Wine cooler tweaking

[Danruss88]

Hi, newbie here needing advise...

I've got a wine cooler, it states 12-18c and has a small computer fan on constant, blowing at a cooling plate which diverts back into the cooler, also another fan at the back outside of the cooler blowing in

My first batch had hard casing, at 12c 50%
So with a thermostat/hydrostat fitted
I turnt the temp to 14c 75%
My second batch had semi hard casing once 30% reached still raw inside, so my guess was it's the air flow

Ive got two options, tape up some of the vents of the incoming air (which actually lowered humidity a bit not sure if safe either)
Or buy the other wine cooler that didn't have a fan at all but had a fridge like backing, which also went down to 4c

Please help!
Thanks

[Odin]

Danruss88

I think your correct with to much air movement. I have my system set at 12c. 18c is probably a little to high. I have no fans the air is moved when I open the door to check products. If you block the outside vent you will burn out the fan motor. Try disconnecting the wires to the fan. I would also disconnect the wires to the cooling fan on the interior or set either one to a timer but only use one fan.

[Danruss88]

Thanks for the reply, this is my fan, red is going in and blue is once it's hit the cooling plate
Shall I duct tape some of the grill up forcing air in one direction? Still have a permanent fan on and it'll be x4 powerfully though?
Other option is to purchase the other cooler in store that has no fan inside the chamber
Thanks!

[wheels]

Other option is to purchase the other cooler in store that has no fan inside the chamber

I tried all sorts with one of this type of cooler and ended up doing just that.

Phil

[Danruss88]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SW_Mbh ... p=drivesdk
Block all vents except the top one? It's only a computer size fan hitting the cooling plate? Or still to much air flow?

Thanks Phil, so did work for you, did you have to mod the non fan cooler in anyway?

[wheels]

I ended up making a box within the cooler. I never did work out whether the machine would run without the fan, or whether the fan could be controlled independently.

My non-fan cooler (fridge) has a temp controller, and humidity controllers that utilise a small heater and a humidifier. The heater controls high humidity by making the fridge motor run - this reduces the humidity as water condenses of the cold plate in the rear of the fridge.

It's here:

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/?p=convert-fridge

Phil

[Danruss88]

Thanks Phil, great setup and great read!

So I could either build a box inside this fan cooler, basically restricting the air flow
Or
Buy this cooler, https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household ... 2-pdt.html
Which has the right set temperature, then get humidifier and hygrostat, my only concern is no air escaping? Would a small fan and a door opening each day be enough?
Thanks
Dan

[Odin]

Dan

Wheels setup is the same as mine and many others, large refrigerator with enough room for heater and humidifier. Yours is a bit small for all those items and product.

Any device that cools can be convert to do the same thing even a small chest freezer. I assume your wine cooler is the smaller kind or one of those uprights? You have the added benefit of having an exterior fan airflow. This is something many add to their setup. This can be controlled. Disconnect the interior cooling fan. See how the temperature inside reacts. How is the temperature setting controlled? You have several options one being another purchase.

[wheels]

Every situation is different - ambient conditions will differ massively, but the one thing that's caused me more failures than enough is the conviction in the early stages that I needed some form of fan for air circulation.

The movement of air required is so little that a fan is counter productive in many situations.

However, the US is a lot different in terms of conditions to the UK, and within the US it no doubt varies tremendously.

For US members, the go-to is:

http://curedmeats.blogspot.co.uk/2007/0 ... amber.html

In reality, you will need to piece bits from what I've done with Jason's to find what works for you. My advice is to do one thing at a time, so that you may not to have to do all of what we've done.

But, if you know someone with a cellar, start chatting them up - the larger the space, the easier it is.

Phil

[Danruss88]

Thanks guys, I think if I disable the fan, the cooler unit will either freeze up or just condensate and drip alot inside or at the back drip tray, thanks for your reply but I think il start again with a new cooler rather than change things on this one
My next steps are,
New cooler
Set temp 10c
Check humidity
Make test batch
Fit hygrostat + ultra sonic fogger

[NCPaul]

I justified the purchase of another fridge by also using it to lager beer when not making salami.

[Odin]

Dan

Follow the advise of Wheels he’s a wealth of knowledge and experience. I’ve learned much from him and his site. Without him this wouldn’t be much of a forum. He keeps it alive if you haven’t noticed.

[wheels]

Wow, hold on there, NCPaul, and others behind the scenes, do far more than I do. It's a pity that we're all of an age where the numbers are dropping off and that with other forms of social media competing with forums, we have seen a major reduction in numbers.

It's great to see some new members, but please don't overestimate my experience - it's often based on doing it once and getting away with it!

That said, thanks for the compliment.

Phil

[Odin]

Phil

You underestimate your contribution. Yes there are a few members that occasionally contribute but even you can’t get a response from questions you ask them. What activity have you seen recently, a couple posts per day if your lucky.

And yes the site can’t run without someone putting gas in the engine, kudos to them.There is a reason this site is dying, time for change. Ask learned members to become ACTIVE in the site as new moderators or group leaders. Something. If you stop contributing they can just wave the white flag.