Hey All
Starting to plan a build and looking to put a smoke effect into the tabletop. I really like the smoke that cloud 9 gives off but there seems to be a lot of criticism of the build quality. Can you use the same liquid with another mechanism? Im not concerned about the battery size or the wire size because it will be built in. Any advice or references would be appreciated.

Dan

Research e-cigs online. Look for videos on youtube of people hacking e-cigs to make them more powerful, generate more smoke, etc. As you learn about the mechanism you will understand how to use the technology to create a custom smoke device. The commercial magic smoke devices I usually see advertised are trying to be very small and concealable on your body. You are right that it will probably be easier if you are not space constrained. If you think about e-cigs, you will start to understand that generating the smoke is not as difficult as finding a device to blow it effectively. Usually similar fluid is used in most e-cigs and can be made at home if you only need smoke and don't care about taste, nicotine, etc.

Thanks Raven.
I appreciate that. I will look into some of those videos. I have a couple of ideas on air movers so it looks like I will be playing in the shop for a while. Grin. And you may have already answered this but in most e-cig devices the smoke does not look as "heavy" as the cloud 9. Is this due to the air movement or the composition of the liquid?
Thanks again for the advice,
Dan

I don't know the answer to your last question. I do know that the hacks people do are intended to produce a much greater cloud of smoke... so it is probably a combination of things but I suspect it has to do with the heating coil capability and the electric current level.

From my understanding, you can vaporize pretty much anything by mixing it with glycerin..
It might be worth a google on how to custom make vaping fluid and like someone else mentioned.. See how people have hacked e cigs to create smoke..
There are several smoke devises out there that you could install into something to make it smoke..

Try your local hobby model train shop, they make liquid smoke to have smoke come out of the locomotive's smoke stack.

The liquid smoke for model trains can be purchased in different 'aromas' as well if the sense of smell is important to the effect.

Hey guys thanks for the reply.

Damien, Interesting about mixing anything with glycerin. (this will lead to some quality time with google tonight.) I have been studying e-cigs the past few days and think I have a good handle on their workings. (have some supplies in the mail so I can start experimenting.)

Bill, Thanks for that tip I didn't even think of that. (grandpa would be so disappointed!)

Dr O. That is an interesting thought. Can you get an idea of the scent of the smoke but sniffing the liquid or does it change significantly when heated?

Thanks again for the information and ideas.

I have not tried a large variety but I have found in most cases the liquid doesn't always betray the scent of the smoke. Which is a good thing in that the liquid won't 'telegraph' the aroma until you are ready to deploy. Luckily the bottles are labeled...anything from coal smoke to popcorn!

As far as air movement is concerned, I have found amazingly small CPU fans attached to the heat sinks inside computers. Low voltage and about 3" square across the face, 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Check with computer repair places and relieve them of their dead components. The extra parts can be sold for scrap, helping to subsidise your habit...