The many names of a CO2 Jet - Cryo Cannon

When talking about a CO2 Jet, you may have heard many names used before or you may have not. Whether you have or not, we will clarify some of the confusion here and get the nitty gritty on what each of the names means and how they relate to what you has become the focal point of todays special effects industry for both DJs and Professional Events. When searching for a Cryo Cannon online you may have seen "CO2 Jet Blaster", "Handheld Cryo Gun", "Cryo Jet", or "C02 Jet" and have instantly become confused as to what the difference is between them.

First off, there is a difference between each one and therefore some things should be taken into account before following through with a click on that link titled "CO2 Jets For Sale". Essentially you have two categories, mounted and non-mounted jets, otherwise called handheld units. The handheld cryo gun falls into this category as by its name and of course its build since it is more like a fog sprayer than anything else. The mounted category contains the rest of the names mentioned above, Cryo Cannon, C02 Jet, CO2 Jet Blaster, Cryo Jet, and CO2 Jet. As a side note, all the units here fall under the special effects category and are used for special fx only.

So now onto the difference between the 5 names that sound so much alike. To start, a CO2 Jet, mistyped C02 Jet with a zero before the 2, is merely a piece of equipment that sprays Liquid Carbon Dioxide out of it to create white fog that is very cold. CO2 is the proper abbreviated name which has something to do with the checmical makeup, therefore displaying the 2 in the name (ex. CO2 Cannon). A CO2 Jet Blaster is simply a CO2 Jet, but can be a higher output model, hence the "Blaster" at the end. For Cryo Cannon and Cryo Jet, these are names which have come to attention as the word "Cryo" means "Cold" or "Of Low Temperature". So when used in names such as Handheld Cryo Gun, Cryo Cannon, and Cryo Jet it is referring to low temperature output of what the unit will be spraying.

Having clarified the nomenclature of the names, we have a better understanding of what means what. With this said, and to get very technical with it, a CO2 Jet would be different from a Cryo Jet in the sense that the first deals with CO2 only and the second deals with anything cold. The same would go for Cryo Cannon and CO2 Cannon as well. We've already covered the mistype of C02 Jet so that's handled and out of the way. The CO2 Jet Blaster being a higher output model of a regular jet covers that name. The Handheld Cryo Gun name suggests it can sprray anything cold, but should only be used for spraying liquid carbon dioxide and not Liquid Nitrogen or anything else as it could ruin the machine. Another pointer to be made about this name is a Cryo Gun is also used in the medical field to freeze skin defects such as warts. You will want to make sure you are getting a special effects model such as the one pictured here at www.CryoFX.com

DIY CO2 Cannon - Homemade CO2 Jet, Good or Bad idea?

In this day, everyone wants to save a buck. Of course, making your own Homemade CO2 System or Homemade CO2 Cannon is beneficial, or so you think! A few factors come into why one would want to make such system. The first is to save money. The second might be the fact of learning something new and the ability to say, "I built that" once complete. Regardless of what the reasoning is, there are definitely some things you should know before taking on a project like this. Of course you can always go the route of buying a CO2 Jet System, for nearly the same cost of making one, from the guys at www.CryoFX.com. Well get to that later though and get to the point first.

Once you've made your mind up your going to make a Homemade CO2 Gun or Homemade CO2 Cannon, the first step is creating a parts list. To do this you have to fully understand the system and its operation. Many people will go to home depot, buy some parts they think will work, throw them together, and now they have a system. Well, these are the people that end up spending money for nothing because their system doesn't work or breaks within a few uses. Once you've got a decent parts list put together, you cruise to home depot or wherever your buying the parts from, and spend hours on end both locating the parts for your DIY CO2 Jet and asking the employees there which parts will work best for what your trying to do. You might even tell them flat out that your making a homemade co2 cannon. Regardless, 80% of the time, they're going to ask, WTF is that?...or even worse, they will act like they know exactly what your trying to do and start pointing you in the "right" direction for parts to use. So you'll continue on and purchase the parts.

After you have spent hours in home depot buying parts for your homemade CO2 jet and talking with employees, your finally on the way home to make this contraption. You think, "All I have left is an hour or two and I'll be good to go". So there you have it, two hours later, you've just started piecing this DIY CO2 Cannon together, and your running into problems and questions you didn't even think of until now. You can't back out now cause your hours or days deep into this project and the finished product is so close. So, you make some phone calls or better yet, hit up some youtube videos on "How to make a CO2 Cannon" and all you find after hours more of time, is guys talking about to make the cryo systems but non answer your question. Even if they do, at least another hour or four have gone by and your still piecing this diy cryo jet together.

Now you've finished building your very first homemade Co2 Gun or homemade Co2 cannon or whatever it is you made and now that the "hard" parts done, its time to get the CO2. So you make some calls, find some co2 distributors and get some co2. You get home, hook the co2 tank up and test your system. You hear the loud noise but don't see any white fog coming out like the videos or pictures show. So you do some more research, if you havn't already, and find out the correct tank to use. Maybe you purchased a tank from CryoFX which is the correct tank or spoke to them about what type of co2 tank / co2 cylinder you need. Anyways, the co2 tank is hooked up, the system is ready to go, and you fire it off. If you haven't blown your hoses or joints out or frozen your parts to the point of cracking, your lucky, at least for now.

Its almost 90% guaranteed within the first 30 days of using your DIY CO2 Jet, you will have some type of problems with your homemade co2 jet system. These problems could range from:

• Hoses EXPLODING from pressure 
• Cracked Brass parts or cracked fittings
• Leaking joints since different parts were or weren't used
• Frozen valves, frozen fittings, frozen hoses from temperature of CO2
• Bubbles in your hoses
• Minimal output of CO2 from wrong size parts/valves
• Not to mention Safety issues when these things explode.

The last one is of course the main concern. These CO2 Jet Systems are under large amounts of pressure, at the minimum 350 psi, with an average pressure of 800-1000 psi. If one of these blows in your face or in someones face around you, lights out for a quick minute. Your homemade co2 jet has just cost someone much more time in recovery than it cost time and effort to make.

These are just a few of the problems we at CryoFX here about when clients call us and explain they were part of a DIY CO2 Cannon project. To second that, almost every single one stated they would have rather just bought a CO2 Jet System from CryoFX in the first place since it would have SAVED THEM SO MUCH TIME!

When you compare the two options: Buy CO2 Jet System vs. Homemade CO2 Jet System you really have to be real with yourself and ask, "Do I want to save a few dollars and spend hours or even days making a homemade co2 cannon, or do I want to buy a co2 cannon or co2 jet system from CryoFX, which is only a bit more, if not the same cost, but save many hours of my time which can later be devoted to using the system and having fun with it.

Leave the headache of knowing all the technical details to the experts at CryoFX, they will provide you with all the necessary information needed in a way to fully understand it!

Given everything said, it should be an easy choice: Buy a CO2 Jet from CryoFX.com!