HI ya'll! I know I haven't checked in for a long time, but that's because I haven't been making any cheese. But things have changed. I am now involved with an impromptu, sorta transition type group, where we get into doing things together like sausage making, and everyone wants to do cheese now. Tom and I have a little experience with that, so we are game for that. We have a refrigerator wine cellar (one of those small ones_ that we don't really need to use for wine, but it would seem perfect for cheese because we can control the temperature. We would have to replace the loopy shelves that the wine bottles rested in, but I'm sure with Tom's woodworking skills we could do that. I've been looking at http://www.perfect-cheese.com/ (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/) to get a humidifier for the cellar, is that a good company? Are these nerds reliable? (They have to be nerds to make something like this). ;) Anyone have any experience with them?
Thanks for the answers in advance.
Joy Williams
Wanting to make Gruyere....and camembert... and brie... and cheddar... and oh just about everything cheesy, except blue, unless it's stilton.
Have heard nothing but good things about Perfect Cheese and his products----and Yes, John is a big nerd :) and posts here often.
Qdog
You'll probably find that you can control the humidity in a cave that small with a bowl of water or a damp towel in the bottom.
Or use ripening boxes and adjust how far open you crack them.
Quote from: Al Lewis on March 24, 2015, 12:58:50 PM
You'll probably find that you can control the humidity in a cave that small with a bowl of water or a damp towel in the bottom.
I have tried this, but can't get above 80%. My cave has a compressor and when it comes on, the RH% goes down to 50% @ 55F. It may be my method: I have a bowl with water, and I hang a paper towel from the rack to the bowl to wick the water up. Using vacuum bags currently.
The humidity control in a small 'Cave' is a bit difficult. The problem is that with the wine fridge it might not have A. a fan and B. the cooling cycle is very aggressive in removing moisture from the air in the fridge and the cave cube really battles to keep it up. In my case the coil was so close to the back internal wall it developed a complete sheet of ice. Great for temperature but lousy for the relative humidity. I actually ended buying a humidity controlled wine fridge and then added the cave cube - wonderful - but a bit expensive.
Here is a good post to follow up on some ideas.
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10288.120.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10288.120.html)
-- Mal
Quote from: LadyLiberty on March 24, 2015, 04:37:03 AM
We would have to replace the loopy shelves that the wine bottles rested in, but I'm sure with Tom's woodworking skills we could do that. I've been looking at http://www.perfect-cheese.com/ (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/) to get a humidifier for the cellar, is that a good company? Are these nerds reliable? (They have to be nerds to make something like this). ;)
Joy, this made.. my.. day :) (although I'm getting a bit old to qualify as a real nerd).
Al and Stinky gave good advice but the de-humidification effect from the compressor / cooler can make things difficult. I know Mal thinks we're a bit expensive (heck Mal, anything shipped from here to Australia is expensive :o). Whether it's bowls of water or wet towels make sure you have confidence in your hygrometer. Always best to keep it simple and if it works for you it works :).
@ John, Oh No !! I fully expected the shipping cost.. and for the record your are very reasonably priced, in some aspects it is still cheaper to buy in the US - Convert to AU $$ - pay the shipping. And, there is NOONE able to provide anything like the Cave Cube package ANYWHERE NEAR the price you sell them at. If the Temp controller would control 240 volt appliances I would have bought that as well. :) Best thing I ever bought for Cheese - Check out the last Caerphilly this was purely ripened with a natural rind in the new cave (MKIII) with the 'Cube'. Previously it would have been a cracked, dry, tasteless mess - with the Cube - Best ever Caerphilly... just in case you missed it BEST EVER CAERPHILLY !!
-- Mal
Quote from: John@PC on March 24, 2015, 11:34:15 PM
Quote from: LadyLiberty on March 24, 2015, 04:37:03 AM
We would have to replace the loopy shelves that the wine bottles rested in, but I'm sure with Tom's woodworking skills we could do that. I've been looking at http://www.perfect-cheese.com/ (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/) to get a humidifier for the cellar, is that a good company? Are these nerds reliable? (They have to be nerds to make something like this). ;)
Joy, this made.. my.. day :) (although I'm getting a bit old to qualify as a real nerd).
Al and Stinky gave good advice but the de-humidification effect from the compressor / cooler can make things difficult. I know Mal thinks we're a bit expensive (heck Mal, anything shipped from here to Australia is expensive :o). Whether it's bowls of water or wet towels make sure you have confidence in your hygrometer. Always best to keep it simple and if it works for you it works :).
Hi John, ok, so YOU are the nerd that makes these things. You need a geek on your staff to check all those links as well, btw, because many of them don't work. So tell me what I need to do, I have a fairly new wine cellar that has an upper chamber for reds, and lower for whites, and temp controls on both chambers (which might make it possible to make different types of cheeses that require different temps). I can set the temperatures in both chambers,and both will do 55 or 60 degrees. How long would it take you to ship out your combo thing that both monitors the temperature and the cube? We are waiting for our tax return check, so we would like to buy one as soon as we get it. And why is there no phone number on your website? :(
It would be good to talk to you to know that we are doing things right.
(nothing wrong with nerds btw, I'm one.)
Joy
oops I said monitors the temperature and the cube, and I mean monitors the humidity. I want that combo thingie.
and from the video, it apparently has a capacity to monitor the amount of humidity and shut the cube off when it goes over the amount you set it for. Was I interpreting that video correctly? Isn't that the whole point of the RH monitor? http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller)
BTW, being a nerd is a GOOD thing. Evon Musk is a nerd, for example. Age has nothing to do with it. ;)
Quote from: LadyLiberty on March 25, 2015, 09:23:11 AM
and from the video, it apparently has a capacity to monitor the amount of humidity and shut the cube off when it goes over the amount you set it for. Was I interpreting that video correctly? Isn't that the whole point of the RH monitor? http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller)
I use the Perfect Cheese temperature and humidity controller to keep my cave at 55F and 85% RH. For grins, I've run it as low as 50F and 90% RH. In both cases it worked like a charm. My cave is a 16 cubic foot Whirlpool upright freezer purchased new from Lowes several months ago. This is a frost free device so that when the unit runs to cool down a couple of degrees (which takes about 2 minutes) it pulls the RH down to about 78%. The "cube" then takes about five minutes to get the RH back to 85%. I put the cube in a Tupperware container with a bottom surface area about twice that of the cube. I top off the water about every two weeks. There will be more demand on the system once the weather warms up here in the Seattle area but my engineering background tells me that this will be no problem for either device. ^-^
Quote from: Kern on March 26, 2015, 12:16:10 AM
Quote from: LadyLiberty on March 25, 2015, 09:23:11 AM
and from the video, it apparently has a capacity to monitor the amount of humidity and shut the cube off when it goes over the amount you set it for. Was I interpreting that video correctly? Isn't that the whole point of the RH monitor? http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/humidity-controller)
I use the Perfect Cheese temperature and humidity controller to keep my cave at 55F and 85% RH. For grins, I've run it as low as 50F and 90% RH. In both cases it worked like a charm. My cave is a 16 cubic foot Whirlpool upright freezer purchased new from Lowes several months ago. This is a frost free device so that when the unit runs to cool down a couple of degrees (which takes about 2 minutes) it pulls the RH down to about 78%. The "cube" then takes about five minutes to get the RH back to 85%. I put the cube in a Tupperware container with a bottom surface area about twice that of the cube. I top off the water about every two weeks. There will be more demand on the system once the weather warms up here in the Seattle area but my engineering background tells me that this will be no problem for either device. ^-^
Thanks, that's the information I wated to hear. :)
can we use wooden shelves in a mini wine cellar?
Quote from: LadyLiberty on May 05, 2016, 07:14:31 AM
can we use wooden shelves in a mini wine cellar?
That's exactly what I'm using , works fine for me.
Solid wood shelves are feasible so long as they are small enough to allow reasonable air circulation in the mini wine cellar.
Most of the best cheese caves of the world have wooden shelves.... Ash and maple being the most available wood here in North America for cheese caves. Most say it gives the cheese a subtle character being aged on wood :)
So, I'm interested to hear how your mini-cave is doing? What did you do and how is it working out?
I have both the cave cube and cave temperature controller from Perfect Cheese and they work perfectly! I've installed them in a 27" Delfield 406 commercial under counter refrigerator (about the size of a kegerator, a little more capacity). I replaced the wire shelves with wooden shelves and can age about 85 pounds of cheese in the current configuration. I can easily go up to 115 pound capacity if needed, and more beyond that with a little work. I had the same problem with the cooling coils pulling out the humidity until I placed rolled up paper towels in the inside drip area from the coils. (This is a commercial refrigerator so everything is easily accessible from both the inside and out, but not big on looks.) Now I have the problem of almost too much humidity because the thing is so air tight. (I drilled a hole for the wires vice running through door.) Anyway, highly recommend the Perfect Cheese products and easily turning a refrigerator into a cave. Good luck!