Humidity Issue in Curing Chamber

[warston]

Hello folks
I am having the common issue of the rising humidity in my curing chamber. and will appreciate any input and direction.
I am curing 25 of Soppressata for the first time ever. I am beginner who read lots of posts and now tackling it myself.
I am using a wine cellar or a soda fridge I am assuming that is 10 years old.

I have :

Eva dry dehumidifier
https://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-Edv-1100 ... humidifier

Optimus Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier :
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Optimus-1-5 ... lsrc=aw.ds

A ceramic heat lamp/bulb:
https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Heat-Lam ... ating+bulb

You won't see the humidifier because it is on the fridge with a hose attached to it passing through a whole that I made on the side of the fridge by the controllers.

Temperature controller (setting is 55 - 59 F)

Humidity controller (setting is 67-70 RH)

Room temperature between 65 - 50 ( Daytime/Nighttime )

My issue is that the humidity rises 82 - 85 when the fridge compressor is not on. Once the fridge kicks in, the humidity will drop quickly to 74 RH but once the fridge reach temperature of 59 and stops, the humidity shoots up really quickly.

I have tried to increase the heat by putting an infrared bulb 250W but that was an overkill on the fridge side and still didn't make the humidity drops any further than 73 RH.

I have tried to put a fan inside so that the heat would circulate to help drop the humidity but in vain.

I am super frustrated and really do not know what to do.

I have ordered another dehumidifier that is little bulky but should does the work of 3 dehumidifier of the kind I have.

Roger

[warston]

Posting the pictures since I messed up on the pictures link in the original post

[NCPaul]

I think the humidity should be at 82-85 %. You have a lot of wet meat in a small space, it's always going to push the humidity up. You could drop the temperature slightly to see if you like that better. More problems come from drying too fast than slowly.

[warston]

Thanks Paul.
What a sound advise !
I have removed the heating element to make it slower for humidity to drop as I don't want to end up with case hardening or meat inside being mushy.
An update on the humidity level as of today, it is 77~69

May I ask how long it takes for the white mold ( M 600) to show on the casing ?

Roger

[wheels]

The fan is likely to cause case hardening. The air movement required is very low. Opening the door a couple of times a day usually suffices. Also, I would try and get the salami so they are not touching. White mould may, or may not develop, did you use a mould culture?

Phil

[warston]

Thanks Phil
Yes I am opening the door couple of times a day just to change the air. I have placed a plate right under the fridge's fan so that the air doesn't blow right at the sausgae but rather cause the air to move more gently around the sausage.
Yes i have followed the instructions on the M600.
3 grams diluted in 200 ml of water and then sat for 12 hours then mixed with 1 liter of water and dipped the sausages one by one in it.
See the up to date picture. It shows some of the mold growing but on all of them. And the ones that have some whote mold do not have it all over!
Yes Phil it was my first time tying sausages and hang them this way.. totally unprofessional.. didn't know about the net casing even. It would have made it a lot easiwr.
Next time

[wheels]

I'd still be worried about the fan. Did you use non-chlorinated water for the culture? You would also normally hold the salami at a higher temperature for a couple of days 'fermentation'.

When you've done it two or three times you'll be fine. the first lot is always a worry.

Phil

[warston]

Yes I have used distilled water only for the culture ( M600 )
For the fermentation culture it was F-RM52 and the instructions said to ferment 12 hours on 85 degree and 90-95 humidity.
I did just as said.
The pH now is 4.41

[AKASTUDY]

Suggest you remove (or switch off) the fan, it doesn’t help. The meat will dry out. Opening the fridge door is all that’s required for ‘fresh air’. I have a second humidity controller which switches on a small heater when the humidity gets too high, the increasing temperature causes the fridge to come on, reducing the humidity.

AKASTUDY