# fog machine and chiller



## sickNtwisted (Sep 29, 2010)

Hey Everyone!

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good fog machine and chiller. I live in Arizona and it's still pretty warm here on Halloween so I need something that will stay cold in this environment. I'd prefer to make the chiller myself out of a cooler I own.

FYI - It's for my driveway.


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## azscoob (Oct 6, 2010)

My chiller is simply a good sized cooler with some pvc couplers, I put mesh over the tubes going in and out of the cooler, when filled the mesh keeps the ice in place, and I simply place the fog machine on top of the cooler and the smoke is routed through elbows down into the cooler side, I can take pics when I get home if you are interested.


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## sickNtwisted (Sep 29, 2010)

Yes, please!


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

Do a search on the forum there are gobs of good examples and instructions. Foggers are tough cause it depends on your budget and preference. I use the cheap ones (if there is such a thing) and have not had to replace one in 6 years.


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## Coralius (Sep 26, 2010)

azscoob said:


> My chiller is simply a good sized cooler with some pvc couplers, I put mesh over the tubes going in and out of the cooler, when filled the mesh keeps the ice in place, and I simply place the fog machine on top of the cooler and the smoke is routed through elbows down into the cooler side, I can take pics when I get home if you are interested.


My chiller has a similar design. The only thing to keep in mind is how far away you put the output nozzle of the fog machine from the inlet of your chiller. If you put it too close, it might blow back out instead of routing through the PVC. Just tinker with it a bit before Halloween night.

Also, consider using dry ice inside chiller. It does seem to make a difference.

Interesting side note: The first time we used our fog machine, one of our neighbors almost called the fire department because she thought the house was on fire. That's the day I decided to make a chiller.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You might like to check out Niblique's thread on making a fog chiller from scratch here:

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

Many of the design elements work very well for a chiller made from a cooler.


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

I'm down in Tucson, and I use a "Ice Cube" chiller built using the "reverse-vortex" design as discussed here on the site in the monster chiller thread. (The "Ice Cube" is one of the square style coolers with wheels.) I've never needed to use Dry Ice, and in testing a few weeks back I was seeing a temperature drop of 75 degrees using just regular household ice. (The fog was exiting the Fog machine at 130 degrees, and exiting the chiller at 55 degrees.) I generally use between 30 and 40 pounds of ice, and I've used several different fog machines ranging from a $20 400w fogger all the way up to a 1600W continuous fogger. (Obviously a small fogger isn't going to give you super huge output) I'd recommend getting some GOOD fog juice to use with whatever fogger you get though. That seems to be more important than the fogger itself. Cheap fluid doesn't really last well, even through a chiller.

I have some photos up that I took way back in 2006 when we were first playing with chiller designs. I'm still using the same chiller design with regular ice.



















Hope that helps!


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## Coralius (Sep 26, 2010)

I really like the trash bag outlet. That is awesome. And the temp drop is cool too. Looks like it's time to tinker with my chiller setup.


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