This article was taken from the March 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Fog machines may be the ultimate special-effects tool, but to achieve a spooky low-lying blanket of mist, you also need to use a fog chiller. "When fog comes out of the machine it's hot so it rises," explains Vincent Camerano, CEO of Chicago-based fog fluids company Master Fog. "You want to cool it down so that it sinks and adheres to the ground."
With just a few cheap household parts it's easy to build your own chiller in less than ten minutes.
What you'll need
- 6m of 100mm ducting pipe
- 100 litre rubbish bin
- Ducting vent
- Y-tube
- Small fan
- 1,000 Watt fog machine
- Non-glycerine based low-lying fog fluid
- Lots of ice
Prepare your container
Use a circular saw, or a Stanley knife, to cut two holes, just over 100mm in diameter, on either side of the rubbish bin, near the base. "Feed your ducting pipe through one, then coil it all the way around the inside of the trash can, leaving space in the middle, and feed it out the other hole," says Camerano. Next fill up the entire bin with ice.
Create your fog
Attach the ducting vent on one end of the pipe and fix the bottom, single branch of the Y-tube to the other. Place the outlet tube of the fog machine in front of one split branch. "Leave about 10cm between the two to allow air to get to the fog," Camerano says. Place the fan at the other Y-tube opening, fill your machine with fog fluid and turn it on.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
