TrickyDick

Hey thanks a bunch!! Would love to see the details on that home made Cold Smoke Generator! As far as those halogens , how do you have them mounted? How many bulbs are you using and in how large of a chamber? I am wondering if I'll need more than one. Are you using a dimmer too? The link and a search on harbor freight shows those to be replacement bulbs for an existing light/lamp? Seems to get low marks from the reviewers. Have you had good luck with them lasting through a fermentation? I probably don't need much heat here in FL. I definitely need a heat source in my chamber as I intend to do fermented sausages. Another dumb question for anyone. Arduino pulls power from the USB port on the computer, but once programmed and not connected to a computer, what voltage does it require? I bought a wallwart type power supply that's 9 volts 650mAh. Is that too much? Isn't USB 5 volts? Some other thoughts for anyone to comment please. From the looks of it, I'll have 4 devices operated by the Arduino: fridge, heater (halogen lamp), humidifier (and lower fan possibly), plus dehumidifier (upper exhaust fan(s)). Is there even a fan in use in the lower cut-out hole or is it just an open passage on the one Chris built? Seems the small exhaust fans and probably intake fan if one is needed, could be controlled by Arduino itself, but the others - humidifier and lights take AC power. I got this little board that I'm hoping to use to control those via the digital output pins to actuate AC relays. The documentation is non-existent on the relay board. The LCD panel I got has a daughter board hooked up with GND VCC SDA SCL connections (This is similar to the LED boards for the BCS-460 controller). I'm thinking that those could be used to connect the LCD board instead of the 16 pin bus? Well, getting late here, and my head is spinning with information overload. Time for bed! TD

Appreciate it! I got the board plugged into my laptop and fiddling with it. I tried to upload your code but received an error message that it could not find the file or folder dht.h (or something along those lines..) I think that its going to take some time for me to figure this all out, but looks to be like its well worthwhile. Appreciate the work you've done on this and hope to be making some fermented dry cured sausage soon! TD

Ok I began today. So far I have the base cabinet and fridge with holes drilled and a PC case fan mounted between the top of the cabinet and the bottom of the fridge, friction fit, and semi-screwed into place (eventually I'll use bolts). I have some L-brackets mounting the fridge to the cabinet which has mounted casters, to keep fridge from moving. I need to find a dummy guide for how to use and connect the Arduino controller to other stuff (humidity / temp sensor, LCD display, Relay, powerswitch tail, etc...) I have the Github code downloaded and beyond that, I am pretty much clueless as far as the controller. I have a breadbord and some connectors that I bought for a different project I was working on, but I don't really understand how the breadboard "works" either. Time to reach out for help and do some looking online... TD

I have my cabinet, and now ready to begin!!!

Thanks. I'm pretty rusty in the electronics realm. Had a couple courses in high school eons ago. We built an AM radio I recall. Got a basic book on programming arduino from Amazon when ordering the other stuff. Got a small relay that claims can operate up to 250VAC/10A for under $10. Might try using that instead of another tail, which is pricey by comparison. That said, I don't think I really trust the tiny relays to operate say a mini fridge, for which I will be using a PowerSwitch tail. Pretty cool device actually. What are you using for temperature control, or are you only trying to monitor and regulate the humidity? I have a STC-1000 which comes with its own temp probe that I had originally planned to use with a separate humidity controller like what had been discussed earlier in this thread. I definitely want to be able to control the temp to conduct sausage fermentations. Considering that others had used halogen lamps (I think the stated a 300 or 500 watt lamp, but I think that's a typo?). I'm wondering if a regular lightbulb or even reptile heating cord would be an option. No progress so far. Need to get a cabinet built. You are using a different PC case fan at the bottom of your fridge/cabinet interface? Any sealant or lining in that cabinet by the way??

Thanks. I have parts on order. Do you have a wiring diagram and a transistor ID? Are you using three PowerSwitch tail for the three devices: fridge, lamp, and humidifier? Have you implemented the lamp yet? I might begin fiddling with initial assembly this weekend, but seems that building the cabinet should probably be first thing I start with.

Chris, I'm pulling the trigger on building one of these for myself. I am going to skip the cold smoke option initially ( not super happy with the bradley for a cold smoke generator, plus could always smoke in my smoker. ) Parts questions for you. What AC relays for the lamp and humidifier? What LCD panel? I have a breadboard and jumper wires already. Any further updates on your project?

I'll look into those links. Thanks! Since I'm not a programmer like you, is there any chance you'll be able to share the coding details or a walk through on how to make our own similar device? I wish I knew more about this kind of stuff. I already have too many hobbies, and learning to program is not one I'd want to add to the list however. It would only be to the point to get a final operational controller. I may end up wanting to build a setup on a cart so I could roll it outside of i wanted to setup with a cold or hot smoking capability. The link to the refrigerator is not working for me by the way.

Howdy, Nice project for the dry cure chamber. I've been wanting to build one based on a compressor refrigerator. The one I picked up however was a side by side, and I determined it would be bad to use one that style. I've wanted to do a freezer on bottom type curing chamber but have been unable to locate an affordable fridge. Your mini fridge option looks like a great idea. I am primarily interested in making dry cured and fermented sausages and possibly some smoked items. As well. I have a bradley smoke generator and cold smoke adapter unit that I had previously purchased. I am curious what dcarch uses for cold smoke, and how the smoker is use indoors! Also would love to see pics especially of the light for heat and how the temp output from that bulb is controlled. I am also not sure what a PowerSwitch tail is. How many pounds of sausages could you hang in that fridge? Would crowding pose a problem? How did you cut the bottom of the fridge out without hitting coils? What brand and model fridge are you using? One of my other hobbies by the way is homebrewing, and there is a need to control fermentation temps. Some folks have taken a STC-1000 temp controller and reprogrammed it (using an arduino) to achieve a variety of preset values. You are using the arduino directly to control the process it seems. I've already bought all the gear that I thought I'd need to convert a fridge based on an STC-1000 temp controller, and an inexpensive humidity controller with a ultrasonic humidifier, and a couple of computer case fans. I may need to rethink. The ability to monitor the temp and RH over time I would think to be valuable. In Florida, it's mostly very high RH year round. Thanks for sharing.