# Fitco 1000 Watt Mega Fogger



## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Hi folks,

Well, last night we tried to test our new 30 gallon garbage can chiller only to find all three of our foggers were totally clogged. The normal methods to clean them failed. Reluctantly, we had to replace them with the Fitco. Most of the stores in our area sell the low lying nozzle type, which I doubt would have worked with my chiller, which I built with 3" inlets and outlets and about 20 feet of high quality 4" diameter aluminum dryer hose. Anyway, the new fogger worked excellent, but I wasn't happy about paying Party City's outragous price of $59.95 for the fogger, but Halloween USA was even more money. At least I'm back in business and the chiller kicks butt.


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

Well crap. That makes me worry even more about my stupid fx ones. Dangit. Im gunna have to go out and pay MORE money again...UGH


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Last year they clogged a little bit after several years of fairly heavy use. I cleaned them with vinegar and distilled water and eventually unclogged them using my air compressor shooting air into the fluid hose. 

Funny thing is that before storing them last year, I ran the cleaning fluid through them. Makes me wonder if the FX cleaning fluid is what caused all 3 of them to seriously clog this year. Still, considering I purchased them at K-Mart's going out of business sale here in New York some years ago for $9.99 each, I got a wonderful deal since this would have been my 4th year using them.


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## airscapes (Oct 3, 2006)

Um.. $60 for a fog machine is a lot.. you get what you pay for.. I would rather spend $160 for a quality tool that will last for years than waste money on China junk! Sorry but tools is tools and cheap tools are a waste of money! Just my 2 cents worth.. and I am glad you got your fog flowing!


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Hi there AirScapes,

I actually didn't plan on having to purchase anything. But as I stated above, I suddenly found myself without any working foggers at the eleventh hour. If this had been a few months earlier, I would have liked to purchase one of the higher end foggers, but I've always been very turned off by what the fluid costs, not to mention shipping. Seems to me each manufacturer formulates the fluild to work optimally with their fogger and you really pay for that. 

While we are on the subject, all things being equal, can you tell me if say a VEI-V950 or something similar in quality, don't clog like these cheap china made foggers? What sort of useful life are you getting out of the brand fogger you own? The FX units that finally all clogged on me, this would have been the 4th year using them. I'd be pretty ticked off spending $150.00+ on a quality fogger that doesn't perform for years. I am also not comfortable only having one new fogger on hand. I fully intend to purchase at least a second 700-1000 watt fogger for my home haunt. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## Moon Dog (Oct 3, 2006)

Richie, what did you do with the non-working foggers???









Here's a link to a site about cleaning foggers... main thing is that after
cleaning them, run fog juice through them before you store them.

Cleaning Foggers


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## airscapes (Oct 3, 2006)

Richie, first off let me apologize for my previous post. I was having a bad day and went on a rant for no real reason. I sometimes forget that most people don't have unlimted budgets.

Next on the clog issue. Truthfully I don't really think they clog. These are very simple systems much like a pressure washer. You have a resivior of liquid, a high presure pump and an electrical heater that makes the brass nozzle hot.

The only thing that can clog is the nozzle or possibly the screen on the pickup tube.

My beliefe and I say this because I have a unit that failed last year (first fogger a 700 watt china unit) I had had it for 3 years as similar to you, and it would only put out a wee bit of fog and with NO "Blast" as it used to. After complete disassembly and instpection, no clogs could be found. The pump had apparently failed. I have read other post since this happend stating that you should not drain you fogger or run cleaner in it. This is what causes the pump failures. The not draining the unit makes mechanical sense since it would allow seals to dry out over the year.

As far as the higher end units, I have only had mine for a year. It is however sold in music stores to DJs and bands, and is by far more powerfull than anything sold at party stores. Again, I forget not everyone can drive 15 minutes to a Sam Ash store and have to order stuff online. The high end units have better heaters that will maintain a more constat heat so they do not need as much warm up time between bursts.

The other thing about a name brand unit sold to professionals year round is parts availablity. We use our stuff once a year, lighting companies, bands, and DJs use them year round.

Far as what brand to buy, I choose American DJ becasue it was available at Sam Ash and they sold it for the cheapest price I could find online. There was no shipping involved and if I have a problem I can take it back to a person. Is that the best brand out there, no idea but it does put out some fog. 





Note I was using the fitco fog juice when testing the chiller.. going to try some more epensive stuff this year.

Again, I apologize for my previous post.
Doug


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

Richie said:


> Hi there AirScapes,
> While we are on the subject, all things being equal, can you tell me if say a VEI-V950 or something similar in quality, don't clog like these cheap china made foggers? What sort of useful life are you getting out of the brand fogger you own? The FX units that finally all clogged on me, this would have been the 4th year using them. I'd be pretty ticked off spending $150.00+ on a quality fogger that doesn't perform for years. I am also not comfortable only having one new fogger on hand. I fully intend to purchase at least a second 700-1000 watt fogger for my home haunt. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


I've had an MBT 1300W fogger since 1998, and its never clogged on me. I use it, unplug it and put it away with the fluid in it. No problems with it at all. It just works. I added a Chauvet 1700W fogger, and while I've only had it for slightly less than 2 years, same thing. Pull it out, use it, put it away. Now I do try to use better quality fluids in it. I've never run the cheap stuff through any of mine. I started with MBT fluid, and I've switched to Froggy's Fog Fluid now.

The thing to remember is that usually a decent 1000W fogger is going to produce more fog than a cheap 1000W fogger. There are no standards in fog production right now. Everyone uses Watts and CFM in their advertising but there are no standard tests to determine them. You can have 1000W of heating power, and still have a cheap pump feeding your fluid. You can have a cheap nozzle that doesn't disperse the fluid evenly in the machine. You can even have a crummy output nozzle that stifles the output. The wattage is only part of the equation. I agree totally with Airscapes. The "Halloween" foggers only really have to work for one year. They seem to be designed to be disposable. The DJ foggers are built to work every night, all year long. Club owners and DJ's are not going to replace equipment every year. I figure if a fogger is designed to last 6-8 years in a club, it should last me pretty much forever.  Which means I only have to spend the money once. Your mileage my vary.


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Hi there AirScapes,

First off, absolutely no apology necessary for your post and I didn't take what you wrote as denigrating to me in any way. As for the Fitco I purchased, I purchased it reluctantly and only because I needed one quickly. I was just angry at the fact I cleaned and emptied all three of my foggers the previous year, and didn't realize at the time I was actually destroying them. 

I really need to purchase a second fogger, and this time it'll be a high end model, which likely will be either the model you have, an MBT as CountZero recommends, or a VEI-V950. I'm going to try and purchase it this year if possible. I do not trust this Fitco being my only source of fog now that I have a well working chiller. Thanks again for your post.


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## airscapes (Oct 3, 2006)

You know.. I don't even think I mentioned the modle number/name.. the one I bought was the American DJ Fogstorm 1200. Have to dig it out and see if it still work ;-) Wouldn't I feel like a twit if it didn't


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

The Chauvets are nice units as well. I have the 1700W unit and I have no issues with it at all. They have a 1000W and a 1200W unit that should be comparable to the VEI and the MBT and they are pretty easy to find on Ebay as well.  Might want to consider them also. 

Either way, I think you will be happy with a heavier duty unit.

Happy Fogging!


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Anybody know if on the higher end models if manufacturers sell replacement parts? I would imagine only the pump or heater element would cause an issue. A $150.00-$200.00+ unit isn't something I'd want to toss in the trash like I would a low end retail model.


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## arcuhtek (Oct 5, 2007)

I have owned half dozen foggers. Everything from my first Spencers Gifts cheesy cheap fogger that broke in one year....to the following:

Chauvet Hurricane 1700
CITC Fog Max
Anatari Z Ice Series (new)

I LOVE LOVE the Chauvet. I have the wireless remote and its awesome. BUT....BUT it does not have a "continuous" function and I believe the medium output, yet continuous output is far superior to a 20 second volcanic blast....if you want to use it outside and have creepy fog (dont forget to hook it up to a fog chiller). It has never clogged. It does require a 5 min reheat after a full 30 second blast.

I HATE the CITC. It has clogged twice now....each year I have owned it...even though I clean it per mfr. suggestions....after halloween. I do not use it any other time of the year. Customer Service SUCKS...SUCKS...SUCKS!

The Anatari is very cool. I like it...but it has not seen real action yet..its new. It DOES have "continuous" function and a built in ice tray. Will eat 20 lbs of ice in 30 mins.... So dry ice is required in my opinion. This is not a high output unit. It will keep a 20'x20' section of your yard covered non stop.....but it will not cover a large yard like the Chauvet 1700 will. 

Ahhhhh trade offs trade offs.....so I am not shopping for a fourth unit since the CITC is clogged. I am going to try and fix the CITC...but it has me annoyed now.

Oh I forget to mention price......ALL of these units are expensive.....meaning over $250-$300 each.


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## arcuhtek (Oct 5, 2007)

I decided to link you to prices for each one of these machines:

Hurricane 1700: http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/f-1700fogger.html

Anatari Z Ice (hope you are sitting down):
http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/icefogmachine.html

CITC FogMax (hate it):
Funny that the mfr. claims that it is the "only fog machine on the market that never clogs" and yet it clogs every year for me)

Ahh forget it......lets just say the CITC is SUPER expensive.


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## klinius (Oct 14, 2007)

Troubleshooting advice, please?
Ok: I also purchased a FITCO 1000 a year or 2 ago (very newbie, I am) for a basement party. It did OK.
This year, it puts out a small stream of fog, the timer works but there is no "gush" of fog like I remember. I'm running the 50/50 vinegar/distilled water mix now.
--
1. How do I determine if it's clogged or a pump problem?
2. If pump, can I just head to Lowe's and pick up something or is the machine toast?
--
My next machine will be a higher quality (good advice read here!) but if this junk can be band-aided for one more year....

Thank you.


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## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

Hi Klinius,

Here is a link to the best information that others with more experience on this forum have been posting. It's short reading and very informative. See if this works. Please post your results on this thread.

http://www.theatrefx.com/funfacts110.html


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## airscapes (Oct 3, 2006)

This fogger worked well last year for me but the pump is not working this year.  Don't expect this unit to last you for more than one season and you will be fine. If it does, great but don't be suprised if it does not work properly next year.


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