Darkness Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi all, I know ducting fog has been covered before but I was unable to find out what materials are used does plastic tubes and conduit do the job or not and how big do they need to be. I've seen people say to leave a gap between the smoke machine and the ducting but how big should the gap be. Also I would like to split the smoke into 2 channels, what is the best way of doing this. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjohno Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Just a thought from someone who has never done this before but what about cheap guttering? As in the one which is like tubing. As you can get all sorts of connectors for it. Like T pieces etc.? Plus you can make it completely sealed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 From what I have read, I have been given the impression of 1-2 inches from the nozzle to the start of the tube and to use the Brown 4 inch dia Waste Water pipe for the actual ducting. For the two channels how about a T Piece for the Pipe. Also try to keep the ducting as short as possible. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Best answer is to consult the manual for the specific machine you have. Many will say that you should use the correct adaptor and to be honest that's always a good start. If you don't have or cannot get such an adaptor then you may have to simply experiment, but take care - the nozzles WILL get hot and burn fingers or melt any plastic pipes you may use. Putting bends or junctions in a pipe can often cause the smoke to condense, leaving liquid residue, so watch that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 ok thanks for that guys, I'll see if I can try it, I did have a look at the manual but couldnt see anything about ducting or an adaptor. Just got to try and get the smoke machine working as it seemed to stop the other day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I've split a single smoke source to two outputs simply with a T-piece of pipe, but a much more elegant (and effective!) solution was built by one of my colleagues, out of one of those plastic storage containers with the clips to hold the lid on, and three fans which were mounted in ducting, which in turn was mounted in holes cut in the side of the container. Run your smoke into the container (through another piece of ducting mounted on the fourth side of the container!), hook up ducting to wherever you want the smoke to go from the fan ducting, and you're away! The fans move the smoke a lot more efficiently and seem to prevent some of the condensation. I'll take a pic next time I'm at work with a camera and post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 That sounds like a good idea. I did wonder if a T piece would bounce a lot of the smoke back up the ducting the smoke was coming into or not. Although on this occasion I dont think there is enough time to build anything like that but maybe for the next event when you have had a chance to get some pics on here I might give it a go, it could come in handy for quite a few events I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 The collapsable hose that is usually supplied for bathroom extractor fans or tumble dryer vents is suitable for lengths. BUT there are no "fittings" so branch pipes have to be cobbled up. Plastic drain pipe has all the fittings you may want and more, but needs fixed routing. There needs to be a gap of a couple of inches between the duct and the smoke nozzle to allow the smoke to form properly. Sometimes a fan is needed to assist the flow, numerous bodges involving computer case fans or radial scroll fans become usefull but if the motor is in the smoke flow allow for a very short life before replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveBeattie Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I have had a lot of success with an air box. A box big enough for the smoke machine to fit into. You use fans in the side of the box to pressurise the system and an open outlet aligned with the smoke outlet of the machine. This provides good air transport of the smoke into an attached pipework without having to pass the smoke through any fans. Hope this helss Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 I would expect the smoke machine would get rather hot if it was sat in a box. would 100mm ducting into a T peice which divided the smoke into 2 50mm ducts work. The smoke has got to travel about 5m each way for what I'm thinking about so I know there is going to be quite some delay between the smoke machine turning on to the smoke coming out the ends. All this depends on if I can get the smoke machine working. Does anyone know how long the warranty is on Antari smoke machines. I think the pump in it has gone, it seems to heat up ok but it wont suck any of the liquid into it to make the smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 With the cheaper smokers the spare part is a new smoker! there may be a warranty but dont expect one! The time cost to dignose and repair is usually more than a new machine. The proposal by DaveBeattie is a box with continuous fans, so these will move air continuously and that air will contain smoke on demand, Shouldn't run too hot! You will have to test for the delay between cue and smoke appearing at the exits, and account for the duty cycle of the smoker -while cheap smokers heat they will not smoke. If you have two 5 metre ducts to buy with fans and fittings you could possible buy two economy smokers. My local disco shop (and Asda! ) have had smokers for sub £20, that's less than the price of the ducting. Sorry maplin is not that cheap ATML55BJ Vivid V-1 Fogger £39.99 Terralec can be cheaper:http://www.terralec.co.uk/fog_and_haze_mac...ne/20947_p.htmlAlso has a bigger range. Plus of course your local sales and hire outlets. Hiring a quality smoker can release you from the on-off heat-smoke cycle, with the attendant risk of missing cues. edit - spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Are we talking about ducting fog or smoke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 I didnt know there was a difference but we are talking about smoke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I didnt know there was a difference but we are talking about smoke Basically, fog equates to dry ice effect, hugging the floor etc, whilst smoke equates to, well, smoke, which wafts about the air. Occasionally one of us (or more) may cross-fertilise one with the other in discussion, but essentially that's the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuddy Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I didnt know there was a difference but we are talking about smoke Remaining OT, smoke or fog? Yes, this duality in terminology can be confusing, as several of the major manufacturers -inc, Antari, Le Maitre & Martin- refer to their smoke machines as Foggers or Fog machines and use the terminology low fog or heavy fog for their dry-ice effect machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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