I have previously changed a thermostat and added another temperature zone to my dry-aging refrigerator. I decided to upgrade it a bit more and now it is time to add a humidity controller to the fridge.
I had noticed, that quite quickly after the addition of the meat (or the second batch of meat), the humidity drops down to approx 50%. Reading a bit on the optimal specs for a dry-aging refrigerator, and considering the requirements for my cheeses, I decided to upgrade the fridge once more.
I found a cheap ultrasonic humidifer and a humidity controller (and something more, part 4 is coming). This time I bought them from Amazon and everything came as promised, not like the last time.
Trial run
I wired the controller and the humidifier and started to control the humidity inside the original packaging. It worked like a charm! I now had a cardboard box in my lobby, with a controlled humidity of 85% !! Who wouldn’t be exited about that!
Humidifier and controller test
The setup of the dry-aging refrigerator
I placed the humidifier inside the fridge, turning the vapour nozzle towards the door. The door is the warmest part in the fridge, so I think it will reduce the risk of condensation. I pulled the wire through the hole I drilled earlier and wired up the controller.
I realized I have now too many controllers to rely solely on the wago connectors, so I built a rail for the live and the zero phases. After wiring up everything, The fridge is now back on, with humidity set at 79% ± 1%.
All three controllers up an running and even controlling stuff
Initial thoughts
The humidity controller has now been on for about three hours. After the first hour, I adjusted the hysteresis of the controller from 1% to 5%, so it wont’ be turning on constantly. I also adjusted the positioning of the extra fan to reduce the amount of condensation on it. So finally the fridge is set at 79% ± 5%
Time will tell how it will perform, and most importantly, how the meats will taste.
Update on the meat
The first batch is now 52 days and the second batch is 26 days. Looking good
Looking good. Can you take some photos of the wire rail setup as well?
Will also be interesting to hear about the results, when you taste the steaks.
First tasting is coming on 22nd so in two weeks. I’ll pat some photos later on.