How It Works

This fog machine works by blowing compressed air through a bath of mineral oil, so first get an air compressor, the kind used in pneumatic tools.

The Machine aka The Bucket

Obtain a five-gallon bucket, the kind used for home brewing. This will be your fog creation chamber. In the bucket lid, drill two holes, one 3/8 of an inch in diameter, the other 1 1/4 inch.

The Tubing

Get about two feet of 3/8-inch copper tubing. Clamp off one end. Near that end, drill four 1/16-inch holes. Coil the pipe in the bottom of the bucket so that the clamped end with the holes curls around. Run the other end of the copper out of the small hole in the top of the bucket. Through the larger hole, run an elbow or T-connection of 1 1/2-inch PVC pipe. This is where the fog exits.

Fog Juice

Fill the bottom of the bucket with mineral oil, enough to cover the copper tubing. Secure the top of the lid to the bucket. Attach the end of your air compressor to the copper tubing sticking out of the lid. Turn on the air compressor and - BOO!!! - you've got fog.

Keeping It Cool

Chilling the fog as it exits the machine makes it cling low to the ground, like in the movies. You can achieve this effect by attaching a length of plastic tubing to the exit pipe and running it through a cooler filled with ice.