How to Build Fog Machines

Building a fog machine is possible using several different methods. Some are fairly technical, requiring compressors and mineral oil, for example, but the simplest fog machine is one that virtually anyone can make at home with little more than a 5-gallon plastic bucket, some hot tap water and possibly a small fan.

• 1

  Fill a 5-gallon bucket approximately three quarters full of hot water. Hot tap water will do, but water heated on the stove will work even better.

• 2

  Break 5 lbs. of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) into fist-sized chunks if it isn't already in small chunks. You can break dry ice by covering it with a cloth and hitting it with a hammer. Wear gloves and protective clothing whenever handling dry ice--do not let dry ice touch exposed skin.

• 3

  Drop the broken dry ice chunks into the hot water in the 5-gallon bucket. Within seconds large amounts of fog should be pouring over the sides of the bucket and spreading out in all directions, hugging the floor just like real fog.

• 4

  Blow air on the fog with a small fan to make it go in the direction you wish if that is necessary. Otherwise the fog should spread in a fairly even circle around the bucket.

• 5

  Remove the water from the bucket after five minutes and repeat the process to continue making fog.