Jem C3 Fluid in Magnum 2000

[dirkenstein]

Hi,

 

I have an old Magnum 2000 (long out of warranty) that we're trying to build a smoke chiller for (on the cheap).

This is going to involve passing smoke over an array of cool packs in an enclosed, insulated plenum chamber.

A design has been drawn up, but hasn't been built or tested yet.

 

I normally use pro smoke super (ZR mix) fluid with this machine for general smoke effects.

 

We have some Jem C3 fluid left over from a show where we had the budget to hire a Jem 'heavy fog' machine (predecessor of the Glaciator X-Stream, I think).

 

The fluid matrix for the Magnum 2000 doesn't list this as a suitable fluid, but I was wondering:

 

a) Whether using C3 fluid in a Magnum 2000 with a smoke chiller fitted was likely to improve the low smoke effect compared to using standard ZR mix fluid.

 

b) Whether the C3 fluid is likely to clog or otherwise damage the machine. The fluid chemistry appears very similar based on the MSDS, so I think that's unlikely, but you never know. The heating element temperaturees might be very different.

 

c) Whether anybody had actually tried this fluid for such an application in a Magnum 2000.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Dirk

[dirkenstein]

A little update for everyone. Feeling brave, I tried the C3 fluid in my Magnum 2000 and it does seem to produce a rather dense, floor-hugging effect with a home-built fog chilling cabinet. It also doesn't seem to do the machine any detectable harm, although I have been careful to flush with deionised water before and after use.

 

The C3 fluid seems rather harsher on the throat than regular ZR mix so I'm wondering if the element in the glaciator X-stream operates at a lower temperature than the element in the Magnum 2000 and the fluid is chemically decomposing at the higher temperature. However, I remember the low fog produced by the Jem heavy fog machine being slightly unpleasant to breathe when we used it. The twirlies we had buried in it at the start of the scene needed to concentrate to stop themselves coughing, as I recall.