Stick with haze or go back to fog?

[jlcpremier]

I have a ADJ Haze Generator which has been great for the last 2 years, no problems other then the remote going bad, and getting replaced. Plus I love how I don't have to go through gallons and gallons of fluid like I had to do with fog. I purchased it because I heard that haze was better then fog overall and especially when it comes to working at indoor venues that haze is allowed. Lately more and more indoor venues have been telling me to turn the haze off even when I explain to them it poses no risk to their fire alarms...they simply don't care, and it kills the effectiveness of my lighting. Also I've been doing quite a few outdoor shows and the hazer pretty much is useless outdoors. It doesn't disperse like fog, so most of it blows away before ever reaching the dance floor, so I'm thinking it may be time to go back to fog. Any recommendations? I'd say I need one that can handle everything from a 50 kid dance upwards of filling a high school gym. Also not looking to spend a huge amount of money either. My hazer cost upwards of $400 so would prefer to stay at or under the $200 range.

[instinct]

I have a ADJ Haze Generator which has been great for the last 2 years, no problems other then the remote going bad, and getting replaced. Plus I love how I don't have to go through gallons and gallons of fluid like I had to do with fog. I purchased it because I heard that haze was better then fog overall and especially when it comes to working at indoor venues that haze is allowed. Lately more and more indoor venues have been telling me to turn the haze off even when I explain to them it poses no risk to their fire alarms...they simply don't care, and it kills the effectiveness of my lighting. Also I've been doing quite a few outdoor shows and the hazer pretty much is useless outdoors. It doesn't disperse like fog, so most of it blows away before ever reaching the dance floor, so I'm thinking it may be time to go back to fog. Any recommendations? I'd say I need one that can handle everything from a 50 kid dance upwards of filling a high school gym. Also not looking to spend a huge amount of money either. My hazer cost upwards of $400 so would prefer to stay at or under the $200 range.


Hazers can set off fire alarms.. Everyone on here will say NO.. but I believe that ADJ Haze is pretty much a junk hazer anyways..

What kind of event are you using these for?? I use fog outside all the time.. really depends on the wind.. but usually works pretty well. I am not doing "classy" events though where haze may be needed.

[jlcpremier]

Been checking out a few options....the Chauvet Hurricanes come pretty highly rated. I'm just trying to decide between going with the 1100 or spend the extra $50 and get the 1300 w/ the timer remote. The 1300 is a lot bigger and louder from what i understand though. All I know is I used to have a ADJ Dyno Fog II and that thing was crap, so not looking at going down that road again.

[Synaxis]

Instinct is correct. Haze is capable of setting of fire alarms. A fire alarm works by detecting how many particles there are in the air per a specific volume.

Haze essentially creates particles in the air which causes the light to reflect off of, there for making light shows more effective.

Once the particles per volume reach a certain threshold, the smoke detector is tripped, and the fire alarm goes off.

Plus, if the venue you are at does not allow haze, why would they allow smoke?

You would need a pretty powerful hazer to use outdoors, one that would defiantly be way over your budget.

A fog machine outdoors is an option as you mentioned, but if it's a windy day, you can forget about that.

Also, a bit off topic, but back in DJF 1.0 there was a fairly inexpensive *entry-level* hazer that everyone was recommending. I believe it was around $400, but I can't remember the brand or model. Antari perhaps? Definitely wasn't Chauvet or ADJ. If anyone remembers, I'd love to know.

[Badger]

Archer, the brand you're thinking of is MBT. DJF member "GroovyDJs" was a major proponent of theirs, and would often point out when their hazers were showing up on eBay for low prices.

:badger:

[Coronaoperator]

Also, a bit off topic, but back in DJF 1.0 there was a fairly inexpensive *entry-level* hazer that everyone was recommending. I believe it was around $400, but I can't remember the brand or model. Antari perhaps? Definitely wasn't Chauvet or ADJ. If anyone remembers, I'd love to know.

The American DJ haze Generator/Antari HZ-100/ MBT Hazers are all the same unit rebranded. Those were the $400 ones recommended.

They are alright for smallish dancefloors, but no way near enough for outdoors. I own one of those units and now have upgraded to the Radiance hazer. WAY brighter beams and the unit can haze a city block (with little to no wind) but is over your budjet. A fogger will still look like fog IMO.

[LiteTrix]

It was the MBT hazer. Pretty sure Antari makes one similar to it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MBT-HZ300-DMX-Pro-Haze-Hazer-Machine-Party-DJ-Effect-/130687599743?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6d96847f&_uhb=1#ht_1633wt_1398

EDIT: If you go with the MBT/Antari make sure to get the HZ300 its a bit more powerful.

[instinct]

I have this cheap fogger:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chauvet-Hurricane-1300-3-3L-Capacity-DJ-Fixture-Effect-/360165533349?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53db89e6a5#ht_2667wt_952 (I really like that Ebay seller, so I would recommend buying from them)..


For $150, you get a ton of fog.. I would suggest for outdoors keeping it so it fog frequently in short bursts... Also, it would be good to have a floor fan to disperse the fog...

I also have one of these: http://www.superdj.com/antari-x310-ii-faze-foghaze-combo-machine - but it's a lot more money... The fog comes out in a finer constant haze.. it's still fog not haze though.. It works even better for outdoors, it has a fan already built in..

[Synaxis]

Archer, the brand you're thinking of is MBT. DJF member "GroovyDJs" was a major proponent of theirs, and would often point out when their hazers were showing up on eBay for low prices.

:badger:

The American DJ haze Generator/Antari HZ-100/ MBT Hazers are all the same unit rebranded. Those were the $400 ones recommended.

They are alright for smallish dancefloors, but no way near enough for outdoors. I own one of those units and now have upgraded to the Radiance hazer. WAY brighter beams and the unit can haze a city block (with little to no wind) but is over your budjet. A fogger will still look like fog IMO.

It was the MBT hazer. Pretty sure Antari makes one similar to it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MBT-HZ300-DMX-Pro-Haze-Hazer-Machine-Party-DJ-Effect-/130687599743?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6d96847f&_uhb=1#ht_1633wt_1398

EDIT: If you go with the MBT/Antari make sure to get the HZ300 its a bit more powerful.

Ah, yes. MBT sure sounds familiar! Thanks for the help +Rep!

[b.ill]

I'm DJing outdoors a lot this summer and really like my ground fogger with the ice lid opened up when I'm outside. The fog "erupts" out of the top like a volcano when you set it up like this. Definitely works better than the nozzle units I have. Even when you can't feel a breeze it spreads out pretty fast, and when there is a bit of a wind it hangs in there better.

[fueledbymusic]

I have a question about your fog machines. How long does one gallon of fluid last on those?

[DJ Higgumz]

why not have both? haze for indoor, fog for outdoor.

[fueledbymusic]

why not have both? haze for indoor, fog for outdoor. HAHA! I got all excited when I saw a new post on this thread after I asked my question. Thinking it the answer to my question... LOL LOL

[DJ Higgumz]

Haha. I do advise on saving up for a hazer, it is well worth it. Foggers are designed to be an effect not for light complimenting. Read mystics sticky about lighting. A fazer is probably better, though I've never used one.

[sin303]

Haze for sure, just get a better unit. Look at Antari.

[Dj Pudgey]

If you have the money Le Maitre is the best hazers in the business. http://www.lemaitre.co.uk/productInformation.aspx?UKeyCategory=8&UKeyProduct=3

[STLRiverCity]

If you have the money Le Maitre is the best hazers in the business. http://www.lemaitre.co.uk/productInformation.aspx?UKeyCategory=8&UKeyProduct=3

Their Neutron XS hazer looks a lot like the Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2. The output looks the same too. I wonder if it is the same unit?

[blasterman]

Their Neutron XS hazer looks a lot like the Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2.

I hope not. I've gone through two Haze 2's in the past 14 months, and as far as I'm concerned the product is junk. I know a lot of people like them, but mine are boat anchors. They also suck a lot of fluid.

Let's step back for a second and talk about haze -vs- smoke. Fog/smoke machines use combustion and hazers, well, don't. Fog/smoke machines partially 'burn' the fluid so that the droplets are forced out of the heater coil by air pressure via expanding gas pressure, which is why they are loud. The heating of the fluid also causes the drops to fill with air bubbles, causing them to be opaque, but basically white.

Haze machines use mechanical compression in the form of a sprayer / venturi or compressed gas (Co2) for oil based 'crackers' to break the fluid into smaller drops. Also, many smaller hazers do have a heating element, because if they didn't the haze would fall to the floor because it's room temp and the droplets are rather large compared to more expensive units. Warm haze will rise, which is what we want given 90% of them are run near the floor and are lights are on a truss.

Fog / smoke machines, due to the nature of their particles formed by combustion tend to be harder for lower powered lighting to get through. Hazers one the other hand produce drops which are inherently clear, so it's easier for light to get through. Also, smoke / fog machines tend to produce much more of an odor than hazers. The problem with hazers, and where I differ from a lot of the so called 'garage experts' on youtube is refraction only gets you so far and is limited off axis. If you have brighter lights I found fog / smoke worked better, but needed some tweaks (see below). For smaller rooms and venus haze is likely preferable because it's more even and lights are confined. This hower doesn't work in my situation.

Like I said, I've gone through a couple Haze 2's, and wasn't impressed with them when they worked. A buddy of mine has a Lemaitre, and while I didn't do a side by side I swear the haze consistency was very similiar. Two differences were the Lemaitre haze was neutral in color while the Haze 2 running Chauvet fluid has a slight yellow cast in it. The Lemaitre also used 1/4 the fluid as the Haze 2, and it, ahem, still works.

My choices were to either go with an arena class hazer because I have a large venu to support, or some kind of way to get my smoke / fog to work better. Oil based hazers are not an option for me, so I had to improvise. What I ended up doing was cutting water based fog juice 1:1 with distilled water, and this reduced the density of the smoke / fog to near perfection. I use cheap Eliminator fog-juice, and mix it 1:1 with distilled water, and it works great. Smell is reduced a bit, clogging is drastically reduced to the point of no longer being a problem, and consumables prices are halved. A have a Chauvet hurricane 1800 flex, a Chauvet 1300, and Irradiant Flex (now called an Irradiant Variable). The Irradiant is the best unit of the three, is less noisy, and allow you to adjust smoke density rather than duration on auto.

All three units run *much* better using diluted fog juice. A couple strategically placed house fans also help disperse things.

[DJ M&M]

buy a radiance and youll never go back ;)

[Jim Beck]

Just got my Chauvet haze 2d and love it pictures are better light beams are perfect and it is very quiet I was using dyno fogs before and this thing replaced two fog machines filled the event center faster and uses less power almost no warm up time I absolutely love it

[CHAUVET DJ]

If you're trying to decide between fog and haze, check out this blog post http://chauvetdjblog.com/2012/05/09/foggers-vs-hazers/ for some suggestions