New Haze Machine!

[Capt. Kirk]

It's been a long while since DJForum has been up so this will kind of also serve as a "hello my name is". So on the old forum I was trying to decide on the best haze machine to buy for the money and had it narrowed down to two. The American DJ hazer and the Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2. I have since decided to buy the Chauvet hurricane Haze 2 and should be getting it in the mail sometime this week or next. At that time I will make an extensive update to this thread with an overview of the product including it in use as well as my feelings about it. Hopefully I will also get out some of my other fog machines to do some comparison shots and side by sides to help people better see the difference between the two and just how much of a difference they make which is sometimes hard to see on YouTube or other sites. So until then goodbye and its great to have this wonderful forum back up and running. :D

Here are the two choices I had narrowed it down to...

The American DJ HAZE Generator.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2216/hazegenerator.jpg
Cost: Around $400
Reasons for not buying. I personally feel like the haze generator looks a little less professional than the Hurricane does and also offers fewer features than the Hurricane for a higher price. It has also been called into question on DJF 1.0 just how valid of a hazer it was and I decided it is better just to avoid buying a glorified hazer if possible. One more thing about the American DJ hazer is that it does not offer a hanging bracket for truss mounting or DMX capability which should be thought about when buying and placing a hazer.

The Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8986/chahurrhaze21.jpg
Cost: Average is $300
The Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2 is actually a genuine hazer but above that it offers a little more control of the output with a squirrel/hamster style fan motor and a directional plate. Another cool feature besides the better control from what i have seen and read is the tank LED which changes colors to indicate low fluid, warming up time, and ready to go which is a significant advantage over the American DJ model.

That concludes the information I have to present to you at this time.

[andythemusician]

Sounds like you've pretty much made your decision already, and based on the information you have given alone, and without considering any other products, I agree that the Chauvet model would be better.

[DJ M&M]

a Raidiance would have been better but I think you made the right choice out of the two ;)

[LiteTrix]

Looking forward to that review Kirk. Did you ever get those movers working? Any new lights? Good to have you back :)

[Capt. Kirk]

a Raidiance would have been better but I think you made the right choice out of the two ;)
I forgot to mention that I don't have the 1K to drop on a haze machine and was faced with the choice of three 300-400 dollar units. The two above and also I believe (but its been a while) an Antari haze machine but the Antari was very hard to find online so it narrowed to these two for the price.


Looking forward to that review Kirk. Did you ever get those movers working? Any new lights? Good to have you back :)

I did manage to get them completely up and running except for the Y rotation on the two. I took one of the stepper motors completely apart and realized the problem is that the actual shafts of the motors have broken on the inside (for both) from wear I suspect, and managed to get them to turn again but they just don't have the power to rotate the huge heads. So now they are nice and squeaky clean, very good optics, lots of colors and gobos, as well as good X rotation. I even have the motors needed to replace the current ones down which was no easy feat considering the American DJ had absolutely no specs for them any more so it really comes down to me just trying them out and at 80 dollars a motor I am taking my time making that decision but should buy the motors and install them before summer hits.

I believe I stated on DJF 1.0 that I got an American DJ Tripleflex (which worked out okay) but also one of my Venue 250W scanners decided to break due to a bad cable so I ended up buying another two pack of them and using one for parts and repairing the second which was no easy feat considering they were dropped, but luckily I now have three of those Venue 250W scanners and one for parts if they decide to break again. I may also be getting some new LED par cans with this hazer but I have not yet decided on which ones to get just yet.

And finally... I really missed this place. :D

[LiteTrix]

Cool. Gotta get some pictures up of your rig brah!

[Capt. Kirk]

I have the LED par can that i may be buying narrowed down to just two. An American DJ LED P56 par can or the American DJ Mega Par Profile. I know the P56 costs about 30-40 dollars more than the Mega Par Profile but that does not always mean an advantage over the other with American DJ so I am wondering just how many blue-green-red LED's are in the P56 and the Mega bar Profile. I am partial to American DJ for a par can right now because I already have one LED P56 can and plan on getting a second but if the Mega Par profile ($99) is better for less or at least the same I will get it and use the two together until I get another of one of them as of right now the LED P56 sits under our equipment table covered by a white cloth and illuminates the entire underside of the table.

[STLRiverCity]

I have the Chauvet unit and I am very happy with it.

[Capt. Kirk]

Just a quick update real quick. I did not get the Chauvet Hurricane Haze 2 but instead got the Hurricane Haze 2D version which gets rid of the DIP switches and instead of a large DMX chart on the tank door there is a diagram showing how to use the digital controls and also a large Chauvet logo. Other than that there is no difference and the same goes for its price. This will be my second time using digital DMX controls aside from the first being from the American DJ Tripleflex. So I may do a review have how to use that as well though it seems a little redundant, and it should be here by the weekend. :D

[Johnnotestine]

I bought the hurricane haze 2d and took it back after one use. The thing worked great in my garage, but in a large venue there is not enough output. I am now looking at the Antari hz-400 or a radiance. I hope the chauvet works for you, for me it was a waste of $300.

[Capt. Kirk]

Well my Hurricane Haze 2D came in today with the extra bottle of fluid for it I ordered. I am glad i got that "extra" as the hazer itself does not come with any fluid. I gave it a short test run and the first thing I find weird is there is literally no warm up time. The thing is ready to go in under 30 seconds which brings me to my next point. The tank LED's when first turned on are a solid red like you see in the few youtube videos of it and then within a minute it changes to blue just like it is supposed to. Then something different happens...The lights flash on and off of the blue which could simply just mean its running but I have no clue as no video shows it while running. Secondly after about a minute of use the tank LED's turn back to a flashing red color yet it is still safely producing haze at the same output as before. I guess it could simply be that the hazer may have air or something in it from the shipping and only having that limited amount of fluid in the pipe from the factory.

Either way I will take it to an event this weekend that is a gymnasium so we shall see just how well it does in a large area and also if any other issues come up.

[Shay.ca]

Keep us posted! Im interested!

[disbjohn]

Well my Hurricane Haze 2D came in today with the extra bottle of fluid for it I ordered. I am glad i got that "extra" as the hazer itself does not come with any fluid. I gave it a short test run and the first thing I find weird is there is literally no warm up time. The thing is ready to go in under 30 seconds which brings me to my next point. The tank LED's when first turned on are a solid red like you see in the few youtube videos of it and then within a minute it changes to blue just like it is supposed to. Then something different happens...The lights flash on and off of the blue which could simply just mean its running but I have no clue as no video shows it while running. Secondly after about a minute of use the tank LED's turn back to a flashing red color yet it is still safely producing haze at the same output as before. I guess it could simply be that the hazer may have air or something in it from the shipping and only having that limited amount of fluid in the pipe from the factory.

Either way I will take it to an event this weekend that is a gymnasium so we shall see just how well it does in a large area and also if any other issues come up.

I noticed my haze 2d does the same while running. It goes from Blue to blinking Red.

[Johnnotestine]

Make sure you have the tank full and the tube is completely submerged. Mine blinked when it was low on fluid. It would be nice if they told you that in the owner's manual!

[electricsmooth]

If you guys remember from djforums 1.0, there was only one answer to every "what haze machine to get" thread. It always came back to the radiance so I saved for months and picked one up.

It is actually a great piece of equipment with very little fluid consumption.

So for those of you new here, remember Radiance because you will hear it a lot.

[Johnnotestine]

If you guys remember from djforums 1.0, there was only one answer to every "what haze machine to get" thread. It always came back to the radiance so I saved for months and picked one up.

It is actually a great piece of equipment with very little fluid consumption.

So for those of you new here, remember Radiance because you will hear it a lot.

I found this out quickly and I am following your advice.

The Hurricane Hazer would be an OK piece of equipment for smallish house parties, but for a working DJ it is just not enough.

[Capt. Kirk]

Well we shall see. I am going to stay optimistic for now. Also I got off the phone with Chauvet today and it seems that there is an IR sensor inside the unit that detects fluid levels. This creates the blinking issue and they said that it is likely the IR is dirty or just not working properly so it is scheduled to be shipped back to Chauvet for repairs next Tuesday which leaves it for me for tomorrow at my gig. :D I will admit the Radiance is a better option as the "you get what you pay for" line comes to mind but there is a 700 dollar difference between my unit and the radiance so depending on how it does it could be a good option for the financially challenged.

Also I figured out the unit has a 1,200 cubit feet per minute output which is actually higher than the current fog machine I had been using which could handle the same size event just needing to run for a longer time so I figure that if I run the hazer for as long it should also cover the room, it may just take running longer which I guess I am okay with. At least until I can afford a radiance.

[Capt. Kirk]

Well I just got back from the gig tonight. I managed to get a few photos as well as a good bit of video of every single light I own at present which hasn't happened in a long time which felt great, but enough of that I am sure you are uninterested in that so...

I did indeed take the half working Hurricane Haze 2D to the event and after getting all of the lighting set up I plugged it in and started hazing the room. works fine except on my unit where every 15 seconds or so because of the fault IR sensor it auto shuts down the output and fan motor so you simply have to release and then repress the output button which bypasses that issue. Other than that minor inconvenience it worked perfectly. It took maybe 5-10 minutes (roughly, I was busy) of semi non-stop usage and the room was to what my eye thought would be a perfect haze and all of the beams from my lights were clearly visible but you could still see! So much better than fog. Now it took a while to fill the area because it was a large open gym so from a full tank of fluid it went down about a cm or two in total for the whole night so as far as fluid consumption goes I see it being no problem (for me anyways).

I see no reason why this unit could not be used for larger sized venues like a large gym but it could require longer running times or just continuous depending on just how much air flow the venue happens to have but over all should not have any issues.

I will try to get a video together by the end of next week to better give everyone and idea of this perfect addition to any setup.

[LiteTrix]

Nice! Glad your happy with it. Looking forward to that video brah!

[Capt. Kirk]

Well for all who have been following Here is a video of my complete lighting setup with the brand new haze machine on its maiden run.
--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOLV20efLYk&feature=youtu.be

I am still waiting for Chauvet to come and pick up the hazer for its repairs and I have enough video footage of the hazer to do an all haze machine video in the future. Also that video is shot with an older video camera so until I get a better camera or video camera it never does any of the lighting justice so the haze in real life was actually a good bit thicker and made the beams a lot more visible.

[LiteTrix]

MOLV20efLYk


Embedded for you Kirk :)

[Capt. Kirk]

MOLV20efLYk


Embedded for you Kirk :)

lol. I figured out how to embed one post after this one. :D

[Johnnotestine]

OK...now you got me wondering. This is way better than the effect I had after three hours of continuously running the Hurricane 2d.

My first thought was that the venue I was using the Hurricane in was too large. Now I wonder if I had a defective unit. The other possibility is that the school I was at had too good of ventilation.

Just out of curiosity: How tall are the ceilings in this venue? How long did you run the hazer for?

I've been looking hard at the Radiance, but will have to wait until next year to afford one. The other option is a used Neutron XS. Anyone have experience with a Neutron?

[Capt. Kirk]

Well I would say that the ceilings were about 2 1/2 stories tall give or take a foot or two. This particular venue has pretty good ventilation so even I was surprised by how well it did. I maybe had it running non-stop for 5-10 minutes. At that point I was busy setting things up still so I never really counted it. I do a school gym sized event every year and the thing with that place was I had to end up fogging it all because of open doors so it took longer than normal but I can't see three hours of non-stop use of the haze machine not filling an entire school to the level of a fog so I am thinking you had a bad unit, and that is not to uncommon for Chauvet it seems nowadays. Besides this haze machine with its safety faults I had to return a Chauvet Mega Strobe III for faulty DMX. Now I have only bought 3 new light from Chauvet including the hazer so that's a 2/3 ratio of failure so I am not sure what Chauvet's problem is as they get the units fixed quick enough and I have not had any issues since with the strobe so could just be their factory putting their units together wrong...a lot.

[SummitAudioDJ]

I bought the Antari HZ300 and love it. MBT had the same unit for sale for $150 less but nobody ever had it in stock when I was shopping. Maybe they do now.

[Capt. Kirk]

Well I finally got the haze machine back after its 5 week absence from my lighting fleet and of course Chauvet managed to not fix it at all. It still has the same issue as before where it just thinks its empty all of the time. I think I may take a look at the IR sensor myself, I find it strange that the invoice for the parts replaced lists the main PCB and also the heater which were both working fine before hand (the heater I know was). The Chauvet rep I have been working with is going to talk to the repair department about what they found wrong with it but he already advised me that sometimes the sensor gets dirty or a loose cable so we will see about that. The thing produces haze perfectly fine and i am happy with it but I have to have someone push the haze button every minute or so to reset the controller so it thinks it has been refilled or what ever its problem is.

I do have a much bigger event coming up on the 20th for a school, while the size is the same there are a lot more people that go to the school dance (for a different school) than the Blizzard ball one that I previously used the hazer for, plus I also have gotten another helping hand making a total of three workers including myself so I am hoping to have my setup times shortened and have the room properly hazed by the time the dance starts. I'll be sure to get another video of all the lighting and haze working together again and maybe if I have some time before the dance starts do a review of the hazer finally.

[DJ Higgumz]

OK...now you got me wondering. This is way better than the effect I had after three hours of continuously running the Hurricane 2d.

My first thought was that the venue I was using the Hurricane in was too large. Now I wonder if I had a defective unit. The other possibility is that the school I was at had too good of ventilation.

Just out of curiosity: How tall are the ceilings in this venue? How long did you run the hazer for?

I've been looking hard at the Radiance, but will have to wait until next year to afford one. The other option is a used Neutron XS. Anyone have experience with a Neutron?

I bought one clogged, and the fluid pump was broken. I need to get a new pump for 30 bucks, and a new tank of fluid. The fluid costs 50$ for it. The guy i bought it from said 2 would fill a NBA stadium. What I don't like about it us that the handle isn't ergonomic, and it has sharp edges. I haven't had it running, so I can't say how well it performs.

[Johnnotestine]

I bought one clogged, and the fluid pump was broken. I need to get a new pump for 30 bucks, and a new tank of fluid. The fluid costs 50$ for it. The guy i bought it from said 2 would fill a NBA stadium. What I don't like about it us that the handle isn't ergonomic, and it has sharp edges. I haven't had it running, so I can't say how well it performs.

Keep us posted when you get the Neutron running. I am still in the market for a good haze option.

[BillESC]

The Neutron XS is the previous model to the Radiance. It was a good machine at the time but the Radiance had major improvements.

[Capt. Kirk]

Heck the Neutron or the Radiance would easily out do the Chauvet hazer but at what price, a little under a grand to a grand if you can find them. Now if you manage to do like Higgumz did and can get one for fairly cheap or at least not a god bit more than the 300 for the ADJ or Chauvet ones then it would be worth the extra money for it for sure. Its just that each has its respective market, one is for a mobile DJ that doesn't make massive amount of money and does not need to do extremely large venues and the other is still for DJ's to an extent but more for larger DJ's or production company's as stated by what just two could do.

I am sure the "it uses less fluid and will save money over time" thing will come up and its true about that it will, but having to save up the grand for the hazer and then the 40 for the fluid would take a lot longer than the 300 dollar option and 20 for juice that would do most events fine. I don't know exactly how long it would take to make the difference count but I will give a rough estimate off of what mine uses fluid wise.

It seems I can do a four hour gig on maybe under a third of a gallon in a ventilated area, so say I do a gig every weekend. That would take a person 111 weeks at the exact same venue using the exact same amount of fluid to make the cost the same. Now lets say two a weekend, That's about 55 weeks till the initial cost would equal out. Going further say 4 events a week and this would be stepping up to higher DJ's, this would take about 27 weeks to equal out. As proven it would be better to get the radiance or neutron if you do a lot of gigs or big venues. But for me and I am sure other DJ's using the Chauvet one if you only do a gig or two a week would take two years for it to actually cost more than the base cost of the Radiance not including the fluid after the initial one for the radiance.

the only part of that math I think I could have messed up was the 1/3 a gallon usage per gig which I may not have perfectly calculated but I think I got it right.

So it really depends on what you can afford and what you need to do.

[DJ Higgumz]

I got mine for 50$. The guy has a huge system, and had four of these. This one clogged and he never used it again. Same with my roboscans, 75 each because they had a broken mirror. And I picked up a 12 channel mixer, audio snake and mic cables to run to china for only 10$. Moral of the story- do your research. Used highend equip is better than new mediocre crap. And it helps if your young. The older guys want to see young blood in the system. (but hate the hacks charging under 100 a gig).

[DJ Higgumz]

Also for me I haven't really had the urge to get it going, because most places I work don't alow hazers, just keep that in mind, find out if it is even worth buying- maybe invest the money in some other equip or music.

[Capt. Kirk]

Yet another update about the haze machine. The asshats at Chauvet literally know nothing about their lights. I took the side casing off the hazer to see if I could figure out why the thing always thought it was low. Turns out their were bubbles all over the line setting the Ir sensor off.
Because the units are shipped empty on fluid the IR sensor will ultimately go off for everyone. Because the units fluid pumps are a strange type of servo pump that pumps a very very tiny amount it takes forever to get all of the fluid through and bubbles out. Now I have the IR sensor part working but now the heater is only spewing out a little haze and a lot of fluid for some reason. There is a manual reset thermal switch that resets when the heater cools down which seems to be tripping because the heater does not get the fluid it needs do to the empty pipes problem the units have. So I am stuck right now trying to figure out if I need a new heater again and where I can rent a haze machine from for next Friday in the Troy area.

Any help on that.

[Capt. Kirk]

Nobody has a clue where a rental place is in Ohio?

[BillESC]

Found about a dozen. What city are you in?

http://www.google.com/search?q=Stagelighting+ohio&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7ADFA_en

[DJ Higgumz]

Keep us posted when you get the Neutron running. I am still in the market for a good haze option.

Well I just got it running! What it was was the pump power supply had a pot that needed adjustment on the pcb, just some turns of that and it started spewin haze! It was cool because if you over adjusted it, hot webs of haze fluid shot out. For the 30 seconds I ran it it filled my upstairs (where it was) to the point where seeing distance is 10 ft. Pretty impressive for the cubic foot of real estate it takes up!

If anyone has problems with the fluid pump there is a Blue pot just above the fan on the pcb, turn it ccw. (On other forums people had this question so maybe the search wizards will find this message). Great customer service by le maitre, replied to my email within 24 hrs. And was descriptive enough to help me out, even though the product is 11 yrs old!

[disbjohn]

Is $600 too much for a used Neutron XS?

[Johnnotestine]

Glad you got it running and it was easy!

Let me know how it does at a gig. I have had a crazy week of bookings and might be buying subs (Danley TH-118) and hazer (TBD) sooner than expected.

[Coronaoperator]

Is $600 too much for a used Neutron XS?



The one on e-bay right now? It looks like it's in very good shape and comes full of fluid (about $50 worth so he's really only asking $550 for it). Sounds about right especially if professional looks are important to you. I was looking at that too. Think I might just save up for a radiance to get the variable output and dmx.

I've seen some neutrons go for $300- $375 but they looked like they served in afganistan, had missing covers and handles, dents, spay paint on them, sold as is, etc. Ok for a permament install if you can hide them and are willing to work on them.

[disbjohn]

The one on e-bay right now? It looks like it's in very good shape and comes full of fluid (about $50 worth so he's really only asking $550 for it). Sounds about right especially if professional looks are important to you. I was looking at that too. Think I might just save up for a radiance to get the variable output and dmx.

I've seen some neutrons go for $300- $375 but they looked like they served in afganistan, had missing covers and handles, dents, spay paint on them, sold as is, etc. Ok for a permament install if you can hide them and are willing to work on them.

yeah that one. I was debating the same thing as well. I may just wait and go for the radiance.

[Coronaoperator]

yeah that one. I was debating the same thing as well. I may just wait and go for the radiance.

I know its tempting, but its an extra $600 for variable output on the radiance :banghead:

[DJ Higgumz]

If they go for that much than I got lucky! This Saturday I've got a wedding and I've got the ok from the bride... We'll see what happens as it's in the air, but they want the club atmosphere, and they insist I stick to top 40. It should be a fun one, I just hope this bride isn't too naive, being older people don't want to listen to usher! I digress- the xs is designed very well, the heating tube where the haze comes out is sideways, meaning there isn't a chance of people being hit by fluid. The flaws are the corners are sharp and the handle isn't comfortable. It seems more install oriented. But some corner hardware along with self drill/tap screws and liquid rubber or duct tape for the handle and your good to go!