dry cure cabinet ideas

[howlin]

 i want to build one and would like to know what i need to get,and how they work(processes).any good companies that could help with temp controls ,humidifiers ect.thanks for the help.any suggestions would be appreciated

[Habanero Smoker]

You can check out the links in the following post. That will lead you to some ideas and types of equipment some of us are using.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=20488.msg250278#msg250278

[don24]

heres a link to check out   http://www.sausagemaker.com/tutorials/chamber/curing_chamber.html

[NePaSmoKer]

Dont buy your CAP controllers from sausage maker.

Save some $$ for the same thing here.  http://www.hydroasis.com/hy/items.aspx?id=368&item=c.a.p.-controllers-and-timers

[wkahler]

Just another place i found that has some stuff not all the controllers but some stuff!
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/controls.shtml

[ExpatCanadian]

I'll certainly be following this thread...  and if you need any advice, please let me know.  I built my own unit a few months back, and although it's empty at the moment (I know, shock... horror  :o :o), I'm getting geared up to do a couple hams for a long term cure over the next 6-8 months.

Anyway, the link to my post is here: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=18974.msg230897#msg230897, which you may have already found as it's linked indirectly in one of the posts above.

Good luck, and if you have any questions don't be afraid to post.  I'm not on here as often as I used to be at the moment, too many other commitments...  so might be best to ping me a quick PM which will come to my e-mail and I'll know to come check in.

[mjdeez]

I've been monitoring craigslist looking for a freezer for awhile, and finally found one I want ($25!) but it is not frost free. I had read in this blog post that if I'm using a non frost-free freezer, I need to install an extraction fan to lower the humidity, which is fine because I planned to do this anyway.

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

[mybad]

Excellent stuff here...thx

[Habanero Smoker]

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

I believe that would depend on the year, make and manufacturer of that particular freezer as to where the wires and coils are located.

[mjdeez]

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

I believe that would depend on the year, make and manufacturer of that particular freezer as to where the wires and coils are located.

Thanks. Turns out the coils for this particular model are routed all through the inside of the fridge, so that each shelf is actually just a coolant line. I had to pass this one up unfortunately. 

[devo]

Not sure if you guys have seen this one but the guy expains it really well.

Code Select Expand

http://lpoli.50webs.com/text_files/Creating%20An%20Ideal%20Environment%20For%20Dry%20Curing%20Sausage.doc

[Mr Walleye]

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

I believe that would depend on the year, make and manufacturer of that particular freezer as to where the wires and coils are located.

Thanks. Turns out the coils for this particular model are routed all through the inside of the fridge, so that each shelf is actually just a coolant line. I had to pass this one up unfortunately. 

I think all the manual de-frost models have the lines in the shelves. At least any I've seen have.

Mike

[Mr Walleye]

I was looking though the manual for the Auber Instruments Model SYL-2342. This describes setting this controller up for cooling (without a SSR or contactor) and it will also run a 100 to 300 watt heater at the same time. Not bad for a $45 controller. Here's some of the information on the setup taken from the final setup example on Page 7 of the following manual.
http://auberins.com/images/Manual/Manual%20version%203.4.pdf

5.6 Cooling and heating with the same controller

"This is an example for beer fermentation. The refrigerator is driven by the
internal relay of the controller directly. Please note that the internal relay
output (terminals 7 and 8) is not powered by itself. A power supply must
be used to drive the external relay. The refrigerator must consume less
current than the internal relay's maximum rating (7A at 240V AC and 10A at
120V AC). The bulb (less than 100-300 W) is for heating. The example is
setup to have the heater to turn on when temperature drops to below 60 °F
and turns off at 64 °F. The refrigerator will turn on when temperature is above
69 °F and turn off at 65 °F."

Mike

[mjdeez]

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

I believe that would depend on the year, make and manufacturer of that particular freezer as to where the wires and coils are located.

Thanks. Turns out the coils for this particular model are routed all through the inside of the fridge, so that each shelf is actually just a coolant line. I had to pass this one up unfortunately. 

I think all the manual de-frost models have the lines in the shelves. At least any I've seen have.

Mike

Good to know. I had a bunch of open tabs in my browser for freezers I've been eyeing and looking at them closer some of these also have the coolant shelves.  In any case I'm glad I only had to drive across town to figure it out. Better than an hour drive each way.  I'm not really in a rush to do this so I'll just keep waiting for the right deal to show up. In the mean time I'm lining up the parts I need and writing the code for the temp / humidity controller (microcontroller).

[Habanero Smoker]

Anyone know what is in the walls of the non frost-free freezers? Blog post says "In non-self-defrost fridges the air in the fridge is cooled by direct contact with a plate that has coolant running through it."   How much of the wall space is taken up by these cooling plates?  I want to make sure I can drill through the walls like Expat did for the intake and exhaust fans.

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/2007/07/key-equipment-piece-3-curing-chamber.html

I believe that would depend on the year, make and manufacturer of that particular freezer as to where the wires and coils are located.

Thanks. Turns out the coils for this particular model are routed all through the inside of the fridge, so that each shelf is actually just a coolant line. I had to pass this one up unfortunately. 

I think all the manual de-frost models have the lines in the shelves. At least any I've seen have.

Mike

Good to know. I had a bunch of open tabs in my browser for freezers I've been eyeing and looking at them closer some of these also have the coolant shelves.  In any case I'm glad I only had to drive across town to figure it out. Better than an hour drive each way.  I'm not really in a rush to do this so I'll just keep waiting for the right deal to show up. In the mean time I'm lining up the parts I need and writing the code for the temp / humidity controller (microcontroller).

I had a link to plans for a PID that could heat and cool, and incorporated a humidity controller. I wish I had the skills in that area to understand it and build one.