Dead cave/New cave...

[scasnerkay]

The freezer conversion I have used for about 1.5 years died sometime between Friday and Saturday. The alarm went off early in the morning on Saturday and the temperature was at 64 degrees with my 37 pounds of goodness sitting there sweating. I vacuum sealed what I could (some are just too big) and stuffed them in the old dorm frig one on top of another. Growl.

New cave? I bought from Craigslist, a wine cooler. I am kind of excited, but kind of worried about this.... I read more about it - after I paid $200 for it and got it home of course. Dimensions are 24 inches wide, 70 inches tall, 26 inches deep. The panels are 1.25 inches thick. Shelves are very sturdy wire. The door is glass double pane. The air conditioning unit fits in the hole visible in the second image, sitting on the top shelf.

Great size - imagine all the cheese that might fit in there!!  But, I am concerned about the humidity I want. Should I seal the joints with caulking? Or with AC running in there is humidity a lost cause, and everything should just go in individual boxes? Is this AC unit destined for failure soon and can they be repaired?

Ideas? Thoughts?

[Tiarella]

I'm jealous!  and also happy for you.     I bet others will have answers for you and I'll be reading them.  This could be a nice option for me....

[Mermaid]

Wow thats a beautiful "cave"! Hope it works out!

[scasnerkay]

After fiddling with it and tweaking it and agonizing over it, I decided it would not work for me, even though I wanted it to. It could not consistently hold a temperature, and could not really go lower than about 57 degrees. The cooled air was blowing straight down into the unit, so I was worried about the drying effect as well. I put it back on craigslist. Another person thought it would be fine for wine...

Still no replacement cave and I am stuck with indecision and no place to put cheese I want to make. Thinking of getting a second hand commercial unit. But those fail too...

[awakephd]

Susan, how much room do you have for a cave? What about a full-sized fridge, controlled by a PerfectCheese controller? Seems like full-size fridges are pretty cheap on Craigslist ... but I would not have the room for one.

[scasnerkay]

I already have the perfect cheese controller. The size of the door opening is somewhat of a problem for the designated location of the cave, though I may be able to work around that.
What happens in the freezer space of the refrigerator when the frig is running at a higher temp? I am hoping that water dripping from the freezer area is able to be evaporated and does not overwhelm that system - wouldn't want the floor to get wet.
When the compressor fails - as it will - just get another??

[Spoons]

That's too bad about your cave! It looks real good! A few months ago, i transitionned to a digitally controlled wine fridge. It's a model with a compressor as opposed to a thermo electric one. It works perfectly! The temp control is absolutely perfect. All my wheels are 7" dia and i have about 60lbs aging right now. My max is 14 7-inch wheels. I don't know how this would help you, but so far i'm quite happy with this setup! It's quite discreet too and looks good in our tiny condo.

[Mermaid]

Spoons, love the sleek design of your "cave" as well as your rogue beer collection

Although I have a cave built into a hillside for aging hard cheeses, I have converted an old sliding glass-door refrigerator (like you would see in an old convenience store for snapple drinks or something) for my bloomy rind "cave". Its perfect. It holds the racks for the cheese and its large enough that I can put climate control stuff in. This obviously is a larger option than you may have room for. Just an idea

Good luck!

[scasnerkay]

Mermaid, does your sliding door fridge have a fan blowing from the top or back to cool the air? The second hand commercial fridges with a hinged door seem to have them. I think the compensation would be individual boxes for the cheese to avoid the drying air, as long as the temperature was good.

[Mermaid]

The fan is on the top. I hacked the fridge with a thermostat. It's never been too dry as I keep it at 50-55 degrees. I have place a humidifier in once when it did get dry but havent had problems since.

[awakephd]

Susan, on the issue of the freezer compartment, I think some people here have used small upright freezers instead of fridges for that very reason.

Like Spoons, I have a wine fridge with a compressor and digital temperature controls. However, mine looks to be several steps down from what Spoons has pictured!

Mine does not use a fan, so no problems with air blowing on the cheeses. I bought it used on Craigslist for around $100. It is not the best at keeping a perfectly consistent temperature -- it swings about 5°F from the highest to the lowest -- but it has nonetheless helped me to make some tasty cheese for the past 1-1/2 years. I can't recall the brand off the top of my head -- something that begins with an H, maybe? I'll check when I get home.

[Al Lewis]

Not sure what your situation is Susan but this is a good choice for a cave.  Reasonable price and you could even add more shelves.  Also, at our Lowes they have a clearance section that always seems to have smaller freezers in it very reasonable $300-350.00.  You might want to give that a try.