i would like to buy a smoke machine ...

[Alan Hutchison]

Yep Maplins have them. And if you get a portable car battery charger with main outlet from Halfords you have a fully portable source of fogginess.

[Randell John]

http://www.enlightenedlighting.co.uk/hire/equipment/look-solutions/look-solutions-tiny-f07-smoke-machine

Fifty Squid - Rechargeable battery pack.

[Matthew Bridge-Wilkinson]

My experience of smoke machines is that portable generators and battery packs are not enough to get them going. Especially not the cheaper end such as the maplins ones. They are fine on the mains and indoors.

I have one from maplins and the one time we used it outside it was via a very long extension cable. Our generator did not want to know, a car battery with an inverter would not even give you a whiff of smoke from my experience.

There is sadly a reason portable ones are expensive

[James Alan]

Why buy a smoke machine, making your own smoke bombs is far more fun!!!!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/smokebomb.htm

[James Alan]

or you could just buy some!

http://www.justforfun.co.uk/product/small-carded-joke-smoke-bombs-pack-of-2/ASM93/

[Alan Hutchison]

Plumbers merchants have some bombs.   

[JohnD]

Plus one for cheapy Maplins one and a long length of cable or car charged pack.