Can a fog machine be controlled like lights?

[Les Wilson]

Rank novice on fog machines. I am in a time crunch for a school play that needs fog. I ordered an Eliminator 1000 fog machine and recruited someone to build a cooler based chiller. I notice that the machine has a remote control but I want to turn it on and off from a lighting circuit on my lighting board. Will that work or must it be controlled by the unit's the remote control? TIA

[Esoteric]

Unless it has a DMX control option, it can not be controlled via a lightboard.

Mike

[Chkurgrnd]

Is this what you ordered? Nope I don't see dmx on it... sorry

[Steve Vanciel]

Originally Posted by Les Wilson

Eliminator 1000 fog machine... a cooler based chiller. ....a remote control ...on and off from a lighting circuit on my lighting board.

This is a very inexpensive home/DJ type of machine, not a professional/theatrical type, so your options are limited to the remote control provided.
UNLESS, you can figure out which of the pins are for the on/off function and can build a breakout cable to connect to a DMX controllable relay.
Just switching the machine's power on/off usually does not work well since that would also shut off the heater element. Controlling the duration and interval would involve a more elaborate interface. Might be easier to rent a "real" fog machine that has full DMX control capability.

SteveV

[Toetagger]

I had something like this and what we did is we took the controler cable and spliced it and rewired it to an extention cable all the wat to our light board and placed it right next to it so our lighting guy (me) can control the lights and just toggle the switch for fog and it has worked perfectly for several months now.

[Steve Vanciel]

Originally Posted by Toetagger

...controler cable and spliced it and rewired it to an extention cable ...

Or, find some connectors so you don't have to cut the cable.
This can work up to a point. If the extension is long enough and the wire gauge small enough you will get a voltage drop (line loss) that can affect the machine's operation. If it is a purely analog control system, this will limit the maximum setting you can get.

SteveV

(First reply got lost? may both will show up.)