Smoke Machine

[remlap3]

Hi people,

I am looking to get a new (relatively cheap) smoke/haze machine to improve my show but in my past experience the 2 that I have had before have been nothing but trouble.
They have set of smoke alarms and just generally been a nuisance.

Any suggestions on what I should look for? Do smoke machines exist that dont set off any alarms?

Cheers,
Steve

[501damian501]

from what i know, you cant get a smoke/haze machine which doesnt set off fire alarms, the smoke which pumps from smoke machines is normally thick and to be honest nasty, even though we still use it on the fairgrounds its still a good effect for lights, but i wouldnt recommend using one in an enclosed building, i.e a function room, hence for this reason some brightspark invented haze, its a much thinner, airey type of smoke which still gives the lights a good effect and alot of film sets use this.

I would use a haze machine out the way and slowly and clearly just let it puff away once and a while. i hope this clear things up, cheers damian

p.s the acme hp range of haze machines are pretty much raved about on this forum for a cheaper haze/smoke machine.

[ppentertainments]

I have to agree with Damien here :eek: and would look towards the Haze instead of smoke - unless your venues are ok with smoke.

[sleah]

Haze machine will still set off smoke alarms, although used very sparingly you may well get away with it :)

[ppentertainments]

Haze machine will still set off smoke alarms, although used very sparingly you may well get away with it :)

Agree, you do have to use sparingly in a lot of places and another trick I use is to have a fan to disperse the smoke/haze quicker.

[andyw]

i always check with the venue in advance,not many venues let you use them now so might be better spending your money on something else

[501damian501]

or maybe hang it from your lighting rig if possiable, but not good idea if directly under a sensor, am sure john (twinspin) will share his experiance of using a jem smoke machine, am sure he said the button got stuck and a venue full of smoke :D :D :D

[Shaun]

another trick I use is to have a fan to disperse the smoke/haze quicker.

I thought I was the only one that did that. :o

Even so, many of the venues I play won't allow haze or smoke machines. It sits in storage for most of the year.