I recently looked at a similar budget smoke machine being sold in the UK by a prominent supplier. (There's a link to that video below.) It was made to comply with UK electrical and safety standards.
It seemed a good idea to look on eBay for a similar unit that was from one of the many import distribution warehouses in the UK that completely bypass safety tests and compliance.
This unit met my low expectations. It has a feature that makes it very capable of causing a fatal electrocution. The use of a standard signal connector which is commonly used for low level signals with microphones, disco lights and various other equipment in the same environment, but in this case at 240V is an accident waiting to happen.
Here's a link to a video of Frankie Palmeri of Emmure getting a significant shock on stage:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6dtsFdBr3k
To put things into perspective - his head kicking back, arm going up to the chest and body going rigid suggests a potentially fatal amount of current flowed. If you watch the stagehand who goes to help him he gets a shock from touching Frankies body too.
Either the microphone chassis went live or the stage was wet and had faulty electrical equipment on it. Either way, there was current flow with Frankie in the path.
A severe guitar to microphone shock.:-
https://youtu.be/JqlC_V-crKg?t=40
Just searching for "singer electrocuted on stage" on YouTube finds many videos of what are mainly guitar metalwork versus microphone metalwork shocks. Made much worse by sweaty hands.
Here's a link to my video showing the same style of smoke machine, but made almost compliant with UK standards. (But with one slight niggle regarding a green wire.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-6QNhkEIYQ
If you already have one of the non compliant machines with mains XLR or in some cases an IEC socket with misused earth pin then it's important to be very aware of the shock hazards associated with it. Better still. Retire it and get a new one from a high profile supplier in your country so it complies with local regulations and you have comeback if an incident does occur.
It's also notable that if you use a specific type of XLR lead intended for unbalanced audio with pins 3 and 1 bridged, it will bypass the thermal switches and bring the heater on continuously until catastrophic failure occurs.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
It seemed a good idea to look on eBay for a similar unit that was from one of the many import distribution warehouses in the UK that completely bypass safety tests and compliance.
This unit met my low expectations. It has a feature that makes it very capable of causing a fatal electrocution. The use of a standard signal connector which is commonly used for low level signals with microphones, disco lights and various other equipment in the same environment, but in this case at 240V is an accident waiting to happen.
Here's a link to a video of Frankie Palmeri of Emmure getting a significant shock on stage:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6dtsFdBr3k
To put things into perspective - his head kicking back, arm going up to the chest and body going rigid suggests a potentially fatal amount of current flowed. If you watch the stagehand who goes to help him he gets a shock from touching Frankies body too.
Either the microphone chassis went live or the stage was wet and had faulty electrical equipment on it. Either way, there was current flow with Frankie in the path.
A severe guitar to microphone shock.:-
https://youtu.be/JqlC_V-crKg?t=40
Just searching for "singer electrocuted on stage" on YouTube finds many videos of what are mainly guitar metalwork versus microphone metalwork shocks. Made much worse by sweaty hands.
Here's a link to my video showing the same style of smoke machine, but made almost compliant with UK standards. (But with one slight niggle regarding a green wire.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-6QNhkEIYQ
If you already have one of the non compliant machines with mains XLR or in some cases an IEC socket with misused earth pin then it's important to be very aware of the shock hazards associated with it. Better still. Retire it and get a new one from a high profile supplier in your country so it complies with local regulations and you have comeback if an incident does occur.
It's also notable that if you use a specific type of XLR lead intended for unbalanced audio with pins 3 and 1 bridged, it will bypass the thermal switches and bring the heater on continuously until catastrophic failure occurs.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
Hey Clive, could you recommend a reasonably priced (<£50) smoke machine ? I was about to buy this same machine from Amazon (under another label) before I saw your video. I'm looking for one which will make my house spooky for answering the door to trick or treaters!
Thinking about buying a smoke machine for halloween. googling it. finds a video a very familiar channel. Yeah, not buying that one. Thanks!
Holy snap, I was pondering getting one of these, and I thought the XLR connector is there because it's DMX compatible, but what a nasty surprise it'd be to try doing that… Thanks for the warning.
Guitar amps were the bain of our lives when doing sound/light work. The crap that musicians brought along would constantly trip the RCDs on the backline. 'Well it's never done that before. Isn't a problem with my stuff'.
We used to have isolation transformers on standby.
I recently replaced my pump and noticed that the new pump did not have the grounding tab that my old one had. I hooked it up and it works but would you know the purpose of that ground tab? Could I just connect the ground to the pump screw on the case or does it serve a different purpose?
This must be shocking!
Ah shit. I just bought two different fog machines on Amazon. Wanted to maybe hook up an Arduino so I started searching for fog machine xlr pinouts. Got a major knot in my stomach when I saw your video pop up. Tested both and sure enough, the XLR has connectivity with the live plug. Also, of course, they're using completely different pinouts from each other.
And on top of all of this, they cost over $40 each now.
Was hoping to see people die. Thanks for letting me down.
Didn't the guy who played twist and shout use this model!!
The device is "really" dangerous. Many of the potentially dangerous devices require a "certain stupidity" to kill oneself with it. (sorry to be so direct…) This one, as you say, is really dangerous. Even if you are careful, this connector literally invites you to plug in a normal XLR cable. In the best case, you think the fog machine is DMX-compatible and you destroy your entire DMX lighting system. In the worst case, you lie dead in the corner.
shame on the people who design things like this to put mains power through an XLR connector
"Do the Chinese not understand the dangers of live electricity?"
According to LiveLeak, not at all.
I want to buy One to put on sctruture like a gun and activate while I walk, simulating a flame thrower. If I just do this is there any problem? Can this machines be mover while working
?