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This takes the
basic
iron based fogger and adds a few improvements to maximize the contact time between the
iron foot and the fog juice, OK, on to the project!
I used the basic premise of the iron based fogger, and of course,
tried to be economical about it by using what I happened to have laying about.
Now I know many of you wont have some
of the items I happen to have, but I can tell you most are readily available through
electrical supply houses, home depot, and plastics supply houses.
One comment before I continue, this
machine will only put out so much fog, and is good for small fog effects. The cost of
foggers these days has dropped drastically (40-60 bucks for a 2000cu.ft. model) so if you
need something to fill more than a 15x15 room fast, don't make this.
However, if you want a fogger that can
make a decent amount of fog, and DOES NOT need commercial fog juice, this is what you want
to make.
On to the show...
I started with a 6x6x12" metal
wireway as the housing since I have em laying around, I also have the ends available to
me, so I used one, with the knockout removed. The nice thing about these is that they have
removable tops.
I gutted an iron we had laying around, since the wifes' surgical scrubs trash em, we get a
new one about once a year. Stripping it down to the iron planteen (the foot) leave you
with nothing but the heating element, the part that you need.
Now it occurred to me while stripping
this down, that you could leave the steam attachment reservoir intact, and funnel the fog
juice into it, but that's a project for another day.
I used one of the metal box ends and
removed the knockout. I then used a 2" bulkhead fitting used with aquariums and
plastic tanks in the knockout hole, making it a breeze to hookup to a chiller and your fog
distribution system.
on the other end I made a fan mount from a piece of 3/4" pine board and drilled out a
4" hole for the air to pass through, mount holes too. I also drilled a hole about
5/16" to accommodate a piece of polypro hose to be passed through.
Next
drill a 7/8" hole in the side of the box to have wiring pass through. Now mount a
moisture proof mount box (for exterior receptacles) with the bottom or backside hole over
the hole drilled through the box run a bead of silicon around the wireholes and attach the
MPB to the box. It comes with mounting hardware so this is a breeze.
|
Once the MPB is mounted attach a power
cord with a strain reliever used with knockout boxes for rough wire-ins, leave a few
inches of slack in the box to connect to a dimmer switch.
Mount the planteen to the inside of
the box with a 2.5" x #8 to the toe of the iron, and (2) 3" x #8 screws to the
heel, you will need to drill a few holes for the screws. Secure the screws with lock
washers and nuts to the case bottom. My iron happened to be tapped for the screws in the
toe, so I used that to secure it in place, while the heel rested on the 3" screws.
Run wires to connect the iron and the
fan through the hole made earlier and connect those in place. You want to run hot from
power to the dimmer and fan, connect the other wire from the dimmer to the one of the iron
leads, connect other iron lead to the other fan lead and the common from the power. Mount
the dimmer into the MPB and place on a cover with a flip lid. This allows you to fine tune
the heat to fine tune the iron temperature.
Now this is where I increased contact time since a lot of fog juice would spatter and
bounce off the planteen. Take a piece of 1" x needed length (about 14") and bend
it to fit the shoe sitting flat on it. You might need to sand it to ensure a nice tight
seat. Then drill it, and the box sides, insert screws, nuts and bolts to hold it in place.
You will want to drill the holes through the box about a quarter inch below the location
of the holes in the aluminum to hold it tight to the shoe.
Now for the lid mount a piece of
quarter inch OD polypro hose with enough length to pass through the fan mount plate. I
chose to use cable clips riveted in place since I had them, but you could just as well
drill a few holes in the lid and attach the hose with some wire.
Once the hose is mounted drill very
small holes with a dremel, or poke the hose with a pin half a dozen times for the juice to
drip out. Be sure to seal the end of the hose under the lid with either silicon, or heat
it and squish it together.
At this point I took very fine brass
wire (24 gage) and made a loop around the polypro hose where I made the pin holes, leaving
a bit of excess to hang towards the iron.
This allows the juice to run down the
wire directly to the iron, instead of getting blown off the iron as it dances from the
heat, or before it ever hits it from the fan blowing the small droplets.
From here you can attach the lid to the box with the hose passing through the fan mount
plate. Now connect the hose to a small needle valve then to your fog juice container.
If you intend on gravity feeding the
juice, you are pretty much ready to go. I chose to pressure deliver it by hooking an
airpump to an inlet hose with a check valve in place on my container than running a supply
hose to the needle valve.
TADA
Plug it all in and test it, if you
want greater fog output add more holes and wires to the hose.
BTW I suggest a low power fan for your
air drive, perhaps about 6 watts. |