Compared to Chetty's new cave this one is more like a "micro" cave. 3 yrs. ago my 18 cu. ft. cave bit the dust and I just started back making cheese this month. I had temp and RH% controllers and my humidifier left over so all I needed was a small fridge. This one was on sale at Lowes and fits the bill. Don't care for the glass shelves and will replace with wood eventually. The inside-door lower shelf was a perfect size for the humidifier so I don't take up valuable shelf space for it. It's only 4.4 cu. ft. but is freezer-less and has enough space for 12 or so 2 lb. wheels. I plan to have a mix of varieties so the mini-caves will take up some of this space. Now my lonely tomme finally has a home :)
Congrats to your Tomme! Nice looking setup.
What humidifier do you have there? I tried zooming in on the pic, but could not make out the model/brand?
By the way - welcome back from un-retirement!!
That looks great. I too am interested in the humidifier you have? Im just using a pond fogger.
The humidifier was one of the first prototypes of the "Cave Cube" humidifiers our little company (Perfect Cheese) made and sold a few years back. This one was unique because I put a small bi-polar ionizer in it that prevents mold from growing on the cheese. I didn't use it much with my old fridge because I would always have bloomies and stinkies in there that needed to grow beneficial molds. I use it in this new one and are putting my mold-ripened cheeses in mini-caves. Attached is a current picture (Camembert is in the bottom box and a Shropshire-style blue is in the tall box).
ps: Our little business was suspended due to some health issues I was dealing with and we aren't making the Cave Cube, curd cutters, etc. now. It did work pretty well and I want to put together a description of a low cost DIY evaporative humidifier that uses commercially available parts. Shalloy: We also sold pond-fogger systems for small commercial caves. I tried to adapt a single-disc fogger and fan to a fridge but it was too much mist and prone to condensation on the cheese. The evaporative systems (those with a wick) generate water vapor instead of water particles and seem to work better for small enclosures. That said I know people have used ultrasonic misters with success.