Cleaning of smoke, haze and snow machines

[whitehousejamie]

Hi folks, in the slightly quieter time of January I intend to do some maintenance on all of our smoke, haze and snow machines.

When not in use for extended periods, is it best to run the machines completely empty before storage or leave fluids in the system? Also what is the most effective cleaning mix that will be suitable for standard water based machines and snow machines?

Many thanks 

[themadhippy]

white vinegar makes for a good descaler,best to do it outdoors and don't be surprised if you suddenly fancy a bag of chips

[Hardlucktim]

For any machines made by Smoke Factory such as  the Tourhazer, Data2, CaptainD or Spaceball only Distilled Water (not Deionised) should be run through our Machines before 'retiring them' for a while. Absolutely no other cleaner or substance should be used.

[AncientLight]

4 hours ago, Hardlucktim said:

For any machines made by Smoke Factory such as  the Tourhazer, Data2, CaptainD or Spaceball only Distilled Water (not Deionised) should be run through our Machines before 'retiring them' for a while. Absolutely no other cleaner or substance should be used.

I'll second that. Distilled water is usually a safe bet for cleaning the pipes.

[ianknight]

On 12/14/2022 at 5:03 PM, whitehousejamie said:

Hi folks, in the slightly quieter time of January I intend to do some maintenance on all of our smoke, haze and snow machines.

When not in use for extended periods, is it best to run the machines completely empty before storage or leave fluids in the system? Also what is the most effective cleaning mix that will be suitable for standard water based machines and snow machines?

Many thanks 

I used to leave fluids in our smoke & haze machines when I worked hire at CTS on the basis  they wouldn't airlock & the glycol probably wouldn't freeze in a cold warehouse so pipes & blocks would be ok. Snow machines used to get washed out with distilled water & left empty - they sat on the shelf for the next year anyway...

Just be careful with hazers - some were starting to us mineral oils again (one of the Antari machines springs to mind) so probably best left alone but wrapped in some 'tat' to insulate them from the cold if the store isn't heated?