Hazer Recommendation?

[dnar]

MDG or as Kit said Phantom.

The cheap oil crackers and a lot of water based hazers such as the unique 2 have a real problem with the haze reliquefying inside gear, which is unacceptable in my opinion..

I noticed reliquification mostly as residue on fans. I have since stopped placing my water based hazer near projectors.

[norty303]

I've commented previously but I find my tour gazer and haze base machines run very 'dry'. Even when I've had them running all night directly behind truss or rigging, there has been very little residue.

[neutrino]

I looked for a tour hazer and base hazer but came across a new Unique 2.1 running on 120V for a very good price. From what I read they are pretty much the same machines minus the built in flightcase

[masterpj]

the tour hazer 2 controlls in a similar way but isn't the same machine. ^^

[norty303]

The Hazebase, Tour Hazer and Unique are all basically the same internally. All of the fluids are interchangeable between the brands.
Don't be tempted to use other fluid, always use fluid specifically for one of those machines. It's expensive but they are frugal.

[drm916]

If you want an oil cracker.. talk to Adam. He has one that he really likes.. and its not expensive at all.

[Bradfo69]

If you want an oil cracker.. talk to Adam. He has one that he really likes.. and its not expensive at all.

That's the American DJ Haze Generator. The issue with that is it's not DMX controllable and has a large footprint but, the output would be probably perfect for David's house.

[frostypaw]

I spent a silly amount off time researching this very recently with sorta similar requirements, so while this might only repeat some of the above it's a braindump of what I found.

If you're concerned about oil build up there's no escaping the risk with the oil machines - just check out the gorgeous sparkling haze you end up with after searing a few steaks... though interrupting dinner for lasers got a few frowns it's still floating oil that ends up somewhere just as it does in your kitchen. If you're planning on opening the doors/turning on the AC and venting then the hang time gives you long enough to get it out before it settles but it's not going anywhere else by itself. The phantom wins because it's so very very fine there's so very little oil and it hangs for so long it's probably miles away by the time it settles.

The glycol/water based fluids are all hydroscopic so only deposit dry residue - though I never found firm word on how the glycerol based ones deposit. All been in use for decades with only problems when objects are too close to the vent.

Hang times vary within each type based on particle size and fluid concentration for glycol - use the right fluid! The folk that make the Phantom oil based one have glycol based ones with .2micron particle size that has a hang time of over an hour! Check out any machine you think you've settled on as someone will have said somewhere. The ones recommended here are all relatively fine compared to mass market.

If glycol wins for you folk seem to agree on the hazebase/tour hazer/unique as above but i'm a glycol queen and get itchy so meh for me.
I like glycerol and am very happy with my old and simple neutron, smells like gigs of old and the hang time is just fine.
Oil is the best haze by far, the phantom the best hazer and the antari HZ350 the most liked cheap one - but oil issues - I'd prefer it for places with ventilation though but no dice for me playing at home

Hope it's some help

[dkumpula]

Thanks for the brain-dump, Frostypaw. Paying closer attention to fog solution may be a better place to start.

One of the challenges I have is varying room ventilation. The majority of the time, the room full of operating devices creating a good deal of heat and therefore an AC that is cycling regularly. This room has its own AC zone, but the intakes for all zones are always open by design. This means that the fog is sucked into the filters (which are plastic, not paper-based) and mixed with "non-fogged" air, resulting in loss of fog pretty quickly. On cold Winter days, leaving the same fog-timer settings quickly turns the room into a bowl of pea-soup. As a side note, it would be nice to set up a "haze meter" of sorts and have that trigger the fogging. (I'll bet a smart guy like Ed Keefe could design this . . .)

As you pointed out, the fog juice is critical. I finally got through my cheaper fog juice and started using Froggy's Technofog based on Buffo's recommendation. Its finer and appears to last longer. It also results in much better filming. I have found the hard way that an over-fogged room makes everything look like it was filmed in low-res.

Here's a comparison:
Properly fogged with Froggy's Technofog


Slightly over-fogged with cheaper fog:


In any case, if I switch to haze, I'm concerned that the stuff will eventually settle on something I can't easily clean such as walls. Furnishings, air-filters and floors are all cleaned regularly and a bit of oil wouldn't hurt them. Drywall on the other hand would be messy. I guess I'll have to give this more of a think.

Again, thanks to all for the input. Your real-world experience is extremely valuable.

-David

[flecom]

I love my DF-50, if you can find one for a reasonable price jump on it