Fogger for "Dancing In The Clouds"

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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

OK...So what this pic depicts is about equal to what I was able to accomplish wih dry ice, and using a 400 watt low lying fog machine. The difference is really with how much output the Nimbus has, and the fact that the Nimbus tube is much higher off the ground than a low lying fog machine. I have seen the Nimbus in action, and this looks especially low. Definitely poor more dry ice into it
 
OK...So what this pic depicts is about equal to what I was able to accomplish wih dry ice, and using a 400 watt low lying fog machine. The difference is really with how much output the Nimbus has, and the fact that the Nimbus tube is much higher off the ground than a low lying fog machine. I have seen the Nimbus in action, and this looks especially low. Definitely poor more dry ice into it
He didn't have the basket full of ice... therefore got no pressure and minimal output creating a very thin layer of cloud on the floor.
 
These things don't always work well. If the heating elements are weak - the water freezes around your CO2 pellets and encapsulates them like M&M's. At that point the dry ice is no longer effective at producing fog and your water will have cooled off too quickly.
 
In retrospect the cloud effect worked...(not as well as I had hoped), but the client was very happy with it so it was successful. The end result was "poofier" than my initial test.

The model of the machine was called a "Dry Icer" - looks a lot like a Nimbus but is catered to a theatrical crowd and not mobile Djs. The Dry Icer has only one heating element, so it does take a little longer than the Nimbus. It also came with a hose (which I did not use), but in retrospect, probably should have.

I did have one major issue with the Dry Icer - not sure if the Chauvet models are prone to the same thing.

As soon as the reception started, I plugged in the unit to begin heating the water. When it came time for the first dance I unlatched the top (it is a panel that latches down - no hinges or anything) - and dry ice was added to the basket (about one pitcher). This immediately let out a geyser of fog through the top hitting me directly (which did not happen during any of my tests). Choking on CO2, I had to power through and lower the basket where I couldn''t see anything - it got a little scary for a minute or two. Lowering the basket diverted some of the smoke out the front, yet I still had to find and replace the top panel and "latch"" the top panel back down. Unless I am missing something - seems like either a poor design or an oversight on my part (not accounting for what extra steam from the additional heating time might do). Needless to say, I had to be extremely careful for the rest of the loads making sure to keep one hand on the removable panel and the other on my pitcher. It was less of an issue as the water cooled down. The Dry Icer took over 50 lbs of Dry Ice for the first dance. Once I hit the 60lb mark, it wasn't really sublimating anymore.
 
In retrospect the cloud effect worked...(not as well as I had hoped), but the client was very happy with it so it was successful. The end result was "poofier" than my initial test.

The model of the machine was called a "Dry Icer" - looks a lot like a Nimbus but is catered to a theatrical crowd and not mobile Djs. The Dry Icer has only one heating element, so it does take a little longer than the Nimbus. It also came with a hose (which I did not use), but in retrospect, probably should have.

I did have one major issue with the Dry Icer - not sure if the Chauvet models are prone to the same thing.

As soon as the reception started, I plugged in the unit to begin heating the water. When it came time for the first dance I unlatched the top (it is a panel that latches down - no hinges or anything) - and dry ice was added to the basket (about one pitcher). This immediately let out a geyser of fog through the top hitting me directly (which did not happen during any of my tests). Choking on CO2, I had to power through and lower the basket where I couldn''t see anything - it got a little scary for a minute or two. Lowering the basket diverted some of the smoke out the front, yet I still had to find and replace the top panel and "latch"" the top panel back down. Unless I am missing something - seems like either a poor design or an oversight on my part (not accounting for what extra steam from the additional heating time might do). Needless to say, I had to be extremely careful for the rest of the loads making sure to keep one hand on the removable panel and the other on my pitcher. It was less of an issue as the water cooled down. The Dry Icer took over 50 lbs of Dry Ice for the first dance. Once I hit the 60lb mark, it wasn't really sublimating anymore.
On the nimbus you fill the water till it is just about to touch the basket in the unlowered position. We dump the 1-2 pitchers of ice and immediately close the top cover (it just simply closed like a lid, which you could screw down, but don't need to)... yes a little bit comes out but not in any sort of in your face kind of way... especially since we haven't lowered the basket yet. We only lower the basket once the nimbus is closed and we're ready to go.
 
Yes but those are not dry ice machines, and the effect is different. It's also moisture based and leaves residue on the floor often. Dry ice doesn't quite have that issue.
I not sure what you mean by the effect is different? When I saw it with my eyes the fog was low and thick, as for residue I can only speak for the one time I watched, it did not leave any residue.
 
I not sure what you mean by the effect is different? When I saw it with my eyes the fog was low and thick, as for residue I can only speak for the one time I watched, it did not leave any residue.
Just the way it comes out from the start is different, let alone that low lying fog is more transparant in appearance. Nimbus produces a more cloud like look with more free flowing characteristics, whereas the low lying fog is more like a flat sheet of smoke. I attached a pic of how the low lying fog comes out and how it looks flat, whereas the nimbus has different appearance.

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The Nimbus works very well for me.
I always put 1 extra inch of the water above the basket - the effect runs longer.
20 pounds of of dry ice is a magic number for me.
Instead of the pitcher use plastic mesh bags. I use 4 for 20 pounds of ice. You can reuse them a lot of times. Pitchers look funny at the wedding.
 
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There is lots of good information on this post about Dry Ice. I also recommend the Chauvet Nimbus but if you want to save a couple of bucks also look at the Le Maitre Pea Souper - Same thing, same reliability but less cost. As for dry ice - the fresher the better - always purchase your dry ice as late as possible and keep it in its container as long as possible. I usually fill the dry ice basket away from the main wedding area as late as possible and then wheel the unit out (slowly so not to disturb the water and start the process) . Topping up is a great idea but my warning around that would be to ensure no spillage of ice or children at the wedding coming near an open pitcher or container. Also I advise using safety gloves made for cold / frozen handling when around dry ice.

I somewhat agree with the idea of the lighting mentioned earlier in that photographers quite often don't like uplighting or lights coming from underneath the cloud. However in saying this we always recommend lighting the fog in some way and a simple led wash can help, whether mounted on a stand or ceiling behind where the photographer stands. We usually find the the best photos have some kind of wash or uplight involved.

If you are interested in the Le Maitre Pea Souper we have a nice video of it in action on our website in the Dry ice machine hire section.
 
The Nimbus works very well for me.
I always put 1 extra inch of the water above the basket - the effect runs longer.
20 pounds of of dry ice is a magic number for me.
Instead of the pitcher use plastic mesh bags. I use 4 for 20 pounds of ice. You can reuse them a lot of times. Pitchers look funny at the wedding.

The bag sounds like a great idea. I have a nimbus knock-off (china) and the only dry ice I can get in this area is blocks. I normally take a hammer to it but that makes it too small for the openings in the metal basket. The mesh bags may be just the ticket. Thanks.