Doing a gig and would really like to use a fog machine because it’s a big open area. It’s at a school and the stage area is in the cafeteria and goes in to the commons area. The school is about 6 years old and have know clue if a fog machine will set the alarms off.
It will not be thick fog just a little haze type fog to show off the lights. If it matters i’l be using the chauvet 1300 with black label fluid.
Thanks for the help, haven’t been on this forum in a year or so, and plan to stay.
without knowing what kind of fire alert system the school has going on id say this:
just use enough to bring out the lights and or lasers and you should be ok, just dont over do it. if you absolutely flood the detector in fog , it can set off detectors that use only photo sensors , rather than the kind that have heat sensors, or the kind that go off if the little trigger melts.
it probably will, yes. but that’s no problem at all. talk to the janitor, tell him to turn it off. when we once did a party in my old school, the janitor deactivated the smoke alarm for certain rooms. In advance, we called the fire department, and told them, that if the automatic alarm turns on, its the smoke machine from our event. And when the event was over, we called them again and told them so.
if the janitor can’t turn it off, you have a problem, but it might be worth a try tho. but make sure the fire department knows whats going on. a false alarm can be very expensive for you guys.
That vid is exactly what your setup is. I wouldn’t say that its anything close to a hazer. Fog machines are thick, be careful with the output, if you have a timer controller that would probably work best. I have an american dj fogstorm 1200 and its super thick smoke, to the point where Id want to test it out in the gym if I could first. .
be extremely careful!! Most School fire alarms are hardwired directly into the local fire department, so if you set it off then expect the fire dept to show up about 5 mins later, and they wont be happy…
I did it years ago with a fogger, yes they will set off smoke alarms, and the ones on schools are more commercial and more sensitive than the one in your home, yes I have set them off with a hazer too.
There is usually a keyed shutoff switch located somewhere the front entrance of the school, but It is VERY unlikely that the school will turn it off for you, liability reasons.
I only speak from experience and bad situations haha!!! It’s often better to go without. The one I have seen that works good around detectors is the dry-ice “low lying fog”. That wont usually set em off.
Yes, it will set off the fire alarm. Any modern building has multiple sensors that detect smoke, heat and other particulate. Fog out of a machine is very hot and may set off the IR sensors. The fog itself will set off the smoke sensors.
A true, oil based, haze machine may be a good bet in this situation. I prefer them over fog anyway. You get the particulate to show the beams of light without the nasty clouds.
i dont think you can say it “will” set them off.. as long as the fog isnt too thick, it will dissipate before reaching optical sensors, and the heat will also discharge as the fog rises , leaving it much cooler before it hits the roof. as long as you dont over do it , it should be fine. i have seen a lot of foggers used inside and not set off alarms. in fact i cannot think of one time where i have seen a fire alarm triggered by a fog machine. im sure its possible , but my opinion is that you would actually have to try to set them off. i could be wrong , i know nothing about the particular system were facing here… but fog machines are made to be used in doors.
another option is to build a chiller, which will stop it from triggering the heat sensors,and keep the fog lower to the ground.
I use both a low lying fog and an aerial fog I have used them in areas with smoke detectors… The big issue is how dense you make it… Normally in a just HVAC ventilated area I won’t use it beyond a few small bursts here an there to bring out the lasers and lights… One thing you could do and I’ve have decent luck by doing this is pre fill with fog… Do small 5second bursts at different locations in the venue maybe 20mins before start time and then just small 10 second bursts once in a while…
Alternatively as suggested build a chiller and ideally the fog will dissipate before it reaches the detectors..
Chills are real easy to build some pvc a small styrofoam cooler and some dry ice or just ice if you want to further advance it a computer case fan and a small 12v battery pack to push it through the cooler to really make it advance…
The low lying fog machine I have is a misterkool and it works fairly well I find keeping the ice full is key and making sure it’s draining water properly is biggest issue
Having said that I’d recommend contacting local fire department and talk to school administrators and janitors about it as they maybe able to shed some light into it…
Here’s some pics with light fog in a medium sized building 300 people this was taken from 120ft away
I will have a talk with the janitors and staff, also find out at the fire dept too. And find out if shutting them off is an option. I have a hard time thinking that they would shut them off completely.
