Humidity control

[Icefever]

I ordered one of these the other week.

12V/24V/110V/220V Digital Air Humidity Control Controller WH8040 Range 1%~99%CV

It turned up yesterday I'm going to use it in the chiller for the cheese.

 

[Wade]

That will certainly help you to manage the humidity and is the type of unit I built into my original cold smoker - except that unit monitored both temperature as well as humidity.

When creating a curing cabinet the challenge is not really the monitoring the humidity but more the actual management of it. The controller will do a good job of telling you what the relative humidity is and switching relays as appropriate, but you also need something in the cabinet that will add humidity if it is too low and remove it if is too high.

There are several ways to increase the humidity and the best way will depend on the size of your curing unit. The electronic humidifiers and water atomisers are OK in larger cabinets however in smaller cabinets they tended to increase the humidity too much. After experimenting with several types of device for adding humidity in an under-the-counter fridge size unit the most effective way was simply to place a bowl of water at the bottom of the unit with a towel wick coming out. If the humidity got too high then the controller switched on a fan to move air through the chamber removing the moisture. Here are some photos of a curing unit that I helped to build which worked quite well

• In the first photo you can see the water bowl/trough at the bottom with the towel wick coming out of it. You can also see the ceramic heater used if the temperature needed increasing. If the temperature needed lowering then the controller simply switched the fridge on.
• The second shows the side fan that moved air through the unit if the humidity got too high.
• The third shows my controllers inside a project box - in this unit there was a separate controllers for temperature and humidity (similar to the controller you have just purchased).

  

Hopefully this may give you some ideas for your build.

 

[Wade]

The combined temperature and humidity controller that I originally purchased for my cold smoker is now discontinued however this one is very similar

Digital Temperature and Humidity Controller Thermostat with Relay Output

[Justin]

For cold smoking dos this matter so much? Is it more focussed on  dry curing?

 

Plus if smoking outside  (as opposed to a shack or garage. It does not matter so much?

[Wade]

No it does not matter as the burning sawdust will create a lot of water vapour in the smoking chamber regardless. My original "expectation" when building the first large cold smoker was that it would double up as a curing cabinet. Some chance !!! This never happened as the cold smoker was used far too much to allow any time for curing. I have since replaced the temperature/humidity controller in there with one that just manages temperature.

In the small fridge curing unit (pictured above) this was only used as a curing cabinet and was not used for cold smoking.

[Justin]

Ok so humidty box with some sort of humdity control and temp control its a good idea for curing meats? then chuck that is dark corner somewhere inside.   Hmmm.  Ideas churning, ventilation? I guess not as you can not get a humidity controlled container like that?

[Wade]

45 minutes ago, Justin said:

Ok so humidty box with some sort of humdity control and temp control its a good idea for curing meats? then chuck that is dark corner somewhere inside.   Hmmm.  Ideas churning, ventilation? I guess not as you can not get a humidity controlled container like that?

For "curing" in this sense read "air drying". The term curing covers a number of different processes. These curing cabinets are designed primarily for the air drying curing process for things like Salamis, Chorizos and Parma hams. You do not need them for the "curing" that you do for bacon or salmon.

[Justin]

Sorry yes air drying is what i mean salamis etc....I am thinking an insulated wooden box is easy to make. then place this outside with humidity an temp control to air dry the meat? Have something dedicated just to that, does not need to be big, maybe taller rather than wider and hang things in there, smaller space easier to control temps and humidity  in?

Wood and ply with bubble wrap in between. Not sure if to leave that in attic (which is pretty cold as above house insulation layer or outside or in garage)

Edited November 30, 2018 by Justin

[Wade]

You are looking to try and maintain a steady temperature of ~10-15 C and a humidity of about 70% and so there are pros and cons for both outside and in the attic. At this time of year the attic would be somewhat protected from increased humidity when it rains, however you are likely to get bigger swings in temperature. In the summer the attic is likely to be way too hot most of the time. On balance though I would plump for having it outside or in a garage or shed.

There is another option - which is to excavate a nice cool cave underneath your house 😀

[Justin]

time to empty out the soldier hut shed, oh it is full of charcoal and dusts and wood.....hmmm. Lol. Back door curtain rail seems to be working very well. It is a more constant temp there, particularly in the cooler months, Somewhere round 16 and 20 degrees most days and cooler at night. There is no radiator in my extension to the back door so it works well enough. The heating is on right now and it is 19.6 degrees where the meat hangs. during the day when the heating is not on it is more like 16 degrees this time of year. As it warms up i will have to think of another area though the sun doe snot hit my back door until high summer so we shall see.