Smoke machine advice with Acme Dynamos LED

[rich333]

Hi,

Can someone please tell me if the acme led dynamo lights will be utter pants if I use them without a smoke machine?

I cannot afford a hazer machine and I have read reports that smoke machines can cause some slight residue on the dancefloor?
The room I am having the party in has a tiled/shiny floor, so I dont want to have everyone slipping over breaking their legs!!

Please help!
Thanks

[OllieJames]

Hi,

Can someone please tell me if the acme led dynamo lights will be utter pants if I use them without a smoke machine?

I cannot afford a hazer machine and I have read reports that smoke machines can cause some slight residue on the dancefloor?
The room I am having the party in has a tiled/shiny floor, so I dont want to have everyone slipping over breaking their legs!!

Please help!
Thanks

Personally, i don't use flat mirror scanners (Dynamos) if i don't use smoke mainly because it'll just be a couple of gobos flying round, and without smoke, i don't think it looks very good.

How about the Acme HP2s Hazer? Only £129.99

[JAMdisco]

I cannot afford a hazer machine


How about the Acme HP2s Hazer? Only £129.99

Ok Ollie, which part of the statement didn't you understand :p :D

Rich333, I would go for them anyway, gobo's on the dancefloor look OK and they will brighten up the dancefloor when it is busy.

Whilst it's true that smoke / haze can drastically improve the look of a light show, there aren't many effects that will look particularly good without.

The only real exception is very high wattage output lights (not really for mobile use due to price & size) or colour wash effects (LED PAR's).

Don't worry too much about this at the moment as you may be able to afford a hazer in future (save from gigs etc.) BUT many venues will not allow you to use them anyway - I know a lot of people on here don't even possess one due to this fact.

I have a hazer and I probably take it to 25% of my disco's due to the restrictions.

Hope this helps (more than Ollies post :p )

[OllieJames]

What i mean is, is that a hazer doesn't have to be a £600 oil based job.

[JAMdisco]

What i mean is, is that a hazer doesn't have to be a £600 oil based job.

I agree, but I know when I've said in the past that I "can't afford" something, it's because I have NO money. :(

Some peoples idea of skint is only having a few hundred quid in the bank. I'd love to be skint like that :D

I'm sure rich has looked at prices before making that assumption and probably realises that you can get them for the £100 mark. Mine was £89 with 5 litres of 'juice' but they don't make them any more. :(

[Shakermaker Promotions]

When we are behind the decks the effects look ok because we are seeing the output that they are giving. Without smoke they still look ok to US. When you are on the other side of the decks though and looking at the set up then all you see is coloured lenses changing...er..colour!..and that isn't very exciting to look at.

I think venues need educating a bit when it comes to haze and smoke machine and realise that they aren't all that bad and can actually make a huge difference. I have a smoke machine and a hazer and I never use the smoke machine in hotels, only at my monthly Alternative Nights. I can get away with the Hazer as you don't really notice it's there if that makes sense.

[rich333]

Thank you for all your replies.

I have now bought the x2 dynamo lights so there is no going back now. As for the smoke machine I havent yet decided I would only be able to stretch to £30-£50max.

Can someone tell me if the smoke produced leaves any residue on the dance floor which would make it slippy?

This is a private party at a friends so they will let me use the smoke machine if I bring one. Would even a cheap one we worth bringing rather than nothing just to create a bit of smoke effect every so often.

And is this may be a daft question, but where is the best position for it; directly on the dance floor or fitted higher up on the wall for example?

Many thanks for your help.

p.s: I am aiming to fit the lights about 5metres up in the centre of the dancefloor onto a wooden ceiling beam/joist, rather than in the corner of the room for example.

[OllieJames]

Some peoples idea of skint is only having a few hundred quid in the bank. I'd love to be skint like that :D

That isn't my idea of skint. I was just making a point.

[JAMdisco]

I have now bought the x2 dynamo lights so there is no going back now. As for the smoke machine I haven't yet decided I would only be able to stretch to £30-£50max.

These (http://www.djstore.com/item/smoke/antf80z.htm) are supposed to be pretty good, can also get cheaper ones on ebay but be careful, there is some cheap & nasty stuff out there.


Can someone tell me if the smoke produced leaves any residue on the dance floor which would make it slippy?

The only residue you get from a fog machine is a very fine white powder, hardly noticeable until you get your kit home. I've never noticed a dancefloor get slippery from using fog, you may be getting this mixed up with bubble machines (which do make a hard surface dancefloor slippery).


This is a private party at a friends so they will let me use the smoke machine if I bring one. Would even a cheap one we worth bringing rather than nothing just to create a bit of smoke effect every so often.

Yes, I reckon.


And is this may be a daft question, but where is the best position for it; directly on the dance floor or fitted higher up on the wall for example?

This will vary depending on the room and ventilation (air flow). A good idea is to use a desktop fan in front of the fogger to disperse the fog better and (more importantly) where you want it. As the fog generally rises, putting it high up is not a good idea (IMO)


Many thanks for your help.

That's what we're all here for, to give it and get it :D


That isn't my idea of skint. I was just making a point.

Wan't getting at you personally mate, sorry if I offended :)

[Larry B Entertainment]

I have owned one of the Antari F80z foggers. Cant go wrong for that price. I had mine for more than 5 years and it I bought it second hand.
Only got rid of it because the case was looking past its best and we upgraded to a Kam DMX1750.

[Vectis]

Only got rid of it because the case was looking past its best and we upgraded to a Kam DMX1750.

Blimey... you don't often see the words "Kam", "to" and "upgraded" in the same sentence ;) :D

The Antari will do you proud for £50.

That said, I've had one of those Maplin £29 plastic things for well over 4 years now. I rarely use smoke as I run a hazer but this gets dragged out for kids parties, halloween etc. and for the money it's brilliant.

[OllieJames]

Wan't getting at you personally mate, sorry if I offended :)

No, it's cool :)

[mark karaoke]

maybe this will be of some use to you---- last week i purchased a zoom powerfog 1000, bankrupt stock on ebay for £50 --- it was brand new and boxed and the retail price is £150(i think). works great and is far better than the see through blue plastic ones you usually get for that price.
this is probably where your going to call me all the names under the sun,but i cant remember the name of the place i got it from.
i know its in old swan,liverpool
i will have a look and see if i can find some paperwork with the address,but as you may have worked out i am not the best with organisation----- val does that for me!!!!
but maybe someone on the forum can work out the shop from the little i have given

[mark karaoke]

just found seller ---- it is caverns0----- hope this helps

[rich333]

Hi thanks very much for all your advice.

I will defo purchase a smoke machine even if its just a small one just to give a bit of an effect. I have a big fan that I can put behind the smoke machine to 'blow' the smoke about a bit. Shame my budget didnt stretch to a haze/fazer machine.

Does anyone know if these acme dynamos can be screwed onto a wooden ceiling beam and where would be the best position in the room, in the centre or corner?

Thanks

[Larry B Entertainment]

Blimey... you don't often see the words "Kam", "to" and "upgraded" in the same sentence ;) :D

The Antari will do you proud for £50.

That said, I've had one of those Maplin £29 plastic things for well over 4 years now. I rarely use smoke as I run a hazer but this gets dragged out for kids parties, halloween etc. and for the money it's brilliant.

I find Kam products are quite good these days, they do some good stuff.