Looked up old fog machine plans from 2005 and couldn't believe the difference

I was digging through some old forums last night and found a fog machine build guide from 2005. They were using a 1000 watt heating element with a garden sprayer as the tank. Compared to the little 400 watt ones we build now with pumps and temperature controllers, it felt like looking at a different hobby. The whole thing cost them about $60 in parts back then and mine was only $35 last week. Has anyone else gone back and seen how much safer and easier the plans have gotten over the years?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_scott4d ago

Did a buddy of mine almost set his garage on fire with one of those old garden sprayer builds back in '06? Thing melted a plastic fitting and sprayed hot glycol everywhere while he was testing it.

fisher.mason4d ago

Yeah, hot glycol spraying everywhere is a classic sign the fittings weren't rated for that heat. I'd swap out all plastic barbs for brass or stainless ones before you ever fire it up. Also, make sure you use a high temp silicone hose, not just cheap vinyl tubing from the hardware store. Did you check the pressure rating on the sprayer itself before you ran it?