Water Crackers?

[niclights]

Anyone ever used one, or even seen one? After many years doubting myself as to their existance I finally found an old Jem catalogue and there it is. Water (based) + compressor. I have only ever experienced the effect once but it was awesome & have ever since wanted to know how to get one!

 

Oil has too many problems associated with it and vapourised water/glycol just doesn't come close, especially with 'delicate' shows.

 

Google will tell you everything you need to know about how to make & eat them :unsure: or points you to many theatrical glossaries which confirm the mythical beasts.

Anyone know why they don't appear to be being manufactured or used? Or even better tell me I am wrong about this! Perhaps someone out there has one of these Jem machines at the back of their warehouse?

 

Ta!

[ankersandrew]

yes they were real, you didnt dream it, I used one once early 90's never seen them since, I didnt like it that much as the haze didnt last as long also if used alot dancers used to complain about the stage being slippy, dont know if it was cause you know what they are like

 

 

:unsure: Needless repeat of entire previous post removed. ;)

[PDD]

I'm no expert, but you might be referring to the Jem(?) Hydrosonic machine - I saw one about 8 years ago I think, but I remember reading somewhere that they had been discontinued due to various problems. I do remember being impressed by the idea of it.

[niclights]

Thanks for the reassurance Andrew! Interesting to hear it might have made the stage slippy, but I'm also wondering whether this was imaginary :unsure: Somehow I think oil crackers would produce a much worse situation!

 

@PDD: Tnx, but not the Hydrosonic - I should have made that clear before. I did at first think this was the machine I had seen in effect (so to speak), but having seen the unit I realised that it was not the big black square box I was thinking of. The hydrosonic worked on transducers (essentially a humidifier) which proved a little unreliable, although strangely only once Martin took over production.... I do agree is also a very interesting effect and similarly I would love to try one out.

 

If I get a chance I will scan the info from the catalogue.

[lonfire]

@PDD: Tnx, but not the Hydrosonic - I should have made that clear before. I did at first think this was the machine I had seen in effect (so to speak), but having seen the unit I realised that it was not the big black square box I was thinking of. The hydrosonic worked on transducers (essentially a humidifier) which proved a little unreliable, although strangely only once Martin took over production.... I do agree is also a very interesting effect and similarly I would love to try one out.

 

I know you said the martin hydrosonic isn't what your looking for, but theres one on ebay at the moment:

Ebay

 

rgds

chris

[Robfl20]

Interesting to hear it might have made the stage slippy...

 

I actually have had the pleasure(?) of using one of these things.

I have a recollection that they used a mixture of water & Glycol, one of the 'side effects' was a slippery residue after prolonged use. Our dancers where constantly complaining about it!!

 

They have been discontinued now for many, many years, but you probably already guessed that!

 

Rob

[sparrow]

I saw the machine I think you mean a couple of times in the mid-nineties. The machine I saw consisted of a small (8-10in diameter) pot with a metal block inside it. Coupled to it was a full sized trailer mounted compressor (the kind you see on road works) the output from this device was enough to haze the whole of the exhibition hall at the Bath and West showground. I think the principal it used was very similar to the Jem Hydrosonic, high pressure microbore jets (or in the case of the Jem ultrasound), producing ultra hot microcavities in the liquid, A quantum physicist friend of mine once tried to explain it to me. apparrently its the same effect that causes damage to submarine propellers and that may be the big drawback to the water crackers, they may have high maintenance costs.

If I find out any more information I'll update. If anybody else has any info I'd love to hear, I'm intrigued. :(

[Glyn Edwards]

I've still got a Hydrosonic stashed at the back of our stores if anyone is interested in it... Also the fluid to go with it.

 

Glyn

[dbuckley]

I have a recollection that they used a mixture of water & Glycol, one of the 'side effects' was a slippery residue after prolonged use.

I jumped off the stage at the Cheery Tree in Runcorn some decades ago, only to land where the cracker discharged.

 

I did indeed land on my arse due to the slippyness of the floor...

[swampman]

The Chinese water fountains have em to make a wee little fog for one to play with in some garden ware shops! (At least they do in Spain!)

And I think Gardena (a German make) has the unit incorporated into one of the top range fountain/LED/fog units - even comes with remote control.

Seems to be produced by ultrasonic cavitation, as mentioned before NOT good thing in a water pump.

[gornax]

well I'm in Bamako but I just found a water cracker 12000 JEM with a kind of manual They are saying

you must select the right fluid :

1 the Aqua haze (regular) for venues with an ambient temperature up to 25º

2 Aqua haze (high temperature) for venues with an ambient temperature in excess of 25º

Caution DO NOT USE Aqua haze (HT) fluid in venues with an ambient temperature less than 25º as this may result in a build up of condensation deposits on fixture and fitting.

Aqua haze regular may be used in temperature over 25º however the effect may be found to disperse too rapidly.

 

if anyone is interrested with the full manual drop me a mail and I send you the scan

anyway I'm gonna try to make it work with what I'll find ( fluid side)

G

[csg]

I too remember using the hydrosonic machine from Jem - hired from mushroom lighting in northampton if my memory is correct. perhaps around 2001 I think.

 

It was noisy, and seemed to just about haze a small orbit stage outdoors for a classical prom, so its the last time I considered it.

 

Niclights - at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, if you want dry ( and I do mean totally dry and residue free) oil based haze that is not cracked and hangs better than anything else, then you have 2 options -

 

1) MGC Atmosphere

2) Concept / pea soup Phantom

[niclights]

Posted over 5 years ago...

[bigclive]

There is a water based fog effect which involves squirting water at extremely high pressure through nozzles that produce 10 micron droplets, but as others have mentioned it does leave a lot of precipitation. MEE Fog supply this effect to theme parks.

 

MEE Fog special effects.

 

If you get a common ultrasonic humidifier out of Argos and add a small quantity of glycerine (Boots sell it) to the water, it produces a surprisingly good haze on a continuous basis. Nice visual effect of the mist streaming out the nozzle too.

[tommulliner]

There is a water based fog effect which involves squirting water at extremely high pressure through nozzles that produce 10 micron droplets, but as others have mentioned it does leave a lot of precipitation. MEE Fog supply this effect to theme parks.

 

 

 

 

If you get a common ultrasonic humidifier out of Argos and add a small quantity of glycerine (Boots sell it) to the water, it produces a surprisingly good haze on a continuous basis.

 

Surely anything that produces a damp environment is unsuitable for use in a theatre with electrics, expensive equipment, cloth and health and safety to be taken into account?