This is a quick look at the inside of a standard foam style snow machine. These machines work by blowing air forcibly into and around a sock of fabric while also pushing a very dilute detergent liquid (mostly water) into it. The detergent is carried to any area of the sock where air is flowing through, meaning that it automatically covers the entire inside of the sock and as the air pushes through with the detergent it forms a thick foam on the surface. That foam is then stripped off as tiny flakes by an external airflow and blown out the front of the machine producing an extremely convincing snow effect. The foam really flutters and floats like real snow, and gradually disappears when it lands. If these machines are used at height the snow really drifts and swirls with the wind.
I was using an ultra high power industrial-grade snow machine on a show recently and it was basically the exact same principle scaled up. A blower was used to create the foam, but there was no pump. Just a fine control valve, and the liquid was drawn in by the negative pressure created by the air flowing past the feed tube. The foam was launched out by a huge centrifugal fan that took up most of the space inside the heavy unit.
These machines use the effect fluid at an alarmingly high rate, and as always the suppliers try to pretend that the fluid is "special" and charge a premium for it. In reality it's usually about 99% water with a small amount of surfactant and sometimes a preservative too. Surfactants are a type of chemical that form a bond with both water and oils and naturally form foams. If you look at any shampoo or hand soap the first ingredient will be water (aqua) usually followed by the surfactant, usually sodium laureth sulfate and perhaps cocamidopropyl betaine. Everything else in the shampoo is thickener, aroma, colour and preservative. For some specialist applications an alcohol will also be added to encourage faster evaporation of the water with the added advantage of making the snow appear fluffier and lighter as it dries in the air.
If you make your own fluid, either by diluting shampoo (baby shampoo is a good idea) then don't leave the fluid in the machine for a prolonged period of time as it may grow slimy mould. It's a good idea to flush the machine through with a good proprietary fluid before storage to protect the pump from yuck. If that fails (and the pumps often do jam up) then look in my videos for a guide to stripping and cleaning them.
I was using an ultra high power industrial-grade snow machine on a show recently and it was basically the exact same principle scaled up. A blower was used to create the foam, but there was no pump. Just a fine control valve, and the liquid was drawn in by the negative pressure created by the air flowing past the feed tube. The foam was launched out by a huge centrifugal fan that took up most of the space inside the heavy unit.
These machines use the effect fluid at an alarmingly high rate, and as always the suppliers try to pretend that the fluid is "special" and charge a premium for it. In reality it's usually about 99% water with a small amount of surfactant and sometimes a preservative too. Surfactants are a type of chemical that form a bond with both water and oils and naturally form foams. If you look at any shampoo or hand soap the first ingredient will be water (aqua) usually followed by the surfactant, usually sodium laureth sulfate and perhaps cocamidopropyl betaine. Everything else in the shampoo is thickener, aroma, colour and preservative. For some specialist applications an alcohol will also be added to encourage faster evaporation of the water with the added advantage of making the snow appear fluffier and lighter as it dries in the air.
If you make your own fluid, either by diluting shampoo (baby shampoo is a good idea) then don't leave the fluid in the machine for a prolonged period of time as it may grow slimy mould. It's a good idea to flush the machine through with a good proprietary fluid before storage to protect the pump from yuck. If that fails (and the pumps often do jam up) then look in my videos for a guide to stripping and cleaning them.
i would actually love to see it working 😅
Hello nice video like everyone!
I would like to know if sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) can be used to produce the snow liquid or if Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is really needed which I cannot find
THANK YOU
Have you ever seen "Louis & Luca and the snow machine"? I think the one they battled with was a bit more complex than this!
I can see how one of these could be fun to have around on Christmas Day.
I wonder if we could modify a turbocharger to do the same thing…….
Youre the man thanks
That's not snow that's foam you imbecile
Does anybody know what material the snow machine socks are made out of?
It is a vacuum cleaner motor.
Hmh. I misread the title of this blog. I read it as "ice machine" known as a Zamboni. I have seen them working, and I would like to learn more. However, its not really your thing.
first time I have heard of a snow machine in reference to foam. I have always just thought they were the things on the big things with fans and water nozzles for ski resorts. Certainly looks dead simple.
hello how can i make snow machin liquid.. plz. tell me
looks like the insides of the "Dodgy" shoulder held Shark Vacuums that were recalled all over the place because they overheated and bah we got one anyway before they passed a law making it illegal to sell recalled stuff. Best vacuum in the house, we just don't run it that long cause well naturally it gets rather warm
Ha! I'm currently taking my snow machine apart, as I want to extend the sock by means of a tube, so that the main unit can be hidden away, and I just have the sock part visible from the roof.. it's for Christmas… I'm fed up with housing it all outside under a tub, waterproofing, hiding, and getting up there to change fluid etc…
also going to extend the tube to the reservoir, for easy bottle changes…. I thought I'd just see if Clive's already looked at a snow machine and yep! Never fails. Haha
I need that exact same pump for a smoke machine. But I can't seem to get them anywhere so in real Clive style I'm gonna do some botch job with a old usb pump I have
Ok, so you showed how a snow machine works, how to fill one, and how not to blow the foam off the top after filling. Aren't you going to show one in operation?
seems very simple actually. Would be fairly easy to do A DIY version. Just for Giggles
A/hole….how did it knock out Palin's husby?
Thank you for the videos on snow machine cleaning. I have successfully used snow machine for years, proplem free, however this holiday I have a snow machine sending the air backward making bubbles into the snow liquid soap. Its an anatari unit. If you have any comments please advise. I will follow your cleaning instructions. The tubes are already clear.