I posted in the second reply as it has the extra timer remote with it an packs more power for about the same cost as the cheaper unit and timer remote. Good luck.


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