Commercial fridge to a meat curer?

[Statesman]

G'day all. I have come into possession of a large commercial bottom mounted display fridge. It works but needs some maintenance. I was thinking it would make a good meat curing chamber. wondering if the cost of running it would be too high? Pros and Cons of keeping it and using it for this?

 

[Beerisyummy]

G'day Statesman,
I use a similar fridge for several tasks in the brewery. One thing I can say, is that they are power hungry work horses.
If I'm using mine as a fermentation chamber it's pretty lean on the power. Cold crashing is a different story all together.

I'm not sure which model you have, but I took the time to contact the manufacturer of mine and find out where the internals were located. It turned out that my model had no plumbing in the side walls, which means I can just add insulation to get the power consumption down.

Another thing to note is the issue of mould when you are in higher temperature ranges. I'm assuming there will be forced ventilation involved?

 

[Statesman]

It is a fridge with no side elements. Bottom mount motor. I fear it will run poorly and prove expensive when using a temperature controller. Not sure the motor being turned off and on being this large unit will work well. I plan to mount an internal fan to circulate air and run a sonic humidifier to keep the Salami and hams from drying out. Wanting the temp at a constant 16-17deg.

 

[Beerisyummy]

At 16-17c it should run fine with a temperature controller. You just need to set up the controller and probe properly.

 

[Not For Horses]

My brother in law has a very similar set up. Makes excellent salamis and cured meats.
Don't skimp on the humidity controller though. He started with a cheap one and it was very unreliable.
I'll ask him what he uses now and get back to you.

 

[Dunkelbrau]

My brother in law has a very similar set up. Makes excellent salamis and cured meats.
Don't skimp on the humidity controller though. He started with a cheap one and it was very unreliable.
I'll ask him what he uses now and get back to you.

Id be interested in finding out what humidity controller he finds good as well, i have been watching the cheap ones on eBay and just have a feeling its going to be a mess to deal with..

 

[Statesman]

for those that like curing meat, this was a good blog/post I found most helpful. It's where I am heading with my project but wasn't sure about using a commercial fridge.

http://benstarr.com/blog/how-to-convert-a-refrigerator-for-curing-meat-or-aging-cheese/

Thanks for the replies. I have been brewing beer for 25 yrs, it's weird my first post was about meat curing.

 

[Statesman]

My brother in law has a very similar set up. Makes excellent salamis and cured meats.
Don't skimp on the humidity controller though. He started with a cheap one and it was very unreliable.
I'll ask him what he uses now and get back to you.

That would be great. Thanks.

 

[Mardoo]

Id be interested in finding out what humidity controller he finds good as well, i have been watching the cheap ones on eBay and just have a feeling its going to be a mess to deal with..

I have a couple Auberins products that I've been very happy with. I haven't used this one but if it's in line with their other equipment it'll work great. Note that it controls humidity and either heating OR cooling, not both:

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=377

Not cheap, but quality gear.

 

[doon]

Anyone looked into the charcuterie bags that misty gully stock? Looks like you can use your fridge to dry age you meats without any added humidity control etc

 

[benno1973]

I use one of these:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Humidifier-Air-Humidity-Controller-Meter-Sensor-99-RH-/161312494959?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item258ef9556f

Still going strong after about 3-4 years. I use it in conjunction with an ultrasonic humidifier and a peltier dehumidifier. Unfortunately both the humidifier and dehumidifier last about a year each, so I have to keep replacing them. Would be nice to find a cheaper solution, as they are around $25 and $60 respectively.