# Another Wine Fridge Build



## simplyput (Mar 19, 2017)

Background:
I live in the SF Bay Area, the ambient RH has been about 80% coming out of a very wet winter.

I am in the process of building my first curing chamber. A couple days ago I received a wine fridge and a thermometer/hygrometer.
I have had the fridge running, with nothing in it for a couple days now. When the fridge is set at 56* the thermo/hygrometer reads about 57* and the RH fluctuates throughout the day at 75% to 82%, usually staying around 80-81%. I'm not sure, but based on the reading I have done, the RH seems a bit high to me for an empty fridge. 
Am I mistaken? Is this normal and I will likely need to install a dehumidifier rather than a humidifier? 
I'm going to get another hygrometer for a second reading and see that gives me a different reading.
Any thoughts from folks who have more experience would be appreciated. I understand that using a small fridge can be hard to control the temp and humidity, though given the space available to me, a wine fridge was my best option.

I'm not scared to do some tinkering and wiring, this whole process is a learning experience for me as I am a butcher, not an electrician.

Thanks.


----------



## daveomak (Mar 19, 2017)

80-83% humidity is perfect for not case hardening the meat....   It takes longer to lose weight but the finished product is the best it can be.. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...steccata-and-pancetta-arrotolata#post_1356231


DaveOmak said:


> Evan..... beautiful..... I'm amazed at the LACK of case hardening on your products.... You must have stayed awake through all those classes..... LOL.....


No case hardening due to never letting the relative humidity in my chamber get below 80%. I used to get it all the time before I simply turned it up.


----------



## simplyput (Mar 19, 2017)

Thanks, my concern is that the fridge is at 80% empty so I imagine with a hunk of meat it would be significantly higher, lending itself to bad molds.


----------



## daveomak (Mar 20, 2017)

Coat the meat in Mold 600...     Usually a fridge will condense and drain away the moisture..  they are an effective dehydrator...  Thus the added moisture..... 

In this picture you can see how humidity is removed from a fridge....













003.JPG



__ daveomak
__ Mar 20, 2017


----------



## simplyput (Mar 22, 2017)

By adding beer!
Perfect!


----------

