Fog machines are a great way to set the mood at your next party or celebration. They can create an amazing atmosphere that makes your guests feel like they’re stepping into an alternate world.
But what happens when you turn on your fog machine and discover that it doesn’t produce any fog? This is often due to the fluid inside freezing during storage or transportation, which can be very frustrating if you’ve already paid for your equipment!
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this from happening so you don’t have to worry about dealing with frozen fog machine fluids again.
Read on for more information about how freezing affects these fluids and how we can keep them from becoming too cold in the first place!
Fog machine fluid is made up
The primary ingredients of fog machine fluid are water and glycols. Glycols are chemicals that are commonly used in antifreeze, de-icers and fire extinguishers.
They have a number of uses because they have the ability to prevent water from freezing at low temperatures. The additives give the fog machine fluid more effectiveness.
If you want to make your own homemade solution for your fog machine, just combine equal parts water and glycols in a bottle with a lid!
Glycols used in antifreeze and de-icers
Glycols are a group of chemicals that are commonly used in antifreeze, de-icers and other products. They are also used in fog machine fluid. Glycols are colorless liquids with a sweet taste and they evaporate quickly when exposed to air.
Glycols have many uses because they can change the state of matter from solid to liquid or liquid to gas (or vice versa).
This means that they can freeze at low temperatures but then turn into water vapor at room temperature — without becoming an intermediate liquid state first!
Various glycols used in fog fluid
There are various glycols used in fog machine fluid. The most common are propylene glycol and diethylene glycol. Propylene glycol is the most commonly used material for fog machines, but some machines use diethylene glycol instead.
The most common of the glycols
The most common of the glycols used in fog machines is propylene glycol. Propylene glycol has a lower freezing point than water and can therefore be used as an additive in several applications that require liquid to remain unfrozen.
Propylene glycol is also used in other applications, such as ink-jet printers, ice cream and toothpaste to name a few.
Glycol in fog machines is diethylene glycol.
Another widely used glycol in fog machines is diethylene glycol. Unlike ethylene glycol, which has a freezing point of -10° C, diethylene glycol has a freezing point of -50° C.
This means that it will freeze at higher temperatures and can be used to make ice-based fog effects without risk of damage to the machine.
Diethylene glycol is an anti-freeze and de-icer chemical commonly found in automotive antifreeze products like Prestone’s Blue Ice. It’s also used in many pharmaceuticals such as cough syrups and cold medicines (you’ll find it listed on your medication bottle).
Propylene glycol has a much lower freezing point
Just because propylene glycol and diethylene glycol freeze at a much lower temperature than water doesn’t mean you should let your fog machine run unattended in freezing conditions.
The freezing point for propylene glycol is about -17 degrees Celsius, and for diethylene glycol it’s around -50 degrees Celsius.
This means that unless the temperature drops to very low levels (below -17 degrees Celsius), the fog machine won’t freeze—at least not from normal use.
If you plan on using your fog machine outdoors in freezing temperatures, it’s best to turn off the machine before leaving it outside or covering it with a blanket so that condensation doesn’t build up on its surface and damage it.
When running an unattended fog machine, keep in mind that most machines contain some amount of liquid inside even when they’re turned off. This liquid will eventually evaporate and leave behind moisture residue if left out long enough.
Freezes under certain conditions.
You may like to know that, unlike propylene glycol, diethylene glycol freezes at a higher temperature than Propylene Glycol. However, it still freezes under certain conditions. As such, it is important to keep the fluid warm enough so it does not freeze.
Fog machine fluid will freeze at about
Propylene glycol, a colorless and odorless substance that is often used in fog machine fluid, has a freezing point of -17°C (1.4°F).
If you are using a fog machine with propylene glycol in it, there is a good chance your fog will freeze at lower temperatures if you are in an area where the temperature drops below this threshold.
This can happen even if there aren’t any other factors involved—such as mixing with water or other substances to make the solution more viscous—because propylene glycol by itself has such a low freezing point for being so thin.
If you want to avoid this possibility and keep your fog machine from freezing up on you during cold weather or winter months, be sure not to use only propylene glycol when filling your tank with fluid!
Fluid will freeze at about – 50 degrees Celsius (-58° F).
- Diethylene glycol based fog machine fluid will freeze at about – 50 degrees Celsius (-58° F).
- Propylene glycol based fog machine fluid will freeze at a higher temperature, -20 degrees Celsius (-4° F).
Fog machine fluid can freeze
- Don’t use a fog machine in temperatures below freezing. The fluid can freeze and damage the machine, requiring you to replace the fluid or even the entire machine itself.
- Don’t leave your fog machine unattended for too long in cold weather; otherwise, it could get damaged by condensation build-up or by freezing liquid or ice inside the motor which will short out the motor and destroy it completely (in addition to being very expensive!).
- Also don’t use your fog machine if there is snow outside—it’s meant for indoor use only! This is because no matter how careful you are about keeping it off of snowy surfaces, there’s always going to be some amount of incidental contact between snowflakes and your device over time (and this will eventually build up enough so as not only affect its functionality but also cause permanent damage).
Conclusion
The bottom line is that fog machine fluid can freeze, even if it’s made with propylene glycol or diethylene glycol.
If you use your fog machine in cold weather or keep it in a place where the temperature drops below freezing, then you should be careful when using it.