Reddit reviews CHAUVET DJ Hurricane 1301 Fog Machine w/Wired Timer Remote and LED Illuminated Tank

If I can make a suggestion, I'd like to recommend something a lot more crowd friendly, that has the same effect.

Ralph's Mob uses three of these which are EXTREMELY stadium friendly, and can be used for travel matches as well. Yes, they are a little pricey, but they fill up two entire sections in a matter of seconds, and dissipate within about 30 seconds - which is pretty much all you need anyway. It smells like... well, nothing actually. It has no smell, it doesn't affect your breathing, no one is scrambling for air, and it still has the same look as a smoke bomb. You can usually fire them about 20 to 30 times before a fill up, depending on the duration. The fog juice is kinda cheap.

I love the smoke, but it's noxious, whether you use sulphur based or potassium. What you want is the same effect without all the health hazards - and this is the best way. All it requires is electricity.

Less than $200, here you go

Okay! After much discussion (seriously a lot), the club has purchased a fog machine (this one, also used by Ralph's Mob: http://www.amazon.com/Chauvet-Lighting-Hurricane-1301-Machine/dp/B00IH0BOPK/ref=sr_1_13?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1410839991&sr=1-13).

It will be at the game on Saturday. Because there is no electricity on the Dark Clouds side of the stadium, we are also renting a reasonably quiet generator.

Please help us communicate that people should leave their smoke bombs (any kind of smoke bombs) at home. We're working with the Dark Clouds to figure out who will be responsible for throwing the switch when we inevitably score all the goals.

I'd like to respectfully improve upon a few of the great ideas /u/dlongwing posted.

> Hot air rises, cold air falls.

True, but in a home you should read up on the Stack Effect. What truly happens in a house is the air flows down or up if your house "envelope" is not sealed. For example, if you have sliding glass doors in the basement, and there is a large gap between them, it's similar to having a window open. Then upstairs if you have bathroom exhaust fans, leaky windows, electrical outlets, light fixtures ... the air can escape through them. Now, heat rises, and will go out the holes upstairs and draw in outside air from the basement sliding glass door. Everything you can do to seal the envelop can help. However, if you have gas appliances it is CRITICAL to not block too much airflow. Without proper airflow CO can be released into the living space which can be fatal. Additionally, without enough air exchange, you create the "sick house" environment, where mold grows and otherwise does not allow enough fresh air.


> Seal up ALL the gaps around the doors at tops/bottoms of stairs.

You can do this, but only for unconditioned rooms that have HVAC returns. Otherwise, if you have one or more central HVAC returns, it is critical for the air to flow through the system. Your HVAC pushes air into the rooms, and then pulls it back out to the return. It does so by pulling air under doors, which is why there is often a 1" gap at the bottom - it's for airflow.

> Direct sunlight is your enemy in high summer.

Absolutely correct. However, rather than using tinfoil or curtains, look into heat reflective window film. For $40 or so you can get a roll of 36" wide (or more) film and apply it to your windows. It can drop temps by 5-10 degrees, reduce the BTU load on your HVAC, and make the home cooler.

> Your AC unit may be underpowered. Replacing it with a larger air conditioner may solve some of your problems.

Be very careful about this line of thinking. While that can be a possibility, you should not just throw a new HVAC unit at the problem. Insufficient insulation is a top reason for issues. Next is leaking HVAC ductwork. Finally, a leaking home envelope.

Many older homes, built in the 60's through 80's have completely insufficient insulation. My last house had 3" of insulation. Short story I added 6" of blown in cellulose on top of the old stuff, and my HVAC changed OVERNIGHT from running 24x7 and barely keeping the house at 80 degrees, to running 4-8 hours and keeping it at 70 degrees. It cost me $600 and took about 6 hours to do with the help of a friend.

Leaking ductwork can have losses of 25% to 75%! The easiest way to find issues is to block off all your registers, use a BIG fog machine like this one, hook it up to a return, remove filters, and turn it on with the HVAC system turned off. In a few minutes smoke will start leaking out of any holes. Follow ducts anywhere you can, such as in your attic, crawlspace, or utility room. Use foil-backed HVAC tape, mastic tape, or mastic to seal any holes you can find.

You should also check if you have any dampers in your ductwork. Simply look for any wingnuts or little handles in the center of metal ducts. They should have an open and closed position. If they are closed, open them. In many houses I've seen, the dampers have been closed, and opening it/them has allowed a HUGE amount of airflow into the home. In my current home my basement office was nearly 80 degrees. Turns out there was a damper, which I opened and within an hour the temp dropped to 71 degrees.

> Get your AC inspected/serviced by a professional. It could be low on coolant refrigerant, or in need of cleaning or other maintenance.

Absolutely agreed. However, if it is low on refrigerant, that means your system has a leak. AC systems are sealed and never need more refrigerant unless it has leaked out. Any tech who offers to refill it but NOT find and seal the leak is ripping you off.

There are also a number of other components that should be checked, but be sure you hire a company that does a thorough and comprehensive inspection. Call/research 5-10 companies and you'll quickly get an idea of who offers a good package versus using it as a trick to (most likely) just do a sales pitch to get a new system,

If your evaporator (inside) or condenser (outside) coils are dirty, they should be cleaned. If you are handy, it's a DIY job, especially on the condenser. Google/Youtube how to do this. I laughed when a recent HVAC tech offered to clean my condenser coils for $120, when the cleaner costs $15 or so and you just spray it on, wait, and hose it off very gently so you don't bend the fins.

> Have your attic and rim joists spray-foamed. This costs a ton, but the efficiency gains from doing it are crazy!

This is correct, but there's more to it. The details are lengthy, so please search online. Briefly, if you spray foam the whole thing, you need to seal your attic.

Good luck!