Can a 300W fog machine create a smoke curtain 5 meters high?

AI Thread Summary
A 300W fog machine may struggle to push smoke 5 meters up through vertical PVC pipes due to the limitations of its fan, which is primarily designed for direct output rather than overcoming resistance. Homemade fog fluid made from glycerine and water is a potential option, but there are concerns about its smell and health implications for the audience. It's suggested to consider purchasing commercial fog fluid, which is relatively inexpensive. Additionally, positioning the fog machine at a higher elevation could enhance performance without the need for pipes. Overall, careful planning and consideration of equipment capabilities are essential for achieving the desired smoke curtain effect.
Shane Lautner
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Hi guys, I'm a student and I'm new to this forum. Currently me and my friends are having a small project for the upcoming stage performance at school. We are trying to build a smoke curtain. The system will have a fog machine with 300W power and some PVC pipes that lead vertically to 5 meters in the air, and then pour the smoke down on to the ground through many holes in the pipe. We are having 2 problems;

1/ Will the 300W fog machine be able to blow the smoke 5 meters up through the pipes ?
2/ We are thinking of homemade fog fluid for the machine, which will be glycerine mix with water (as I looked up). Have anyone try making smoke with this, does it have smell or health hazard ?

I would love to have your opinions before I could waste money on unnecessary thing :)
 
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Usually they use dry ice to achieve this effect.
 
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Shane Lautner said:
Hi guys, I'm a student and I'm new to this forum. Currently me and my friends are having a small project for the upcoming stage performance at school. We are trying to build a smoke curtain. The system will have a fog machine with 300W power and some PVC pipes that lead vertically to 5 meters in the air, and then pour the smoke down on to the ground through many holes in the pipe. We are having 2 problems;

1/ Will the 300W fog machine be able to blow the smoke 5 meters up through the pipes ?
2/ We are thinking of homemade fog fluid for the machine, which will be glycerine mix with water (as I looked up). Have anyone try making smoke with this, does it have smell or health hazard ?
Would your school allow you to vaporize your own concoction for your crowd to inhale?
fog fluid is reasonably cheap (~$6/litre where I am) or maybe get your chemistry teacher to make it?
As for the 5 metres, that depends on the machine. IME with small smoke machines is that the fans are only designed to push the fog out of the machine, not through constrictions, most of that 300 Watts will be used by the heater.
Presumably you have some 5m tall support structure, why can't the machine be up there?
 
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paisiello2 said:
Usually they use dry ice to achieve this effect.
For some reasons we can not use dry ice, since it's CO2
billy_joule said:
Would your school allow you to vaporize your own concoction for your crowd to inhale?
fog fluid is reasonably cheap (~$6/litre where I am) or maybe get your chemistry teacher to make it?
As for the 5 metres, that depends on the machine. IME with small smoke machines is that the fans are only designed to push the fog out of the machine, not through constrictions, most of that 300 Watts will be used by the heater.
Presumably you have some 5m tall support structure, why can't the machine be up there?
That is some helpful information, I will take it into consideration. Thanks a lot :)
 

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