What is the difference between haze and smoke?

Haze is fine and even and hangs for a long time, so light beams show up. Smoke is thicker, billows, and clears within a few minutes. For seeing your lighting, you want haze.

Do we need it if we have hired moving lights?

Almost certainly. Without something in the air, a moving light puts a coloured patch on the floor and you never see the beam. It is the single cheapest thing that makes a lighting rig look like the show people had in mind.

Home Services Equipment Hire Smoke, Haze and Effects Hire

Haze machine hire — Equinox Stage Haze 1500

Haze is what makes light beams visible. Without it, a moving light just puts a coloured patch on the floor; with it, you can see the beam travel. This is the machine that does it evenly, and quietly enough to leave running.

People often hire lighting for a show and wonder why it does not look like the concert they had in mind. The usual answer is haze. A beam of light is invisible until there is something in the air for it to catch.

Haze is not smoke. Smoke billows and then clears; haze is a fine, even suspension that hangs in the room for a long time and looks like nothing at all until a light hits it. That is what you want for a dance number or a band, where the effect should be the beams rather than a cloud.

It takes a while to build up, so it wants switching on before the audience comes in rather than during the show. We will tell you how long to leave it and roughly how much fluid a performance uses.

One warning worth having early: haze sets off some smoke detectors. Talk to whoever manages the building before the day — most venues can isolate the relevant heads, but it needs arranging in advance.

This is the machine for most halls, and for most shows it is all the haze anyone needs. Where a room is large, or a lighting designer has asked for beams that read cleanly from every seat, the Look Solutions Unique 2.1 at £26 a day puts out a finer haze that spreads on its own and holds for longer.

What you get

The machine with its mains lead

A remote or DMX control so it can be run from the lighting desk

Haze fluid for the event — tell us how many performances

A technician to set it up and judge the level, if you would rather not

Good for

Dance shows, where moving lights need to be visible in the air

Concerts, gigs and battle-of-the-bands nights

School musicals with a big lighting look

Discos and proms

Photography and filming, where beams need to read on camera

Any show that has hired moving lights and wants to see them working

What you need to know

Haze or smoke: Haze hangs evenly for a long time and makes beams visible. Smoke billows and clears, and is for effect. Most shows want haze.
Smoke detectors: Haze can set them off. Speak to the venue in advance — heads can usually be isolated, but not on the day.
How early to switch on: Before the audience arrives. It needs time to spread evenly, and it looks wrong if it appears mid-show.
Fluid: Supplied. Tell us how many performances and we will send enough.
Power: One ordinary 13A socket.

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician.

Alternatives

Look Solutions Unique 2.1 — the step up at £26 a day — finer haze that fills a big room evenly and holds for hours.

Antari ZR1500 smoke machine — for entrances and transitions rather than atmosphere — smoke billows and clears.

Full technical specification (16)

Heater	1500W
Output	Approx. 12,000 cu.ft per minute at full output
Warm up time	Approx. 3 minutes
Tank capacity	6 litres
Fluid type	Water-based haze fluid (Equinox medium and dense haze fluids)
Fluid level sensor	Electronic, with auto cut-off and LCD warning
Control	Timer, manual and DMX modes; 6-button menu with LCD display
DMX channels	2 (haze output volume, fan speed)
DMX connectors	3-pin and 5-pin XLR in and out
Timer range	Wait 1-600s, output 1-600s, volume 0-100%
Power input	PowerCON
Power supply	220-240V, 50/60Hz
Power draw	1600W maximum
Housing	Supplied built into its own flightcase
Dimensions	265 x 575 x 423mm (H x W x D)
Weight	19kg

Common questions

It can. Haze is a fine suspension in the air and some detectors read it as smoke. Talk to whoever manages the building before the day — most venues can isolate the affected heads, but that has to be arranged in advance, not on the afternoon of the show.
Haze is fine and even and hangs for a long time, so light beams show up. Smoke is thicker, billows, and clears within a few minutes. For seeing your lighting, you want haze.
Almost certainly. Without something in the air, a moving light puts a coloured patch on the floor and you never see the beam. It is the single cheapest thing that makes a lighting rig look like the show people had in mind.