# Low Budget Hazers?...



## btfilms (Mar 1, 2007)

Hey Everyone! So i talked to the director and he wants a Hazer for our next show DREAMGIRLS. Which i think is a good choice. We already went over budget for out lighting rental and I was wondering is there a Hazer out there that is good for a cheap price? i think he doesn't want to spend more then 500. i told him that probably no but i don't no. we also have a cheap 30 dollar fog machine thats crappy but i don't no if you can do haze with it or not. any ideas? I have looked into the haze in the can kinda thing and it just doesn't give the same effect. the stage is about a 70ft. by 40 ft. area. we will probably putting in the back and shooting it forward. noise isn't a big concern since its a musical and there is pretty much music through out the whole show. thanks

BT


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## Radman (Mar 1, 2007)

Look into rental, its cheaper than buying one.


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## sound_nerd (Mar 1, 2007)

See if you can rent a Reel EFX DF-50. IMO one of the best hazers for mid-output there is.
Also, you can find them everywhere. They run in the $2000 mark used, but a rental should be under $500.


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## mattm (Mar 1, 2007)

Try the Antari HZ-300. That should fit into your budget, and depending on the length of the show it might be cheaper than renting a DF-50.

http://www.elationlighting.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=1398&cat=Antari

Matt McCormick
www.cablepick.com


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## btfilms (Mar 1, 2007)

I did look into renting and its about the same price for a 3 week rental


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## SHARYNF (Mar 2, 2007)

you should be able to find a Martin Techno haze or the other name is H2k for that sort of budget. They probably use more juice than some of the oil units but have far lower residue IMO. Juice runs about 20 bucks a gallon They have a remote but it is not DMX normally, you can mod the unit for dmx by ordering some parts 62021008 (DMX PCB for Stagehazer). or you can get a special DMX remote for about 200 dollars DMX controller for the Technohaze (part number 92765001

Or you can get the zr33 remote which has a timer

I use a bunch of these hazers so I've researched the options 

Sharyn


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## jmabray (Mar 2, 2007)

Look at the Look Solutions, Unique 2 Hazer - for rental - for purchase I think its around 1500 list.
Best hazer for the bucks IMO


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## BillESC (Mar 2, 2007)

You can get a Chauvet HZ1000 hazer for under $ 200.00 new or the Antari Z 300II for $ 250.00. Both will probably work for your application.

I would strongly recommend the Le Maitre Radiance hazer however, excellent output, on board DMX control and runs 180 hours of one gallon of fluid. About $ 1000.00


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## drawstuf99 (Mar 2, 2007)

Does anyone have any really cheap time-crunch ideas on this issue? I've heard of using humidifiers but never saw much explanation. Ideas? Tis just for a last-minute effect for a scene on a show.


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## Van (Mar 2, 2007)

drawstuf99 said:


> Does anyone have any really cheap time-crunch ideas on this issue? I've heard of using humidifiers but never saw much explanation. Ideas? Tis just for a last-minute effect for a scene on a show.


 
If you are looking to haze just one scene out of a whole show you are going to have a lot of difficulties. Typically you turn on a hazer and let it run for quite a while to fill a proper sized room. You may want to look at using a fogger on just one scene. Don't use the "Stage and Studio" type fog as this is quick dissapating, Use the standard type and put a fan on it to blow it up in the air. The biggest issue your going to have with hazing just one scene is getting rid of the haze after just one scene.


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## btfilms (Mar 2, 2007)

Something to add that I forgot to mention which is very important is that it should be DMX or be able to have a wireless remote but preferably DMX!

Thanks for all of your suggestions but i am still looking.


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## drawstuf99 (Mar 2, 2007)

Yeah, I was consdering that too, but any info on the humidifier too? Just outta interest


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## gafftaper (Mar 3, 2007)

drawstuf99 said:


> Yeah, I was consdering that too, but any info on the humidifier too? Just outta interest



So the whole point of the Hazer is that it puts millions of little tiny particles in the air that just hang there and take a really long time to fall to the ground. The humidifier is going to put a lot of little particles in the air, but they won't suspend like haze fluid does. They are going evaporate quickly under the lights, look for something to attach to, or fall to the ground. If it was a REALLY small space and you had a couple of REALLY powerful humidifiers I can see how it might have some limited effect but I just don't see it working any where near the level of a hazer in the real world. 

I have seen it done at Disneyland with a super fine mister that creates a fog of water... but those aren't available at K-mart. I'm sure if you could find something on that level of precision it would cost more than a hazer and you would have a very wet stage and wet actors


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## soundlight (Mar 3, 2007)

You aren't going to get a haze effect without a hazer. I'd reccommend that you rent a DF-50 for your show, it should be in your budget, and it'll do everything that you want. And you can just hook it up to a non-dim circuit. The DF-50, the LeMatire Radiance, and the Rosco Hazemaker are the three popular hazers out of a small count of "real hazers" that use NO heating element, and just atomize particles. Some of the lower-priced models (american DJ, optima) do not atomize their particles as well, and thus the hang time is much less, and they leave more of a residue. Also, the DF-50, Radiance, and Hazemaker all use water-based fluid. Still further, some of the Chauvet, Martin, Jem, and Antari models use a heater instead of the atomization system, and are not hazers in the atomization (or "DF-50") sense of the word.

EDIT: I can't find a spec sheet on it (maybe you could help here BillESC?), but I think that the Antari HZ-300 might also go on my list of good hazers. I'll have to research it more.


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## gafftaper (Mar 3, 2007)

If I remember right the Rosco sales guy at LDI was very excited about the fact that their new Delta Hazer is the only Hazer officially approved by Actors Equity. 
Now who knows if that means anything exactly... but it was a pretty cool small machine with a high output.


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## jonhirsh (Mar 3, 2007)

http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/safesan/finalreport.pdf

Thats the link to the equity smoke and haze report. 

There are way way way more hazers approved by equity then a rosco one. 

Lemaitre, look solutions and many others. 

JH


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## Dave123 (Mar 15, 2007)

Anyone ever find anything out about the Antari Z 300II. I'm kind of interested in this. I need a cheap hazer. I've been using a Chauvet f1050 fog machine. It's for pretty small rooms 100-400 capicity mostly. Cost is the real problem.


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## icewolf08 (Mar 15, 2007)

Going back to the mentions about Actors Equity and fog and haze machines. First off, this thread is about using a hazer in a school. Educational theatre is wonderful because there is no union to govern the actors, so you can put as much smoke and haze on stage as you want. With regards to what Equity says about fog and haze is as such:

Equity doesn't say what hazers you can and can't use, they only specify how much particulate can be in the air from glycol based fog and haze machines when an actor comes on stage. The Equity documentation tell you what haze and fog machines were tested, and how close an actor can come to the outlet after certain amounts of time. Equity also provides guidelines for testing the air quality for any fog and haze machines that were not tested in their study. The study was started due to actor complaints in the original Broadway production of Les Miserables (if I remember correctly).

So, in short, Equity doesn't care what fog or haze machine you use as long as the air quality meets the specified guidelines. It also only applies to fog and haze generated by particulates. Dry ice fog is fine all the time (mostly because it stays so low).

We have been doing a lot of research on this at my theatre as we are producing Les Mis next month and have been trying to determine what fog and haze machines we will be able to use effectively.


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## Dave123 (Apr 7, 2007)

Has anyone used an American DJ Haze Generator? I'm looking into this one now. I know it's oil based, but I'm pretty certain I won't have any problem in any of the venues I'll use it in.
I'm wondering how well it works and if it's reliable


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## jonhirsh (Apr 7, 2007)

I’m sure there might be possibly one American DJ product that’s not C*&P but I highly doubt this is the one....mabey try one of there 

I think this AMDJ product would be perfectly fine click HERE 



JH


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## Jezza (Apr 10, 2007)

[QUOTE
We have been doing a lot of research on this at my theatre as we are producing Les Mis next month and have been trying to determine what fog and haze machines we will be able to use effectively.[/QUOTE]

Suggestion? A LeMatire Neutron XS or Reel EFX DF-50 w/ a variable speed fan off stage and an HighEnd F100 USC doing a plethora of things from blowing over the barricade during the battle to shooting low to start off the sewer scene (complemented by 2 PeaSoupers doing the whole dry ice gag) to being fanned out and being a tremendous cloud for "look down". Just my two cents as I'm in the middle of tech on the show right now.


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