Fogger for "Dancing In The Clouds"

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I would be careful with conduits (pvc, metal, etc) in an on-grade slab - this is considered a wet location.
 
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I have worked with dry ice on a number of Halloween events in the past, and at my house.

My recommendation is to BRING, AND WEAR GLOVES. You don't want to accidentally get any of the dry ice on your skin.

Secondly,

I have done the Dry Ice Effect before without a Dry Ice Machine. The Effect is not as WOW Factor as using a Numbus or Nimbus Jr. BUT It works.

I used Dry Ice in a Low Lying Fog machine. I used ADJ Mr KOOL Low Lyiging Fog Juice. It has a nice spread on the dance floor, but not even 1/3 the effect of what the Nimbus would accomplish.

...Just a suggestion for another way of being able to create a low lying fog dancing on the clouds effect.


...Also, yes, my suggestion does use fog juice, so it wouldn't be permitted in this venue. But for other venues, or for an outside Halloween type gig it can work.
 
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It doesn’t have a blower motor.... it would work I suppose but I can’t see it coming out in nice big clouds of smoke that are 2 ft off the ground. I’d see it coming out and filling a dance floor but just creating a low layer of smoke and nothing more.

Bummer. Without a blower, I'm really surprised by home much fog it's putting out in your photos. That's impressive.
 
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Bummer. Without a blower, I'm really surprised by home much fog it's putting out in your photos. That's impressive.
It’s only impressive because we keep dropping in about 5lbs if ice every 20-30 seconds to get bursts that are a couple of feet high to give the clouds a more impressive look. Otherwise they’d remain low and flat and not as impressive looking after about 30 seconds.
 
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If you were going to design a perm install for the cloud effect, would you shoot fog from the 4 corners of the dance floor? When I build, I've been thinking to run 1.5" pvc, poured into the floor concrete and have them come up at each corner of the dance floor. It normally could be capped but, just before 1st dance, have an assistant go around and put 90 degree elbows in each outlet. Does the nimbus have a blower motor to push the effect and, if so, do you think it would have enough pressure to support a quad outlet like this?

This certainly won't be a permanent install, however, the one from the rental house came with a hose and pipe clamp. After they gave me the rundown of how to use it, the recommendation was to hide the machine and run the hose out to where I need fog. This rental house normally deals with theatrical effects, however they were recommended to me by another dj company who has used them.

Looking at the machine, it sure is primitive - just a heating element + water + a basket. Seems as though you could do near the same thing by overturning a bucket with a hole in it on top of a deep fryer or burner and pot filled with water and submerging a basket. I don;t know how the companies get off charging 1k+ to buy these things. Oh well.

This certainly got me thinking though, if that's all there is to these machines, and I could find a few cheap knock off brand units (that are safe) - it would be interesting to tinker and attempt to make some sort of autofeed or feed with a remote activation then place the units symmetrically around the dancefloor... Maybe someday if I ever come across some freetime...
 
This certainly won't be a permanent install, however, the one from the rental house came with a hose and pipe clamp. After they gave me the rundown of how to use it, the recommendation was to hide the machine and run the hose out to where I need fog. This rental house normally deals with theatrical effects, however they were recommended to me by another dj company who has used them.

Looking at the machine, it sure is primitive - just a heating element + water + a basket. Seems as though you could do near the same thing by overturning a bucket with a hole in it on top of a deep fryer or burner and pot filled with water and submerging a basket. I don;t know how the companies get off charging 1k+ to buy these things. Oh well.

This certainly got me thinking though, if that's all there is to these machines, and I could find a few cheap knock off brand units (that are safe) - it would be interesting to tinker and attempt to make some sort of autofeed or feed with a remote activation then place the units symmetrically around the dancefloor... Maybe someday if I ever come across some freetime...
Yes essentially that is what the nimbus is as well. However, I think the design of the nimbus nozzle gets a better visual output, as it balsts it at a higher starting point. As I said, from a photo perspective and in person perspective, the effect actually looks good when the smoke is high. When it's low and only rises a few inches off the ground it doesn't have that same dramatic feel and effect.
 
I know the pictures may seem nice, but I think people give up a lot for that shot.

In real time, it's a huge distraction and rather tacky to have a DJ and his assistant rolling these around the couple as they dance. It may sound harsh but the visual is that of a rodeo or pig race at the county fair.

I won't do this effect for people unless I can mask the entire effect behind decor or some other theatrical barrier. When it appears from seemingly no where - its a cloud. When there's a man running back and forth with a roller cart it's a sideshow. Very few people would pay what it tales to do this well. But, hey - I never liked chocolate fountains either. :)
 
I know the pictures may seem nice, but I think people give up a lot for that shot.

In real time, it's a huge distraction and rather tacky to have a DJ and his assistant rolling these around the couple as they dance. It may sound harsh but the visual is that of a rodeo or pig race at the county fair.

I won't do this effect for people unless I can mask the entire effect behind decor or some other theatrical barrier. When it appears from seemingly no where - its a cloud. When there's a man running back and forth with a roller cart it's a sideshow. Very few people would pay what it tales to do this well. But, hey - I never liked chocolate fountains either. :)
I've found that most people are paying for the photo/video op. I go to the wedding and the photographers and videographers are asking me what and how I;m doing this because the bride showed them photos of what they want. It is definitely a distraction though. But at the same time, it's still something done infrequently enough where it impresses people. One thing we do differently... We actually do a test run with 1-2lbs of ice prior to the reception's start to see where the air is blowing and wheres a good effective spot to have our nimbus... so that once the first dance starts, we are not rolling it around. We stay in one spot and turn the machine from left to right slowly to fill up the floor. At $400-$500 as an add-on with a $50 material cost, It is definitely a profitable decision from a business stand point.
 
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Was able to get into the hall tonight. Picked up 10 lbs of dry ice and brought it with me. Test run pictured below - it appears I will have to unplug the unit and move it around for the best effect. Don't mind the mess, I hadn't put up my facade, cleaned up the wires or brought in the actual speakers that will be used at this event (I have another event tomorrow I need my "good" speakers for so I just hooked up a backup pair and left it to have everything up and running).IMG_20181025_1949517.jpg
 
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Was able to get into the hall tonight. Picked up 10 lbs of dry ice and brought it with me. Test run pictured below - it appears I will have to unplug the unit and move it around for the best effect. Don't mind the mess, I hadn't put up my facade, cleaned up the wires or brought in the actual speakers that will be used at this event (I have another event tomorrow I need my "good" speakers for so I just hooked up a backup pair and left it to have everything up and running).View attachment 35461
For 10pbs of ice you should’ve gotten a way better effect than that. I don’t think that’s what any client would have in mind. It’s barely an inch or two above the ground. What form of dry ice did you buy? Pellets or blocks?
 
For 10pbs of ice you should’ve gotten a way better effect than that. I don’t think that’s what any client would have in mind. It’s barely an inch or two above the ground. What form of dry ice did you buy? Pellets or blocks?
Pellets - I probably fed it in about a third of the bag at a time - perhaps I need to dump more in. I could not see basket the moment ice made contact.
 
No video - however, it was rising a little higher until I unplugged the unit and moved it. It also could be that I was only feeding in a little at a time. Perhaps I need to dump all in at once for full effect?
 
No video - however, it was rising a little higher until I unplugged the unit and moved it. It also could be that I was only feeding in a little at a time. Perhaps I need to dump all in at once for full effect?
YES! When doing this you have to have that entire basket full of ice before lowering it into the water. And continue to feed it throughout the first dance with about another few lbs every so often to keep the effect from becoming flat like that. That initial blast is crucial for the effect to look right.
 
After I started adding the Pellets I couldn't see how full the basket was any longer since the fog was so heavy out of the top. I put probably 3 to 4 lbs in lowered it half way then plunged it down all the way a minute or two later.
 
I dont know how your machine works, but on the nimbus the water should be filled to the point where it is just short of touching the basket. I'm not sure either how you're filling your basket with ice, but we have two of those plastic 1 gallon water pitchers that we fill up with ice ready to go, so rather than filling it a little at a time by a scooper or by hand, we have two pitchers full of ice that we drop right into the basket, and then close the lid and lower the basket ALL THE WAY so all the smoke comes out the front in a large thick plume of smoke. We then refill the pitchers as the smoke is blowing out, by the time we have both pitchers refilled, we're ready to drop more ice in and continue the effect so that it never gets weak or flat in the way that your picture shows.
 
Alright so if I understand you correctly, if I feed more in quicker I should get a better blast and ultimately better cloud. Is there anything else I should consider? Raising the unit? Angling the unit etc.?
 
Alright so if I understand you correctly, if I feed more in quicker I should get a better blast and ultimately better cloud. Is there anything else I should consider? Raising the unit? Angling the unit etc.?
We've never adjusted the unit, other than maker sure its working with the a/c and how its blowing and not against it. We drop as much as we can so that we fill up the floor fast and high, and then continue to refill it. A little bit of a time doesnt create enough smoke or pressure to create an impressive effect. For your first time, I suggest buying more ice than necessary and maybe doing another practice run. Make sure to get great photos and videos. When taking photos and video have ur camera around 1-2ft off the gound.