Basic Cheese Cave Questions

[yatir]

I am new to all of this, and just purchased a mini-fridge with a small freezer compartment (see the photo) which I want to use as a cheese cave. I have a few questions:

1) What should I do with the freezer compartment? Can I put cheese to age there? Should the flap be kept open or closed?

2) I plan to control the humidity and temperature using one of these electronic controllers. What range should I set it to? Right now I have it at 9C to 13C and 80%-95%. Though the fridge sometimes cools it down to 6.5C. Does it cool the air too fast? Should I change the range?

3) Where is the best place to position the sensors?

4) How should I insert the cable(s)? Should I drill a hole? and if so how do I make sure there I will not hit anything? Maybe make a small hole in the seal?

5) Should I circulate the air in some way? Should I install a small pc fan? Or maybe an aquarium type pump? Which is better?

6) and finally how do you decide where to position the different cheeses? Is it to okay to put them in the cave without sealing them before?

--Yatir

[Andrew Marshallsay]

I have a similar small fridge. I can tell you what I do although you may get some other opinions.
1. I wouldn't put cheese in the freezer compartment. It may freeze. I have no thoughts about the open/closed question. You might have to experiment with that.
2. I have mine set to about 13C. That seem to be about right for most cheeses. Some cheeses, notably the bloomy rinds, like it somewhat colder. I put those in the beer fridge. The temperature will fluctuate around the set temperature as part of the cooling cycle.
3. In the middle of the fridge? I'm not sure.
4. The electrical cables for my set up all just go through the door opening between the wall and the seal, as shown in your photo. I pass them through the top of the door, the reason being that cold air sinks. It follows that a good seal is not critical at the top of the door. (Consider those open-top freezers in a lot of supermarkets.)
5. I have a computer fan as part of my DIY humidifier. I think that the computer fan would move more air than an aquarium pump.
6. I just stick my cheeses where they fit. There will be temperature differences inside the fridge: cooler towards the bottom. The fan will reduce those differences. You can put your cheeses in the fridge without sealing if the temperature and humidity are well controlled. (Humidity is the bigger challenge.) If not, plastic aging boxes are a good option.
Good Luck!

[yatir]

Thanks!

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

I am new to all of this, and just purchased a mini-fridge with a small freezer compartment (see the photo) which I want to use as a cheese cave. I have a few questions:

1) What should I do with the freezer compartment? Can I put cheese to age there? Should the flap be kept open or closed?

As the fridge is temp controlled you can keep some cheeses here like cams or blues so that they are somewhat isolated.

2) I plan to control the humidity and temperature using one of these electronic controllers. What range should I set it to? Right now I have it at 9C to 13C and 80%-95%. Though the fridge sometimes cools it down to 6.5C. Does it cool the air too fast? Should I change the range?

Range is good for most cheeses.

3) Where is the best place to position the sensors?

In the middle of the fridge but you have glass shelves which will prevent air circulation. Can you replace those with wire ones?

4) How should I insert the cable(s)? Should I drill a hole? and if so how do I make sure there I will not hit anything? Maybe make a small hole in the seal?

Through the rubber seal should be okay. Door would be best bet to drill a hole. Or you can chip away from the side with a craft knife carefully to see if there are cables.

5) Should I circulate the air in some way? Should I install a small pc fan? Or maybe an aquarium type pump? Which is better?

If you are keeping the glass shelves, yes.

6) and finally how do you decide where to position the different cheeses? Is it to okay to put them in the cave without sealing them before?

Depending on how humidity is controlled, you can keep the cheeses naked. If you are making blues, cams, toms and don't want to cross contamination, you might want to separate them or make one type only for a period.


Also, that fridge is looking like one of those fridges where you can fiddle with its mechanic thermostat to change the temp range it controls. There was an old entry here about that. Basically the knob of the fridge is the thermostat mechanism and if you dismantle it, there are Philips screw behind it and by adjusting those screws you may change the temp range it controls.

Good luck

[yatir]

Thanks.
I found that post - I think. Do you know if there has been any followup? Did anybody find a manual to do it properly (I am afraid to ruin mine).

I installed wooden shelves, as I have seen people advise.

Now to humidity - I though about filling the bottom compartment with water and using a small usb humidifier..

--Yatir

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

I have done the fridge thermostat modification. It is easier than you think. Just unplug the fridge from the mains, open that casing where the knob is and look for screws under the thermostat. I first screwed it back in all the way and the fridge went down to minus 1C. Unscrewed it to a point till I reach 10-13 degrees Celsius. You need a good thermometer.

I would add some salt to the water container at the bottom. There was another entry here about that. Salt somehow evaporates water but a USB humidifier would also work or one of those ultrasonic cool mist devices.