Author Topic: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave  (Read 4952 times)

Dragonfish

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Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« on: February 16, 2013, 04:28:33 PM »
Hi everyone,

I am planning to buy a new Frigidarie upright freezer to use as my new cheese cave.  I have the thermostat override device that worked fine with the old dorm fridge I used before. 
This freezer does NOT have coils inside - it is just a plastic box with wire shelves.
I just wanted some feedback before I buy it as I am assuming I can control the temp. just as I did in the refridgerator.
Thanks in advance!
Susannah

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2013, 04:31:05 PM »
Shouldn't be a problem.  I set mine to its warmest setting on the freezer and then set the remote thermostat at 56F.
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bbracken677

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2013, 06:30:55 PM »
Al...what is the ambient RH that you normally see in that set up?  Sooner or later I will be headed that direction myself.

cowboycheese

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2013, 10:51:16 PM »
Though mine isn't a Fridgidaire - it an Amana and is built the same way. I searched for quite a while to find one built more like a fridge rather than have coils for ridged shelves. It has an internal fan and I've put my towel/bowl in front of one of the air holes. I use an external Johnson controls digital to control the temp. Right now it is sitting at 57degF/93%rh - could be higher rh with a bigger bowl/towel but I don't have anything in it that isn't waxed or vacuum packed ATM.

I picked it up at a Sears outlet center for way less than half off - I like the fact I can have as many shelves as I want.

It was more full of wine and only one cheddar right after I put it together last year.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2013, 11:39:52 PM »
Al...what is the ambient RH that you normally see in that set up?  Sooner or later I will be headed that direction myself.

It ranges between 85-90% depending on how much cheese is in it BB.  That's without any other form of moisture.
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bbracken677

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2013, 12:10:53 PM »
Thanks guys!  I suppose there is a swing in the RH once the door is opened, of course. Otherwise it appears to be the ideal situation and much more controllable than mine.

Oh...what is your ambient RH in your home?  I live in Dallas, and with a smaller fridge type cave I typically only can manage a max of 57% RH.

Dragonfish

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2013, 03:07:27 PM »
Thanks all for the replies!

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2013, 05:16:36 PM »
Relative Humidity here averages 60%.
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peter8365

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2013, 08:23:21 PM »
Is there any specific reason why alot of you guys are using a freezer instead of a fridge for your caves? I'm thinking about converting an old fridge into something like this: http://benstarr.com/blog/how-to-convert-a-refrigerator-for-curing-meat-or-aging-cheese/

Would you recomend going for a freezer instead?

Offline steffb503

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2013, 08:25:28 PM »
I was told by an air conditioning/ heating expert that a freezer with an external thermostat would not continuously ask the compressor to be satisfied.

cowboycheese

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Re: Frigidaire upright freezer for cave
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2013, 01:19:16 AM »
For me and the research I did for why I picked an upright freezer vs. fridge:

0. Johnson controls digital unit to keep a constant and accurate temp. Less duty cycle on the heavier freezer compressor means a longer life IMHO.
1. Upright freezer has more usable space - I won't use the freezer space in a dual freezer/fridge as it doesn't cool the same rate as the rest of the unit plus the coils are around the freezer boxes (don't want that close to the cheese).
2. The residential "all refrigerator" models are rare and very expensive for the sq. ft. of available space vs. upright freezer.
3. My freezer has forced air with movable shelves - not fixed/immovable cooling coil shelves that can cause humidity to drip on your cheese I. Having the built in fan also helps with occasional air movement so I don't have to buy and hack in another fan.
4. The plus is that I can use the doors shelves to hold my more expensive bottles of wine. I might as well get them both accustomed to being in a dark place together.  ::)
5. More likely to hold a higher resale value than a fridge - when I graduate to a real walk-in cheese cave on a farmstead w/cheeserie somewhere (OK - that was my dream sequence kicking in).

I'm in Colorado - land of no humidity - so I do keep a water bowl with a towel in it near one of the air ports. It keeps it reasonably around 80 to 90% as long as I don't keep opening the door. Cheeses that need more are kept in their respective tub with more water. I tend to vacuum pack and wax as much as possible. I could put a few more bowls of water in there but I'm not needing that much ATM. I do keep a remote digital thermometer/hygrometer in there to watch elsewhere.

Being an engineer I've over-thought this way too much so you need to do what works for you!