No Ice Ultrasonic "Chiller" Rebuild
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- Опубликовано: 25 окт 2021
- First off I want to apologize for rushing through the first tutorial. I wanted to get the build video out as fast as I could because time was running short for building this thing and I wound up making quite a few mistakes with the build. I should have first tested it, researched the options further, then done a rebuild using the simplest, most reliable parts and construction, THEN put together a tutorial video for it. I was hasty and I apologize for possibly causing a bunch of headaches. The main mistake I made was in using a tote as my fog box. Totes are cheaply made, do not seal well, and have a ton of flex to them, which compounds the issues with getting a good seal around the lid. Another mistake was not researching into the ways mister s could be mounted or FLOATED. This led to the two tote design with a recirculating pump, which is totally not needed if you buy or make a float for your mister. Using a float eliminated two possible points of failure, an extra plug and makes the entire build easier. Last but not least, was making the mistake of using a computer fan INSIDE the tote. I figured that they are cheap and having one fail each season would be a small price to pay for great low lying fog. After quickly going through 2 of them in testing I realized I was wrong and that a fan built for wet locations would be required and moving it out of the box would also probably be a wise move. I have paid attention to input from other builders who have started making their own versions of this and made changes to my own based on their input. I'm going to add an updated parts list here, but don't take my build as the gospel on how to make these things. If you thing you have found a better box, use it. Better fan? Use it. I'm figuring this thing out as I go along, same as everyone else and also trying to keep the cost down as much as possible for the home haunter. Unfortunately I'm probably over $300 into the build I have now. But on the plus side, I can plug it in, point my fog machine into it and get great low lying fog from just water from the hose.
In this rebuild I used...
1 - 10 head mister from Amazon - amzn.to/3Qp29Gx try to get one like this tat comes with a weatherproof power supply and the floats included.
1 - Kobalt Tool box Item #1407437 from Lowe's
1 - 10/12 head mister float from Amazon - amzn.to/314mGIJ - (not needed if you find a mister that comes with floats)
1 - 3in 90 degree sweep elbow from Lowe's
1ft of 3" PVC pipe from Lowe's
1 - 12v Marine Bilge Blower from Amazon - amzn.to/3EnxyzR
1 - 12v Fan speed control from Amazon - amzn.to/3jHk2yX
1 - 120v Heavy Duty 4 way splitter from Amazon - amzn.to/3BcMnmB
1 - Extension cord from Amazon - amzn.to/3vLmuJw
Silicone RTV gasket maker. I used Permatex, but this should work just as well and be less expensive - amzn.to/3nO6xyX
The fog machine I use is a Titan 1200 from Froggy's Fog - amzn.to/3yKFcqq 
Хобби
A trick to make a seal that was used to build scratch made radio control float planes was to put silicone on both halves of the desired lid. Cover each with cling wrap and push together. The cling wrap will keep the two sides from sticking together while be too thin to break the seal. Make a perfect waterproof seal.
All haunts are a work in progress, newbie to professional. Thank you for taking the time to show your 1.2/1.3/1.4 iterations so we can all learn from your trials and errors. I am constantly amazed and humbled by the excellent work you produce! 💀
I know there are tons of fog chiller builds out there because I’ve watched most of them! I really like the details in both this and the previous build, thanks for the link in description. The breakdown is clear!
Thank you for sharing all the things you've found have worked for you! Awesome stuff!
Love this series of videos that show the process. Great work. Thank you for posting these all and getting the first ones out early. Been using some of your design from the first videos in our home display and it really added a great effect. Keep up the great work!
That rolling tool chest looks perfect.
I've been doing a lot of thinking while reading a lot of comments this year. Using a float means you will have more unusable water once the misting unit stops working when it reaches the bottom. The misting unit needs a couple inches of water to work, where is the pump only needs about a quarter inch of water to work.
Also, I will be making a video where I roughly measure how much water is left over when the misting unit stops working while using each method.
I will also show a video comparing room temperature water to ice water.
And for fun I will submerge the misting unit in fog fluid since I've seen that question come up a couple times.
Great build and thanks for the shout out in your earlier videos.
Happy haunting!
From what I've seen in running it for about 4 hours a night is that you only use about 1/4 inch of water a night, at the most in a container the size I'm using. I could run it every night for at least a week before needing to top it off any. The problem I'm finding is that the water starts to get a bit funky after a few days of being in the box. I've been getting clumps of bacterial growth in there unless I empty it every 3 days or so. Adding peroxide as advised by the folks at The House Of Hydro helps a lot, but the water will still start to stagnate if left in there too long. Best advice until we figure out an additive to help keep it clean is to drain it every 2 or 3 days and refill it. My brain goes straight to Legionaries' disease, which commonly happens when AC units collect water, which becomes stagnant and spreads the bacteria throughout a building. Anyone who makes one of these absolutely needs to keep the water clean and change it out every few days. Better safe than sorry.
Damn...that reply got really dark really quick didn't it? lol
@@OakLaneCemetery dang! I never knew that. I only use it for one night then empty it.
I wonder if the fog fluid is adding impurities that cause the growth.
Excellent observation. Maybe distilled water can help reduce the effects.
According to the reading I've been doing on the hydroponics sites it just happens due to airborne bacteria and the warm humid conditions inside the box. Adding bleach or alcohol can reduce mister performance but peroxide does not so much. best bet is to just keep an eye on it and replace the water when you see any cloudiness or gelatinous clumps.
@@OakLaneCemetery what about using distilled water. it might help
Spot on! Thanks bud for this video link. Hands down, the best fog chiller build, great job and the upgrades were definitely worth it.
Okay. Thats a freakin' monster!
I've been watching you work on this.. i really like it. I'll be trying my hand at it next year.
Dry and wet ice don't always give the best results outside. This looks like fun!
Thanks for the refinement ideas. Using a float and bilge fan as well based on your design.
Love it! Thanks you for sharing it with us, and I have to say - some of your background music reminded me of Knight Rider, and I loved it, too!
Lots of great information here. Thanks for posting this.
Amazing work!
I've been watching your build on this whole project. Thank you for all the information, including your 'mistakes'. Very much appreciate the materials list as well. Probably not in this year’s budget but maybe for 2023? Even without the full build, I'm definitely getting that marine blower.
Glad to help. It was a learning process for sure, mainly with finding the right box and figuring out the airflow.
Thank You Thank You Thank You! I am going to revise my build along the same lines as yours. The bilge pump blower is great. I think I have a tighter electronics box. My goal will be to get it all to fit inside the carrying case afterwards for storage.
Thanks for the update I can’t wait to build this
So far works like a champ. Little hot here in AZ. I may try an extra sonic mister and ice in the tool chest. I really should have used a hole saw. Now I need to use extra silicone to seal up unnecessary holes I cut too big. Oh well. Thanks for showing me how you did it.
Just want to say thank you for continuing to tinker with it. I love all the changes that you made to it. You really came up with some interesting new pieces to make it function better. You just need to figure out how to correct mother nature. 💀🎃👻⚰️
Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about the weather unless we move it indoors. All it takes to wreck the low fog is a gentle breeze.
Excellent video
Pretty slick!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I found 20 gal and 30 gal Sterilite totes at Big Lots that have foam seals all around! Perfect for chillers!
Sounds perfect! As long as the weight of the water doesn't flex the sides and break the seal. I think that is what was happening with the first version of the box I made.
This rain has been something wicked these past couple days, but I like how well done this is, even if there was some leaks.
Awesome idea.
Excellent video my friend really dig your stuff. I plan on following your build and gathering items for it now. I'm having trouble finding this toolbox from Lowes help!!
People have made it with a variety of tool and storage boxes. The only requirements are that it be 100% sealed either with a gasket built in around the lid or being able to seal it with silicone rtv as I did. I think there is a Craftsman box that has the gasket built in that a couple of people reported good results with. Just be sure there are no holes for handles or vents anywhere. I've seen a couple of "mini" versions made with much smaller boxes, misters and foggers, but as expected the output is reduced. Still works the same, just less output.
@@OakLaneCemetery thank-you
This year im probably going to use an ice chiller because i don't have the time/money for this right now... but next year? Watchout!
Started this build today, using the Husky tool chests. Do you happen to have more information on the bilge blower and/or speed controller you’re using, and how well the power supply does enclosed in the waterproof box? My 10 head mist makers run off of 48v power supplies that start screaming pretty loudly after 10 minutes or so with the lid on and latched. Despite the volume, the heat doesn’t seem all that bad, but I wonder just how long it will stay that way.
Thanks for the project guidance! I’ve lugged my 35 gallon, trash can fog chillers to the local ice house for years just minutes before sunset on Halloween. Very excited to put that tradition to rest 😊
Very rarely do even the best get it right the first time. How many filaments did Edison go through before he found a viable solution? MANY. So keep on keeping’ on...
This is amazing! Not only are you making a great box for the mister, but some of these ideas are good for my digger box too.
Question on the RTv Sealant.
How long did you let it sit for the skin over and did you leave it closed for the full 24 hours? I assume the spray keeps the RTV from adhering to the bottom half so it molds the upper lid
Left it overnight, but probably not 24 hours.
I’m constructing mine tomorrow and had one question. For getting the mister power cord through the lid, did you just drill a hole and plug together the two parts, or use some kind of connector/adapter? I was just going to drill a hole small enough to get the connection out and seal it there.
I also cannot find 3” drain pipe so going to try 4”. Thanks for all the demos and answering questions!
I couldn't find a weatherproof power source at the time I ordered my mister so my power supply has the exposed screw terminals on it. Upside was it made it easy for me to just disconnect the wire from the screw terminals and pass it through a snug hole drilled in the back edge of the lid then reconnect it. Downside is my power supply is not weatherproof so if moisture ever gets into the box I'm screwed. Depending on how big your connectors are you might find a cable gland big enough to seal the entry point.
Have you considered using a different type of fog juice? Either Froggy’s Poseidon juice, or something with polypropylene glycol as its main fog component to keep the hang time low? Ideally you want the fog to dissipate before it warms/becomes less dense and starts rising to “regular fog”. Unless you want both the low-laying + atmospheric fog effect.
Don't see the need as it hangs low for a long time with just regular fog juice. I have been using Froggy's Swamp Juice. Hang time is kinda mute outdoors anyways. First little breeze to come along lifts it and blows it away no matter how thick or low it is.
🤣this gave me a chuckle… not because of anything you did(I’m actually building 2 of these right now to your specs)… but because I followed your progress on the original build and your reluctance on the cost of the float! Such a typical home haunter (My) mentality…. I don’t want to pay $30 for the float so I’ll engineer a workaround , but will be happy to go out and pay $90 to replace a working box! …then I’ll go buy the float anyway!!!🤣🤣🤣. Great job as always!
What kind of connectors are you using on either side of that fan? Assuming that’s a 4 inch fan, but it doesn’t seem like any typical plumbing fittings are a good match
I think it was one of those black rubber couplings from the plumbing dept at Lowes. Made to connect irregular sized or rough pipes.
@@OakLaneCemetery thank you!
I REALLY want to build one of these but am having a really hard time justifying the cost. I think I'm going to have to stick with ice this year =(
I used the kobalt 31 gallon weatherproof tote from lowes for $50 and I had no leaks. Doesn't have a handle to help roll it though
Good to know. People always ask about what boxes will work so info like that is appreciated.
I'm thinking I may have to just move to your neighborhood.
Thanks for the video! I'm looking to use this setup to generate low lying fog for a dance show I'm designing so as to not put dancers at risk of dry ice. Quick question: in your experience, does the fog and mist combo at the final output adhere to solid surfaces and make them slick or slippery? I want to make sure it's not going to cause the stage dance flooring to become dangerous.
Yes, it will make it wet. Not as fast as dry ice will, but it is after all just water vapor mixed with glycerin fog which will condense on any surface it contacts. I'm not sure there is any type of low fog other than actual smoke that will not create a moisture hazard. Pretty much everything works by creating a vapor and that vapor will condense on surfaces. Even straight fog juice fog will condense and re-liquify when it contacts a surface. Any way you can alter the floor surface to provide better grip for the dancers instead? Maybe outdoor carpet or some other grippy textured surface?
Hi, awesome video. I only have an 800watt fogger at the moment and because of other budget constraints dont wanna upgrade this year to a 1200. Do you think my 800 would work ok? I have about a 35-40 foot run I'm doing. TY
It might work. I don't think anyone has actually done any testing to see what the fogger wattage to mister head ratio is actually ideal. Most of us have just blasted at it with the biggest foggers and highest number of mister heads we can afford. lol I have seen a few smaller builds with 400w foggers and boxes about 1/3 the size of mine that worked pretty good. Only one way find out really. It WILL do something for sure. Might cover your yard, might not. Should at least get you through until you decide to upgrade!
Couple of questions: Is the bilge blower running all the time? What is the interval of fog that you found to produce your desired result?
The bilge runs all the time, at a VERY low speed. Too much air flow will suck all of the water mist out of the main box and leave nothing for the fog to mix with. I set my fogger for a 10 second blast every 2 minutes and it seemed to keep an almost steady flow of ground fog going.
Hi there. I'm looking into making this build and I noticed that the tool box you used seems to be out of stock at Lowes. Are there any other tool boxes you were considering before you chose that specific one?
Also, about how much fog juice do you think you used to run your Titan 1200 every 2 minutes like you did for a couple of hours?
I'm a total newbie to fog, but I really like the effect you got and I'd love to have a set up like this for my yard haunt. Thanks so much for making these videos!
I was told by another builder that there is a Craftsman toolbox that is very similar and already has a gasket in it, so no need to use RTV to seal it. Not sure on the exact model, but just make sure there are no holes or vents anywhere on it when you are looking at them. It has to seal up air tight. Positive locking latches are a plus. Any very large box that will hold water and can be sealed up air tight will work. I used a tote the first time I tried it, but the plastic it was made from was too thin and flexible. I couldn't get a secure seal on it so it leaked fog like crazy and I spent a lot of time and wasted money trying to fix it.
I go through a lot of fog juice. 4 hours every night for about 2 weeks (ish) winds up being around 4 gallons of juice.
I just started to build mine also and could not find the tool referenced. I did find this one which seems to be comparable (except no cup holder hole). Husky 37 in. Rolling Tool Box Utility Cart Black. The lid appears to be sealed already also. I haven’t gotten all the pieces yet to test it though. I hope it helps
I just looked up the Husky 37in toolbox and it seems to be very similar to the one I use and looks like it may have a gasket under the lid already. Looks to be a good candidate for this build.
Thank you both
I'm tackling this build this year. Could I ask you to give a little more detail on how you made the gasket? All the tutorials online seem to be for automotive applications where you wouldn't be opening and closing the sealed vessel. Also when you were patching it to fix the leaks, were you waiting for it to set between each test? Or just applying a little and then immediately running more fog?
I just used a paper towel to rub cooking spray on the top edge of the box, then ran a thick bead of rtv under the lid, closed and latched it and waited for it to set up. Tested for leaks, used a china marker to mark the spots ot was leaking, then applied more rtv in those areas. You will need to be sure any cooking spray that transferred from the top lip to the first rtv layer is cleaned off before applying more or the new rtv wont stick to tje old. Go thick with it to patch the leaks. It took a few tries for me to finally get all of mine sealed. Some people are commenting that they have been able to find tool boxes or totes with built in gaskets that work for this project
@@OakLaneCemetery yeah I couldn’t seem to find one with a gasket that was the right size (at least within what I was willing to spend lol ). Thanks for elaborating!
@@OakLaneCemetery btw, in my preliminary testing I’ve been using my (admittedly cheap no name) 1000 watt fogger coupled with a 6 head mister and it seems to work just fine. So for those with 1000 watt or smaller fog machines you should be able to squeeze by with the cheaper 6 head variant, given that you aren’t constantly running fog through it. I was doing 10 second blasts every 100 seconds and it kept up fine.
I think the more important factor is the size of your mist chamber (mine being a 50 gallon rolling tool bin), and being sure you have an adequate volume of mist to run fog through. Given enough time both the smaller and larger misters will fill up that volume
@@WyattWinters @OakLaneCemetery This additional discussion was VERY helpful. Thank you both! And thank you @OakLaneCemetery for filming the entire series. The failures and all! So very cool!
It's been a learning experience for everyone building them in these first couple of years. New tech and all, figuring things out and refining the concept. I think there will be some awesome innovations coming soon to the basic builds we are doing now. It's proven to work far better than ice chillers and more haunters are making them now so there will naturally be more experimenting and refining that will come to follow. I've already seen improvements to the wiring box setup on a few builds. My own experimenting has shown that 3" pipe or hose seems optimal for fog distribution as opposed to the 6" I was using. And I've also noted that the ultrasonic misters are now being sold and advertised as "for Halloween" on Amazon. Before too long there will be ultrasonic fog machines being sold pre-made at Spirit and on Amazon that don't cost the 1000s of dollars that the current pro units do. It's been awesome being a part of something that could forever change the way home haunters make fog. Intocoasters "Roberts Fogger" was the innovation that got the ball rolling on it and me and the rest of the haunt community picked it up and ran with it.
For black corrugated pipe what size holes did you cut and what is the spacing?
I did 3/4" holes spaced out about a 10" apart.
For the irrigation piping are you using the perforated style or did you punch your own holes in the solid version?
I used the solid irrigation pipe and drilled 1" holes around every 8 inches. Be careful to keep them level. I used a mold seam on the pipe as a guide. When I set it up I position the holes downward towards the ground a little so the fog flows easily out of them.
I also plugged up the far end of the pipe with some expanding foam.
Do you like the 3” fog intake elbow or do you think a 4” would be better there as well as the tote exit?
For the intake I think a 3" elbow is about perfect. At least for my fog machine. I get very little fog not being pulled in and it lines up really well. Upgrading to a 4" elbow might work for a bigger fog machine or one that doesn't line up perfectly with the 3" pipe. As far as the exit goes, I think a 3" is PERFECT for MY setup. I used to have a 3" pipe running into a 6" fog tube, but after swapping to a 3" fog tube I have found that it works way better than the 6" did. Again, as with the intake, a bigger fog machine might work better with a bigger exit pipe and fog tube. Mine took a bit of experimenting to find the right balance and I can say for a Titan 1200 fog machine, a 3" intake, 3" outlet and 3" 25ft long fog tube with 1/2" holes about 10" apart works GREAT! I would also say, if you are using a 4" inlet, use a 4" outlet to prevent any back pressure issues.
Does your transformer get hot at all inside the waterproof box? I see yours has a small fan, but the one I have has the cooling fins.
Not that I have noticed. Pretty warm, but not hot. Both versions have their drawbacks. The weatherproof version likely needs more air circulation to stay cool, the non weatherproof version I have needs a lot more protection from any moisture.
Just quick question. Do you I could use a smaller tool box and get the same effect?
Thanks.
Probably BUT you would likely also need to downsize the fogger to a 400w-700w and not expect to have as much of a "reserve" flow of fog where it continues to flow out for a couple of minutes after the fogger stops. A bigger box also means there is more space for the water mist to accumulate. With a big 1300W fogger I need to have a pretty big box just to contain the amount of fog it can put out in a 5 second blast. A couple of people have mentioned that they are making smaller versions with downsized boxes, lower wattage foggers, and smaller mist makers. We should have some videos and input from those builds coming soon.
@@OakLaneCemetery my fogger is a 1300. looks like I’ll try and find that tool box you used on Amazon or something. Thanks for answering.
My titan 1200 has a 4” outlet. All of these videos show a 3”. Did they change the design?
Nope. And it shojldnt matter because your outlet absolutely should not be jammed up into the inlet pipe. There should be a 1-2 inch air gap between the outlet and the inlet pipe to allow air to be drawn into the inlet along with the fog. Without a gap a good percentage of your fog juice won't fully vaporize and just be wasted as sprayed juice. This is the #1 most common mistake people make with fog machines.
What is the power supply for? Doesn’t the 12v switch just plug into power and covert to 12v?
The mister runs on a 48v power supply. The blower runs on the little 12v with the speed control. The fog machine plugs into one of the open outlets on the 120v splitter.
What are you seetying youre blower speed at? Also what is the gallon size in the tool box?
The blower has to be turned down very low so that it is just barely pulling mist from the box, otherwise it will empty the mist as fast as the mister makes it and there will be none to mix with the fog. Because your setup may differ from mine I can't say what exact setting, other than very low, no more than 1/4 of the way up probably. The chest I used was 50 Gallons - www.lowes.com/pd/Creative-Plastic-Concepts-25-in-Black-Plastic-Wheeled-Lockable-Tool-Box/1001460888 feel free to use whatever chest you can find of similar size as long as it can be sealed up airtight. I hear there is a similar craftsman chest with a gasket built into the lid already.
My new 10-head mister + floater is producing mist; however, there are also raindrop-sized water droplets. Is this normal? Do I need more water? Have clogged rings?
It's fine. Thats just how they work. As long as there is enough water to float freely, you should be fine. The water level will fall as it is consumed i to mist or splashed out so you need to keep an eye on it to get a feel for how long it takes before it needs to be topped off. Change your water every 2 or 3 days to prevent any bacterial growth.
@@OakLaneCemetery Thank you!
What expandable hose are you using between the blower and the tote?
I started out with some 3in vacuum hose, but it got brittle on me in storage so I switched to a cheap 3" plastic coated aluminum flex duct thinking that might last longer. It worked good, but was pretty fragile. My next plan was to glue up some 3in pvc and fittings to make a hard line instead of using the flex, but I just happened to find some 3" flexible pipe that fit PERFECTLY and was long enough to allow me to eliminate that short hose between the box and my fog tube. Now I have the blower attached directly to the box outlet and my super long fog tube attaches directly to it. Unfortunately I have no idea where to find the same pipe like I'm currently using because I found it in a trash pile at work.
Yeah, the in-line blower is 3”. I’m going to try 4” flexible dryer duct, which snugs up against the in-line blower box and then try to connect that to the tote pvc exit somehow. I’m trying decide whether to use 3” or 4” pvc for the tote exit. I think you mentioned that you thought 4” would be better.
Yea, doing all 4" would probably make more sense and be easier to fit.
So now, almost a year later and knowing what you know now, if you were to build another one what would you change, if anything and why? Thanks.
I'd use a 4" hose on the outlet because it is a more common size and comes in a larger variety of lengths and materials than the 3" one I used does and I would try to find a toolbox with a built in gasket. The one I used is fine and still sealed, but it would have been easier to not have to worry about sealing it. Other than that I've debated on adding a drain plug, but I worry it might become a source of water leaks so I never have. Wish there was a more dependable type of blower to use, but the marine blower is ideal in that it can handle the moisture and is the perfect size. They just have a high failure rate. Had to replace mine this year.
@@OakLaneCemetery Thanks for your input. I have a couple of ideas for your fan situation that you may find useful. Is there another way I can contact you?
Here or on Facebook is about it.
@@OakLaneCemetery Ok thanks!