Fog machines can add a dramatic effect to your display. Compare the picture above to the one below, and you can see how fog changes the entire look of the display. Fog will glow with the color of the light you shine through it.
In my display, I use two fog machines to cover the size of my display. I use machines that have timers that I can set the interval and duration of the output. This takes some tinkering to get the effect you are looking for, and also changes with wind conditions. In general, I run my machines for 10 seconds every 100 seconds. This gives me a nice dense fog and some time for it to clear out with the wind.
Fog Coverage
To spread the fog out, I started with a 4″ Corrugated Drain Pipe. I tapped off the far end and then drilled holes all along the pipe to let the fog out. This allowed me to spread the fog out throughout a large portion of my display.
I later decided to add a Fog Chiller to the output of the fog machine. This creates a cold, dense fog that hangs along the ground longer rather than up in the air, blowing away.
To make a fog chiller, I went pretty basic and used a large storage tote. Drill a hole slightly smaller than your drain pipe in each end of the storage tote and connect a small section of drain pipe to the end the fog machine will be on, and about a 4-foot section on the other end.
I aligned the fog machine with the input side of the storage tote so that when it turns on, it blows right into the storage tote.
On the output side, with the 4-foot section, I attached a Seaflow fan and then the rest of my pipe to the other end of the fan to be able to pull the fog out of the chiller and move it through the drain pipe.
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Fog Mister
Inside the fog chiller, I added a Pond Mister and filled the tote with water. I used a rather large mister since I have a large display, but these come in many different sizes. You can try just adding frozen bottles of water rather than a mister, but in my experience, I got a better low-lying fog with the mister.
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Fog Fluid (Juice)
For fog fluid, I use a dense, low-lying fog fluid, but you can experiment with what works best for your display.
- Low-Lying Fog for Fog Chillers – Freezin Fog is a water-based fog juice designed for low lying fog machines and fog chil…
- Clean, Safe, Non-Irritating Formula – This fog machine liquid is made without glycerin, reducing residue in fog machines…
- High-Density Ground Fog Fluid – Freezin Fog delivers professional-quality fog that stays low and lingers across the grou…
How the Fog Chiller works
What happens is the mister fills the tote with a cold, dense mist, and the fog mixes with it to make it even heavier, so it lies close to the ground even longer.
On cold nights, this is enough to make it work. If you have a warm night or live in a warmer climate, you can help enhance the fog by putting frozen bottles of water in the tote to help it get even colder. I run this all with my outlet timers and the timer built into he fog machine. You just need to see how long your fog fluid and water in the tote last and then top it off every so often.
For Fog Machines, I wanted automated control once I had it set up so a machine with a timer was a must for me. Some come with a timer, some can have timers added, and some don’t allow it. This is an area where you really do get what you pay for. For a small display only running on manual control, or for a few nights, you may get away with a cheaper Fog Machine.
My display usually runs fog every night for a month from 5 pm until Midnight, so I went with more costly machines. Mine have been running for several years without issue. The larger machines to tend to draw a lot of power, so take that into account in your setup so you don’t overload an outlet or your timer.