A fog machine uses a condensed liquid to produce a fog-like vapor. Fog-machine solution, commonly known as "fog juice," is generally too dangerous to mix at home. Fog machines are most commonly used in concerts, nightclubs and plays to create a particular effect. The fog produced can range from a light haze to a thick, rolling fog, depending on the specific ingredients in the fog-machine solution.
- Skill level:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things you need
- Plastic container
- Distilled water
- Glycerine (or ingredients of your choice)
- Dye (optional)
- Fragrance (optional)
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1
Mix the solution in a plastic container. Fog juice typically consists of distilled water and one or two other ingredients that produce a visible vapor when they condense. Common fog-juice ingredients include glycerine, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol and triethylene glycol.
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2
Make fog that takes a long time to dissipate. A common recipe for fog juice that produces a long-lasting fog uses 30 percent water, 35 percent dipropylene glycol and 35 percent triethylene glycol.
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3
Mix up a fog that will clear quickly. Typically, this fog juice calls for 40 percent water and 60 percent propylene glycol. To make fog juice that dissipates even more quickly, increase the percentage of water in the solution.
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4
Use glycerine to make a fog juice that produces a haze. A solution containing 15 percent glycerine will produce a heavy haze; 10 percent will produce a medium have; and a fog solution of 5 percent glycerine will produce a light haze.
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5
Add additional ingredients to create other effects. Fog juice may also include dyes to give it a particular color or fragrances to provide a specific scent.
Tips and warnings
- Make sure your fog juice is compatible with your fog machine. Theoretically, fog juice with a higher vapor pressure than the fog machine is designed to handle can cause the heat exchanger to split in half. This not only will destroy the fog machine, but also can cause the overheated fog juice to decompose into toxic vapors.
