Fog Machines For Halloween

2011-09-19T13:21:00.001-07:00

Checking out some of the Halloween shops that have popped up, we saw a really cool fogger that was a corpse coming up out of the ground and the fog came out of it's mouth. It was a great effect and could be easily made yourself using a fog machine, a fog chiller and a flexible tube to run to your corpses mouth. Make the grave and the corpse yourself and add the fog machine effect to it. You'll find ideas for all this stuff at GotFog.com, YardHaunter.com and Hallowee-Online.com. More on this project later when we give it a try!

2010-09-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's time to break out the Halloween haunt equipment and check out your fog machines. If you put them away last year without cleaning them, you may have to de-gunk them before you can use them this year. Most fog machines need to be cleaned after use or the spray jet that makes the fog may goop up with glycol and it will cause the machine to not work at all. Check the instructions that came with your fog machine, there are some that need you to leave some fog juice in the works to keep them lubricated and don't require cleaning.

Check out GotFog.com and FogMachineStore.com for some great information on fog machines. At GotFog.com you'll find info on how to keep your fog machine in perfect running order. Some companies sell cleaning juice, as well as fog juice, to run through when you are done using your machine each time. It's the easiest and best way to clean your fog machine before you put it away for the year, if it requires cleaning.

Even though fog machines have become inexpensive enough that you could just throw away any that don't work, it's best to try and get them working again. Instead, get the old ones working and buy some new ones to add to the effects of your haunt. After all, you can't have too many fog machines!

All fog machines are prone to clogging due to the thick consistency of the fog fluid they use and the high temperature at which it is vaporized. Manufacturers of some machines recommend that after using their fog machine, you need to clean it out thoroughly by running distilled water through it for a couple of minutes to flush out the fog fluid, then store in a cool, dry place. Only use the manufacturers cleaning instructions, or you'll probably void your warranty and could even damage the machine. But, a properly maintained fog machine, using the manufacturers fluid should provide years of reliable use.

2010-02-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Everyone can afford a fog machine! You can find them at mass market retailers for around twenty bucks or less, you find them in drug stores, grocery stores, just about any place that has a Halloween section during the Halloween season.

There are so many thing that you can do with them to add an extra punch to your Halloween haunt, graveyard or Halloween party, there's no reason that you shouldn't own at least two fog machines! If you are new to the fog machine world, then you need to start out at GotFog.com for all the info on fog machines that you'll ever need. Another great place to check out is FogMachineStore.com. They have the latest info on fog machines for the year and a suggested retailer to purchase via the net.

Here's some quick ideas for using a fog machine in your Halloween activities: Grave Yard Fog - hide a machine or two behind tombstones and let the fog float around. Entrance Way Fog - if you have a gate of fence at the walk way to your home, stick a fog machine close by. Garage Haunt - place a fog machine with chiller on top of your garage and let the fog float down Back Yard Halloween Party - place fog machines with chillers and with out around to give an eerie effect to your party.

Some people have asked about using them in doors, for a party or dance. The problem is that most fog juice has glycol in it which forms a sticky, slick coating on anything that it touches. This can cause major problems if your floor is wood or tile. It can also build up on furniture and cause a mess. If you can find a water based juice for in door usage, that would be best. Till next time!

2009-10-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Every year it's a test with my self to see what new ways I can use fog machines in my Halloween haunt. Ten years ago it was making my first fog chiller using the Halloween Online step by step instructions on how to make the chiller that they built. Now you can find fog machines with chillers built in!

We tried using it with PVC leach tube under leaves to make the fog seep up through in our graveyard one year and it looked great! Very creepy to see this misty fog rising up from the leaves and ground around the tombstones on Halloween night!

That brings us to Halloween 2009! We now have about 15 fog machines of all sizes and shapes. So, what do you do with so many? You fog the heck out of your property is what!! We'll be putting some in the grave yard, we'll be putting a couple by the road entrance to our house, we'll stick one on the porch behind some props.

I found this new web site, Fog Machine Store, and they have info on the newest and latest in fog machines including a great place to buy them! Don't forget when doing the lay out for your fog machines to add in your lighting. Lighting can be key to giving the fog an eerie effect that really adds a lot to your fog machine set up for Halloween! And don't forget to get timers for each machine as well! You don't want to be running around checking machines all night. Except to refill them, that is!

2009-05-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

I know I've said it before but using fog machines for Halloween just makes the night seem scarier, more sinister and just plain cooler! Every year new ones come out that do different things. We always incorporate them into our grave yard and what ever else we can think of.

This year, we are thinking about putting some up by our gates using a fog chiller, so the fog is roiling across and down the dirt road we live on. That should make it easy for people to find us! While there are fog machines that have chillers built in, we'll probably use old fashion chillers there since we can load them with dry ice and they'll last most of the night with one fill. Of course, we'll have to have someone check the fluid reservoirs once in a while.

You'll find the instructions for making your own fog chiller at GotFog.com, a great web site dedicated to fog machines and their usage. You won't find a better site!

2009-02-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

We are planning on adding some new fog machines this year. There have been some innovations in fog machines that have a fog chiller built right in which are actually pretty handy! We've always gone to Got Fog? - Fog Machine Information because it seems to be the Internets most complete fog machine resource site and is filled with a bunch of in-depth articles on using fog machines for Halloween. They also keep up with the new ones that come out every year.

You can find fog machines in about every store that sells Halloween items now. A few years ago they were hard to even find outside of party stores. You'll find low cost ones at mass retailers like Wal-mart, they had a good selection this year with mini foggers and some new ones that were built into yard props. Another good site for fog machine ideas is The Yard Haunter. The site is dedicated to people that love to go all out haunting their yards for Halloween and there's a section there on fog machines.

We are going to expand our grave yard this year, we have new fencing and a bunch more tombstones. I'd like to try using PVC drip pipe that has small holes all over it and bury that under leaves. Then you hook it up to a fog machine with chiller and get the coolest low ground fog rolling over your cemetery! We did this years ago with great success and I think we'll try it again this year!

2007-10-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Been checking out new fog machines for this Halloween and pulling out the old ones to make sure that they still work. Having about 15 fog machines, this takes some time and a bit of work to do! We have a very nice MDG fog machine, the type that's used in films, it puts out a huge amount of dense fog but it's gunked up or something, not working at all. We'll have to clean it all over again, soak the nozzle in fog machine cleaning fluid and see if we can figure out what's wrong.

In the mean time, the others appear to be working well and we picked up a couple new ones to try. This web site, Got Fog?, has been very helpful! We picked up stuff to make a couple of the fog chillers that have plans for on the site and also bought a machine with a chiller built in to compare them. We'll have to see how that goes. We are also going to try out the suggestions for low laying fog in a graveyard, using PVC leech pipe under leaves for that "coming up out of the ground" effect.

2007-10-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

I found something great to use if you want a low lying fog effect for your Halloween festivities but don't have the time to build a home-made fog chiller. American DJ has come out with a very cool item! The Mister Kool Low-Laying Fog Machine is just what we needed for our Halloween cemetery this year! The Mister Kool fog machine creates a great looking "dry ice" style fog effect that will be perfect for our yard haunt and graveyard this year. It's simple and inexpensive to operate, because all you need is just regular ice cubes and fog juice. It unit even comes with a Remote Timer Controller with a built in timer/volume control which means we won't have to have someone sit and man the fog machine this year! You just set it and let it go. They even developed a special fog fluid for producing the low-lying fog effect. It's called Kool Fog and it makes a nice white cloud of low laying fog when used with this machine. It stays low to the ground longer than standard fog machine fluid, too, which is cool. The fogger cost me about $200.00 and the fluid comes in gallon jugs. Find out more about this extremely cool fogger at Got Fog!

2004-04-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a layer of fog floating ominously through the night air to really add a scare to your Halloween festivities! Fog has that foreboding look to it, things could be slithering around in the fog unseen, adding the element of the unknown for your trick or treaters. We've found that using a fog machine really adds to the ambiance of Halloween night, be it in our graveyard or just rolling across the ground in other areas of our yard haunt. Adding a fog chiller will keep the fog rolling across the ground as opposed to floating in the air. You'll find great instruction for making a fog chiller at Got Fog?. You can even include a fog machine at your Halloween Party to add to the festivities. Just be careful if you have wood or tile floors as the fog juice can make it slippery. Look for fog juice that isn't glycol based. You also need to clean your carpet afterward. Fog juice has glycerin in it and it leaves a sticky residue when used indoors. The Got Fog web site contains more information on the subject of fog machines and their use for Halloween than any other source on or off the Internet. It's part of the Halloween Online Family of Websites. They have like 30 different sites all pertaining to different aspects of Halloween. You can find info on just about anything there. My wife lives at those sites starting around August 1st through Halloween.