There are many types of smoke machines and each of them, though operating on pretty much the same principle, have different kinds of components. Some of them operate on batteries, others on piezo electric ignition. The fuel they use is also different and can vary from carbon to gas cartridges. There is a large variety of component types in the smoke machines in today's market. This is because the machines may be used in a wide variety of settings with varying conditions.
The fuel of these smoke machines is a combination of dry ice and water that produces the smoke effect. As the dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, once put into hot water it creates the fog.The fog is the result of carbon dioxide vapors mixed with hot water steam. This is not very expensive to produce and it is one of the most commonly used sources of fog and smoke.
There are smoke machines that operate on batteries. They are perfect for providing smoke effect for 10 to 12 minutes of continuous use. The battery feature comes handy when one needs to take the machine into remote or unusual places. This type of smoke machines is rather small and uses an energy component such as a 12-volt DC battery. They have high mobility and the energy consumption is rather cheap.
Another type of energy source for the smoke machine is the piezo electric ignition. It has a variable output and allows the user to vary the density of the smoke. These kinds of smoke machines operate on gas cartridges and a heating source. This smoke-making procedure is used by gas-powered smoke guns. The smoke guns are portable and very easy to use. They are easy to manipulate and are perfect for moving the effect quickly from one place to another. These kinds of smoke machines are usually used for fire simulations.
This method is generally used for the extreme-power smoke generators operating on a water-based hazer. They are very easy to operate due to the display monitoring. The user can change the function and the liquid used very easily just by changing the operating mode. Usually with the microprocessor system management these extreme-power smoke generators also have a mechanical "fail safe" to prevent the machine from dangerous overheating.
The aerosol generators are present mostly on the dry ice smoke machines. They have the same purpose as a HEPA filter. They create condensation of the liquid and through this process make a dense, non-toxic white fog. The aerosol generators control how the water particles are dispersed and usually come with a bypass that can change the density of the particles with a simple push of a button. Some of the oil-fueled smoke machines also have aerosol generators. These are different from those operating with dry ice and provide greater smoke density.