Building a cure chamber

[grizz63]

Hello everyone,
I'm currently working on a project to build my own curing chamber and would love some advice from those who have experience with this.
I have a Koolatron wine cooler (50 bottle) and my biggest concern is about where to drill the hole.

After some looking I think I have two options 1) on the back wall beside the drain hole (see pic below) – This seems fairly safe but a little messy.

The other place is on the lower section below the hump in front of where the compressor is.

I’ve done some testing and this spot doesn’t warm up or cool down when the cooler is turned on so my guess is that there aren’t any coils there. There may be some wires for the light at the bottom but I could live without that if I cut it by mistake. In looking at the compressor compartment in the back it looks like all lines go in the walls above this hump so I’m reasonably comfortable I should be safe here. To be safe I plan on cutting through the plastic wall from the inside with a utility knife, poke around, pull insulation and see if there’s anything there. From there I’ll just keep making the hole bigger until I get about a 1.5 inch hole.

Any thoughts from the experts out there before I cut in?

 

[indaswamp]

Hello grizz63, and welcome to SMF! I m a very passionate Salumist. I have built 4 curing chambers so I can help you. What will the hole be used for? To pass wires in and out of the chamber for equipment? As far as placement, the lower hump vertical wall section where the compressor sits is a good spot. This is where I drilled into a 1.7cu.ft. freezerless refrigerator for my dehumidifier on my big chamber.

FYI. best way to check where the condenser coils are run in the walls of the unit is to mix up a solution of corn starch and ethanol alcohol. slather that on the wall, then plug the unit it and let the cooling system kick on. the alcohol will evaporate off the wall where the cooling lines are run. You will see a faint 'ghost' mark where the corn starch changes color slightly from having dried out.

Other potential spots and the top corners of the side walls, and the roof of the unit....

as far as drilling, drill a very tiny pilot hole but do not let the drill bit slip into the wall and possibly nick a line. Pass a rigid wire into the hole and probe around for refrigerant lines. then, if no lines are found, i suggest cutting a small opening with a drimel tool and then dig out the insulation with a pair of needle nose pliers... after all that- and still no cooling lines, then you can drill the proper sized hole that you want..... better cautious and safe than sorry.....

 

[indaswamp]

See this thread:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/dry-curing-chamber-build.295014/#post-2062255

 

[indaswamp]

...and this thread for where I drilled holes in the 1.7cu.ft......
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/maturing-chamber-cold-dehumidifier-build.316049/

 

[grizz63]

Hello grizz63, and welcome to SMF! I m a very passionate Salumist. I have built 4 curing chambers so I can help you. What will the hole be used for? To pass wires in and out of the chamber for equipment? As far as placement, the lower hump vertical wall section where the compressor sits is a good spot. This is where I drilled into a 1.7cu.ft. freezerless refrigerator for my dehumidifier on my big chamber.

FYI. best way to check where the condenser coils are run in the walls of the unit is to mix up a solution of corn starch and ethanol alcohol. slather that on the wall, then plug the unit it and let the cooling system kick on. the alcohol will evaporate off the wall where the cooling lines are run. You will see a faint 'ghost' mark where the corn starch changes color slightly from having dried out.

Other potential spots and the top corners of the side walls, and the roof of the unit....

as far as drilling, drill a very tiny pilot hole but do not let the drill bit slip into the wall and possibly nick a line. Pass a rigid wire into the hole and probe around for refrigerant lines. then, if no lines are found, i suggest cutting a small opening with a drimel tool and then dig out the insulation with a pair of needle nose pliers... after all that- and still no cooling lines, then you can drill the proper sized hole that you want..... better cautious and safe than sorry.....

Thanks for the input and links. Yes, the hole is for power cords (humidifier and potentially dehumidifier) as well as the probes. My preferred location is the vertical section of the side walls where the hump is. Did you go through the back wall?

 

[indaswamp]

yes. thru the back wall at the bottom of the hump. pics. at the links I posted.

You will 100% need a dehumidifier.

 

[grizz63]

Hmm, thought I posted an update but I guess I messed up somewhere.

Anyways, I did as inda recommended and i had great success, no leaks. I tested the new setup and it seems to work, so project 1 is 1 week in and progressing well I think. It's Genoa salami. I think it was drying a little fast so I turned up the humidity controller to 82%. So far, so good.