gyro_gearloose Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 We're currently using a Glaciator Xstream low fog machine on our panto, which has been hired in from Stage Electrics by the production company. On the last show it started behaving very oddly and I'm looking for suggestion as to what the problem might be. I know the first thing you'll all say is 'Its not your machine. Get Stage Electrics to have a look at it.', and we will be calling them. However its unlikely they'll have a spare machine available at this time of year. The problem occurred toward the end of the first half of the show when the machine didn't produce any ouput when I triggered it from the lighting desk. One of the stage crew told me that there was a loud clicking coming from the control board, and that there was all kinds of garbage on the displays. In the interval I switched the machine off and on again, and this appeared to solve the problem. However the same problem occurred in the second half of the show. I'll have a look at the machine during this afternoons performance, but I'd appreciate any suggestions as to where to look. I'm thinking it may be a power supply problem in the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 No experience but try manual triggering to see if that is a solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I've spent many an unhappy time sitting on the floor with the damn things disassembled on the phone to Martin (who do try very hard to help) prodding probes into connectors and reading off voltages. In essence, they're actually quite simple, and the common faults seem to be the fluid sensor - which can be disconnected to fool the machine into thinking the levels are ok, and the DMX board, that also has the manual controls flowing through it. You also get the usual poor cooling problems, that can be the refrigerant side of things or poor filter airflow - the trouble seems to be that they just fail a lot. I should have two, and so far, two have failed, one I fixed - a sensor problem, and the other meant a return, and a swap out. The two I have now are not a matching pair, one has nice low lying smoke, the other isn't as cold, and it's smoke rises much quicker. I suspect that they just suffer from lack of care and attention, plus a yearly cycle of a few weeks of continuous operation interspersed with occasional use, and it just makes them unpredictable! I cannot remember one pantomime in 8 years where a Glaciator ran perfectly. When they work they are great things, but smoke - as in lack or excess seems to feature in far too many show reports. For fun, I searched show reports for the word glaciator in word - in 6 years "glaciator' appears in 40 show reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Indeed. Not really much help to the OP, but on the two occasions I've brought in a Glaciator for a show I've had major problems so haven't bothered for several years now - resorting back when needed to the tried and trusted pukka dry ice Pea Soupers. The supposed benefits of the Glaciator (low fog on demand without the issues of loading the CO2) have always been outweighed by their unpredictability and propensity for breakdown :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Talked it up - the other one now tells me I have no fluid when it's full, so we're down to one, and that's the one that isn't that cold. Should have kept the mouth shut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 I'll be disconnecting the fluid sensor today. If the unit fails, a friend of mine does have a Jem 6500 monster. Shame we have so spare capacity to power it, or any space to put it :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Okay, the machine decided to work, all by itself. Didn't need to disconnect the fluid sensor. Which is just as well, as it wasn't immediately obvious where it plugged into the motherboard :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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