New Dry Curing Chamber Build...42cu.ft. stainless double door

[indaswamp]

So this new chamber is as close to ideal as I can get...without being IN Italy doing it au naturale in the open air. Being that my experience drying salumi has been with frost free compressor units, and the tendency for those systems to dry the surface too fast without slight modifications as well as constant monitoring, rotation, and flipping the pieces; I erred on too slow airflow for this new chamber initially. That and underestimating the resistance of the radiators. I have gone back to having the fans installed on the radiators for faster, more axial flow. This has helped. I modified the 80mm PWM fans with aluminum flashing plates to fit the 120mm wide radiators. I used the 4 PWM controlled fans and 4 of the original 120mm fans. I alternated them for more even airflow. This is working out well and I think I'm close to where I need to be. Time will tell once I hang some 50-60mm salami to see how they dry. Once I get the airflow right, this thing is going to produce some exceptionally evenly dried salumi.

So far, even with all the little tweaks I had to do, this system has impressed me. I never would have thought a peltier system could cool down a space that large, but it is doing it...and doing it well. Two 40x40mm little chips....220W of cooling.....

 

[HalfSmoked]

Awesome job as usual by indi.

Warren

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks for the likes guys I appreciate them

Warren

 

[indaswamp]

So...playing with the chamber parameters.....

I took my spare inkbird temp. controller and stuck the temp. probe in the cooling water reservoir jug. Set high point @55*F, low point @54*F. The chamber temp. zero'ed in on 55.5*F and holds steady. The water temp. fluctuates between set parameters. The cooling water temp. through the radiators cools down to around 52.5~53*F before rising to almost chamber temperature. This set up is pulling just enough heat out to maintain a steady state. The Temp. only moves up 0.1*F when the dH system kicks on and dumps warm air that is in the duct work into the chamber...but other than that-steady state! Awesome! I will drill a hole in the jug lid and run it like that. The TEM chillers come on for about 1.5 minutes, then shut off for about 45 seconds as the water temp. warms up again.

And I can now run the RH% where everyone suggests the RH% should be...75-80%RH. Without the blast of super dry cold air from a compressor system, this range is ideal.

The more I fool with this chamber, the happier I get! I am so excited to fill it up this fall....or have fun trying!!! LOL!!!

 

[JC in GB]

So...playing with the chamber parameters.....

I took my spare inkbird temp. controller and stuck the temp. probe in the cooling water reservoir jug. Set high point @55*F, low point @54*F. The chamber temp. zero'ed in on 55.5*F and holds steady. The water temp. fluctuates between set parameters. The cooling water temp. through the radiators cools down to around 52.5~53*F before rising to almost chamber temperature. This set up is pulling just enough heat out to maintain a steady state. The Temp. only moves up 0.1*F when the dH system kicks on and dumps warm air that is in the duct work into the chamber...but other than that-steady state! Awesome! I will drill a hole in the jug lid and run it like that. The TEM chillers come on for about 1.5 minutes, then shut off for about 45 seconds as the water temp. warms up again.

And I can now run the RH% where everyone suggests the RH% should be...75-80%RH. Without the blast of super dry cold air from a compressor system, this range is ideal.

The more I fool with this chamber, the happier I get! I am so excited to fill it up this fall....or have fun trying!!! LOL!!!

So very awesome!! I am glad the chamber is meeting your expectations. What a satisfying project.

JC

 

[fornoa]

Hi Keith (Indaswamp),
How is the huge Fridge project going?
Did the Thermoelectric cooling units do the job?
And if so how did you implement that solution?

Cheers

 

[indaswamp]

Hi Keith (Indaswamp),
How is the huge Fridge project going?
Did the Thermoelectric cooling units do the job?
And if so how did you implement that solution?

Cheers

The new fridge is operational. I still have some minor tweaks I want to do, but I will wait until after this next batch of 60mm salami is finished drying. I will use those to judge the airflow and make adjustments.

The (2) Thermoelectric modules (TEM) worked great once I got the correct heat sinks. I am using (2) 120mm x 255mm radiators in series per TEM for cooling inside the cabinet. The Temp. of the water at the radiator inlet is running 3.5-4*F below chamber temp. so no condensation on the radiators. Humidity is extremely steady. I have no need for a humidifier as the salumi evaporates enough moisture to keep the humidity high. I also introduce moisture when I open the doors for air exchange. (68*F;60%RH room air) It is very humid here in the South.

I want to split the fans and use 2 separate speed controllers to have 2 zones for drying. Salami needs slightly more airflow than whole muscles so this is how I plan to address that. I will need to make a partition about half way up from the floor in the middle of the cabinet to direct the higher airflow over the salami instead of it bleeding over to the whole muscle side. But that should work. I plan to use a 3/4" sheet of foam board for that. Cut it to fit tight.....

 

[fornoa]

The new fridge is operational. I still have some minor tweaks I want to do, but I will wait until after this next batch of 60mm salami is finished drying. I will use those to judge the airflow and make adjustments.

The (2) Thermoelectric modules (TEM) worked great once I got the correct heat sinks. I am using (2) 120mm x 255mm radiators in series per TEM for cooling inside the cabinet. The Temp. of the water at the radiator inlet is running 3.5-4*F below chamber temp. so no condensation on the radiators. Humidity is extremely steady. I have no need for a humidifier as the salumi evaporates enough moisture to keep the humidity high. I also introduce moisture when I open the doors for air exchange. (68*F;60%RH room air) It is very humid here in the South.

I want to split the fans and use 2 separate speed controllers to have 2 zones for drying. Salami needs slightly more airflow than whole muscles so this is how I plan to address that. I will need to make a partition about half way up from the floor in the middle of the cabinet to direct the higher airflow over the salami instead of it bleeding over to the whole muscle side. But that should work. I plan to use a 3/4" sheet of foam board for that. Cut it to fit tight.....

Really glad to hear the TEM's work a treat.
If you get some time, can you post the actual details (specs) of the components you used, as I am thinking this would be a great solution as a backup unit should my fridge fail or if like you, I come across a larger old commercial fridge or freezer box I can convert to a chamber.
I have one spare fridge ready to go that I can transfer my control equipment to, but instead of buying an other backup fridge should that happen, having your cooling system in place sounds like a great economic solution to any any existingfridge I have or may want to upgrade to in future.
Some images would be helpful also.

My chamber is effectively set and forget, with only one or two tweaks during the curing process but I would really enjoy implementing your solution to the refrigeration aspect as an emergency backup to my current fridge or upgrade unit.

Hope you can share your specs.

Cheers
John

 

[indaswamp]

JC in GB has a thread up on the components he used to convert a small 13cu.ft. residential refrigerator using TEM chips and a list of components. He bought most all the stuff off Aliexpress.

The basics of the TEM unit are a computer CPU cooler (copper tubing with fans), a TEC1-12706 (120W;6Amp) or TEC1-12715 (180W;15Amp) peltier module chip 40mmX40mm, and a 40mmX40mm aluminum fluid block....will also need some thermal electric paste for the contacts. And a clamp. for a fridge smaller than 13cu.ft. you only need one TEM module.

For the 120W, you can use 1 radiator. this will suffice to keep the temp. of the cooling water above the dew point of the chamber temp. so you do not have condensation. If you use the 180W, you need to use 2 radiators in series so enough air contact gives enough heat transfer to keep the water temp. above the dew point of the chamber temp.

1 small goldfish pond pump....60mL per second, about 1 gallon per minute

A reservoir of some sort, I used a 2qt. coleman insulated water jug.

If you want to control air flow then you need a PWM controller like the Noctua unit I bought. You will need 4 pin PWM 120mm x 120mm x 25mm fans. If you do it this way, you can buy just the radiator without the fans and save some money. You can also just use 2 PWM fans instead of 4, depending on if you want a constant very slight airflow. I like Noctua fans too....very highly recommended, and quiet.

 

[indaswamp]

JC in GB build threads:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sausage-curing-cabinet-build-jc-in-gb-part-one.304776/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sausage-curing-cabinet-build-jc-in-gb-part-two.305179/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sausage-curing-cabinet-build-jc-in-gb-part-three.305436/

 

[indaswamp]

Noctua makes CPU coolers as well...I recommend one with 12 copper cooling pipes and 120mm fans. That will keep the hot side down to between 78-88*F....

 

[indaswamp]

BTW, this is a long thread... there are pictures of all the components I used throughout the thread. I also have a post of the the components I used and links. If you have a question about a specific component, please ask.

Here is a CPU cooler made by Noctua:
Noctua 140mm CPU cooler

Components are about 3 times cheaper if you order from aliexpress, but you will have to wait a month or more for delivery.....

 

[fornoa]

Thanks Indaswamp, that's great.
This info will give me plenty to work with over the next few months.
I'll let you know how I'm going with this down in OZ.

Cheers mate!

 

[indaswamp]

F fornoa , you will also need a (1) 60 Amp power supply...

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks Indaswamp, that's great.
This info will give me plenty to work with over the next few months.
I'll let you know how I'm going with this down in OZ.

Cheers mate!

BTW, Welcome to SMF! Nice to have a fellow Salumist on the board! Post up some of your projects...

 

[fornoa]

F fornoa , you will also need a (1) 60 Amp power supply...

Thanks for that.

Cheers

 

[indaswamp]

And unless you live in an area where the relative humidity is low so that you can use a purge system to lower the humidity, you will need to have a way to remove it. I built a cold dehumidifier...
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/maturing-chamber-cold-dehumidifier-build.316049/

 

[indaswamp]

Rick hooked me up with some stickers....

The finishing touch.

 

[fornoa]

Rick hooked me up with some stickers....
View attachment 643713


The finishing touch.
View attachment 643714

Does your choice of Norcini Nirvana relate to any relationship your family may have to the town of Norcia in Perugia Italy ?

 

[indaswamp]

Does your choice of Norcini Nirvana relate to any relationship your family may have to the town of Norcia in Perugia Italy ?

No, My family comes from Correggio,Italy. A Norcini was a traveling butcher. They lived in the mountains tending to Proscuitto and other salumi for most of the year, but would travel to the lowlands during the winter going house to house butchering pigs and making salumi on site. Each Norcini had their own style and recipes, this is one of the reasons for the great variety in Italy.