The smoke machine is an important piece of equipment for stage lighting. Without it, the light loses 50% of its brightness and aesthetics. The created smoke screen has the effect of blocking the light of the lights, creating a stream, the stage will be more brilliant, not to mention the times when the performance creates strong effects. So you already know how do smoke machines work. Let’s find out in the article below!
Below is the list of information in this post:
- Machine usage and maintenance
- Is the smoke from a smoke machine harmful?
- How do smoke machines work
- Some of the best smoke machines in the market
Table of Contents
Machine Usage And Maintenance
The best place to place the smoke machine is right on the stage floor
The smoke generators should be placed in the wings to spray directly into the center of the stage. If using the smoke machine outdoors or in a windy place, we must place it in the direction of the wind into the stage, so that the wind does not blow the smoke out and consume the smoke solution.
We control the smoke machine to spray regularly at a certain frequency to ensure enough smoke for the stage. At the climax, we can spray continuously in the middle of the stage to let the two streams of the smoke meet to rise to create a very beautiful effect. Depending on the different specific stages we choose the specific number and type of smoke machine.
With the stage of mellow lyrical music, we put a small fan in front of the smoke generator to evenly blow the smoke out throughout the stage, creating a dim space, easy to catch the rays of the effect lights. We can adjust the fan and smoke machine so that the smoke comes out evenly, the flow is not visible but still enough to catch the light of the stage lights.
Standard smoke-generating solution is a non-toxic chemical so we can breathe comfortably on a smokey stage without worrying about health effects. However, we should pay attention not to let the smoke-producing solution get into the mouth.
Another thing worth noting is that the smoke-forming solution is an oil-absorbing chemical, when it returns to the liquid state, it can never be dry. Therefore, if the smoke stream is too close to other sound and light equipment for a long time, those devices will stick to a lot of oil and cannot dry, which may damage the device.
How to maintain the most effective performance stage smoke generator
The smoke-forming solution has no odor, but if left for a long time, there will be chemical residues, under high temperature, it will burn, producing aldehydes with a burning smell. So we should
- Clean the smoke generator periodically.
- Do not start the device for too long before spraying smoke, about 5 to 10 minutes is enough, when not in continuous use, turn off the smoke machine.
- After using up about 2 bottles of smoke-generating solution, we should give the sprayer about 1/2 liter of clean water to push out all the chemical residues in the copper pipe.
- Sometimes we have to open the smoke outlet of the machine to avoid clogging the outlet leading to pump failure.
- We should not mix the smoke solution with other odorants because when heated, the odorants will become harmful to health.
- When the smoke generator does not spray smoke but water, let’s review the thermostat system. It’s possible that for some reason it doesn’t generate enough heat for the chemical to fully boil, so water is left over. Sometimes, if the thermostat fails to shut off the heat, there will be a spray of liquid aluminum instead of smoke, because the machine has overheated and melted the aluminum.
- Check when it will run out of smoke-forming solution, when it runs out, keep pressing it and it will burn the pump
Is The Smoke From A Smoke Machine Harmful?
Dj speakers combined with a smoke machine will give you a perfect experience. As you all know, smoke generators are now an indispensable part of large and small stages, in discos or in halls in the countryside, now there are smoke generators at weddings. With white smoke like dew rising up combined with the light of par led, moving head, laser to create a very romantic and beautiful stage space.
Those fumes are made up of a type of smoke-forming solution known as a disco-smoke solution. There are two main types of disco smoke generators, one is DJ fragrant smoke solution, the other is DJ Power’s normal smoke solution.
DJ smoke generator is a mixture of water and a few other chemicals. When sprayed out, there will be no odor and is not toxic to humans. In case you smell a burning smell when you spray smoke, then that smoke is harmful.
Why? Because it is essentially a smokeless solution that is not harmful to human health, however, when we use a smoke machine for a long time without maintenance, in the copper pipe a spray part of the machine has chemical residue due to accumulation. long time. When the machine works, it burns the residual chemical residues, producing aldehydes with a burning smell.
Getting rid of the chemical residues in the smoke generator is very simple, but not everyone knows it. When you have used about 6 liters of smoke-generating solution, please maintain it once, take 0.5 liters of clean water into the machine. Then spray until all the water is gone.
This is a very important step in the maintenance of the smoke generator because it has the effect of washing away the residual chemical residues during your use. Next, you should remember that during use, do not let the machine wait for a long time, before using it, you should start it before 8 minutes, then turn it off after using it.
How Do Smoke Machines Work
First, the structure of the smoke generator has 3 main parts that are the fuel tank, then the solution pump, and finally the hot block or another name is the combustion chamber.
The principle of operation of the stage smoke generator is that we pour the smoke-generating solution into the fuel tank. Then plug in the power and wait for about 7 minutes for the machine to warm up the combustion chamber. When the combustion chamber has reached a certain hot threshold, it will notify the role of heat, and notify the control arm.
At that time, we press the button to control the pump, it will pump fuel through the combustion chamber, in the combustion chamber under the heat of the chemicals in the smoke-forming solution will react with each other to create white, light smoke screens that fly up in the air. spatial.
Finally, the function and effect of the smoke machine. In fact, the effect of the stage smoke generator is very simple, but not everyone understands it. Smoke from the smoke machine, when flying to the stage area, will be combined with stage lights such as par led lights, moving lights, effect led lights, laser lights to increase lighting effects for the stage or make The stage is more magical.
This is the function of the smoke generator on the stage. Now the smoke generator has a new mission to serve in the industrial field. Such as testing the fire alarm system, testing the ventilation duct system
It is a long spiral copper tube placed next to a large-capacity thermistor (several hundred to several thousand watts). It’s all housed in a single-piece die-cast aluminum body, with a temperature sensor attached. At the inlet of the copper pipe is a small electric pump (pump) used to pump the smoke-forming solution into the copper tube from the tank
When the resistor is heated and the heat is transferred to the aluminum block, the thermal sensor will set the maximum temperature of the whole block to disconnect the heating circuit, about 212 degrees Celsius. At this point, the device will automatically connect to the circuit so that we can supply power to the pump.
The solution for the smoke generator is a mixture of water and many chemicals. When pumped into copper pipes. Under high temperatures, the chemical will boil and produce smoke (at about 160 degrees Celsius).
The water in the solution also boils and creates tremendous pressure that pushes all these chemicals out, creating smoke. When the temperature drops, to a certain extent, the thermal stabilizer circuit will heat up the resistor again and at the same time cut off the pump circuit. The device operates in such a cyclical cycle.
So, with small capacity smoke generators, quickly reducing heat, sometimes when you press the pump and do not see the operation, it is in a dead cycle. To avoid this unintended control situation, you must equip a smoke generator with a larger capacity, longer cooling time.
Some Of The Best Smoke Machines In The Market
Donner DFM-500 500W
[amazon box=”B081B216WL” ]
The Donner DFM-500 Fog Tool is able to provide you and your guests a party vibe. The lamp instantly follows music or beat with varying patterns and audio-driven functions to play a variety of lighting locations to make your event bright and distinctive.
Take the hazer’s bolts and grip in order to flexibly change the height, so that the bright and fog image can be branded for the theater, marriage, Christmas, harvest, living concerts, dance, anniversary and family celebrations, weddings, or other venues.
This luminaire has an independent capacity to provide quick and smooth movement with color fades, strobes, fixed hues, and sound-activated methods integrated into microcontrollers.
In our DJ moving spotlights, the brightness and shapes are reactive to the beat of the song as audio-triggered.
The DFM-500 Lighting Fog generator is provided with multiple radio remote controllers, one for the mist generator and another for Light bulbs, making choosing the different light options and changing of light easier.
During painting, you may switch on/off the RGB lighting. The Donner DFM smoke machine has door handles (choose colors in an easy way). The start button of the device still has a heater lamp. Whenever the light indication is off and heated, red is warmed up.
JDR Smoke Machine
[amazon box=”B07R8PMQ5X” ]
The fog machine from JDR is a secure, skilled fog that generates large, thick fog, just how you wished. It is perfect to create a distinctive ambiance for any type of situation and enhance ambient lighting.
The Fog Machine is ideal both for interior and outside uses, notably for festivals (wedding decorations, home parties, night clubs, family gatherings, and more.)
The JDR fog machine does not need a difficult administration, therefore the machine operates well only according to film instructions of the procedure.
The mist press is 500W with a 2000CFM discharge. It is fitted with a picture story temperature controller and unique tube innovation and requires only 3-4 minutes at least and 14-30 min to shoot.
Wireless and tv remote provided. The wireless transmitter allows you to operate your fog generator within a distance of 50 meters, or the cable interface is 3 meters.
VIRFUN Smoke Machine
[amazon box=”B07TSPYMJ7″ ]
Fog machine with RGB Led Lights with two separate tv remotes in one community room. White Control can be used for color and lighting settings, ebony Control for switching fog on/off.
Colorful Impact of Multicolored Smoke. It generates incomprehensible nebula and enables fluorescent fixtures together just to produce a wonderful and unique appearance. Appropriate for the establishment, thanksgiving action, etc.
Constructed aluminum to provide a better lifestyle and improved thermal management.
With a production of 2000 CFM (cubic kilometers per hour) up to 2-3 feet away the smoke machine generates highly rapid and consistent fog.
Watching this video for more detail:
Conclude
Dj controller and smoke machine are necessary equipment for a perfect party. The smoker is an important component of lighting equipment. The light will lose 50% of its luminosity and its beauty without it.
The produced smoke screen blocks light and generates a stream, the stage will be brighter, not to mention the moments when powerful effects occur. Hope the above article helps you to know how do smoke machines work.
