Hello all! I am most cautious to post this, but I know folks on this forum will understand like no others can the joy of a working cheese cave. I claim no special insight or savvy. I was fortunate enough to glean from the trials and efforts that others posted here and built from there. I especially want to thank John CH for his tireless efforts and detailed accounting for others to read and learn from. I learned the most about how to make this work from his threads. I've tried to be detailed so that the trial is repeatable for others and listed costs and materials, as they were a concern for me. This cave has been fully functional and working for 3 full weeks now. So here's what I did:
Started with an older model Magic Chef 5 cu ft chest freezer with drain plug that I removed (free).
Bypassed the units freezer controls using a JC AT19C analog controller ($53.00 Amazon incl s/h)
Based on what others mentioned in previous threads, I knew I would need a path for fresh air (thanks Irathefly!) I threaded a 4ft piece of flexible tubing ($3.00 8ft/pkg Petsmart) thru the plug and then filled in the surrounding area with pure stainless steel (the kind you use to scrub pots and pans) just in case the near 90 degree angle wasn't enough to keep critters out.
Next I attached the external end to a small aquarium pump ($11 Petsmart) and placed the "working end" in a jar filled with water and clean river rocks and a tiny airstone ($1.53/3 Petsmart).
Just to make sure there was sufficient airflow and pressure inside the cave, I ran another aquarium pump with airstone from the top down into the water.
Initially, I got a lot of sweating inside the chest, as others mentioned in previous posts. I added an EVA mini-dehumidifier (~ $20.00 EBay incl s/h). Contrary to what you might think, this unit keeps the interior from reaching the DEWPOINT, which is what causes the sweating, while maintaining the humidity itself (a function of pressure, moisture, and the presence pp air). It will hold up to 6oz of moisture before it needs to be recharged (simply plug it into a standard outlet for 6-8 hours to discharge). It is completely contained, safe for people, food, and the planet, and its reusable. Although I still have to wipe the interior down a little (about every other day), there are no running sweats or pooling water ANYWAY inside the cave.
Monitoring the temp and humidity is done with a Lacrosse Technologies Solar weather station with solar remote sensor (now $24.00, previously $40, Lowe's and Amazon). Though not calibratable
this thing has worked like a champ! Uses both rechargeable AA's and regular Alkalines. During the day I make sure the main unit is in my kitchen window to keep the batteries charged, and then switch to non solar mode in the evening. The remote sensor is good to 200 ft and runs on a 915 MHz signal. My cave is in my garage, inside a closed stainless steel chest and it reads the device just fine. One hour a day I take the sensor out of the cave and place it under a 60 watt light bulb to keep it charged., In case I forget, I have a book light in the cave which also charges the sensor ($12 w/ 50 batts Amazon). It has been calibrated using one of those 75% things for humidors and its spot on the money. Just keep it charged!
As for shelving, I bought (2) three tier bamboo corner units from Walmart ($9.00 ea.) I have enough room in the cave for another unit, plus a small storage container if necessary. I am currently aging 7 cheeses in there (largest one is 4lbs) and the shelves are pretty sturdy.
I also keep a small ramekin of saturated salt in there for moisture control, though I suspect I don't really need it.
It took about a week for everything to "sync together", but now, when the JC cycles, I know the RH will follow the same flow, but it always equalizes at about 55F and 85-87%RH. I can increase the humidity by simply adjusting the temp. It works!
I still use my wine cooler for a drying area, It is faithfull around 55-66 F and 75% RH
Sorry for the long post...but thanks for reading it
