Think I'm making a cheese cave today . . .

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Pumbaa

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No plans, kind of a off the cuff gonna be in trouble with SWMBO finds out sort of deal . . . will post pictures as I go (sick so not sure how much I'll get done or how long it will take)
 
You mean an actual cave, or building one from a cooler, or you have a spare refrigerator?

How are you going to control humidity? I would love to do some kind of swamp cooler method like I do for beer, but the humidity is the factor holding me back so far.
 
well a ice box on a shelf probably 18" x 18" by 36" (bigger then it sounds) a lot like my fermentation chamber. Should probably be able to hold EASILY 20 or so 2lbs cheeses.

Still working out humidity control, BUT my basement is normally at 60% to being with in the winter so thinking of using the green house method for that (crack a window if it gets too high)

Dont think I would want to build a actual cave at this house, now when I retire and move, I'm all over it . . .

well off to the Science and Surplus store and Home Despot. I'll be back with pictures and prices
 
oh please let it be a cheese cave made out of an old fall out bunker!

Next house I'm gonna build a double level basement larger then the footprint of above ground structure, but not this time :(

Anyway back from shopping, picked up everything I'm gonna need . . .

First stop was one of my favorite stores American Science and Surplus Where you can get just about anything for a great price

headed over to the fan section
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and grabbed one of these
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then off to the AC/DC converters
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for this bad boy
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they didnt have any thermostats today (can be hit or miss on their inventory) so off to Ace hardware for
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Next stop is Home Despot for the polystyrene foam board
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I didnt add in wire or liquid nails because I already had them so figure another $5 for that brings me up to about $50 in total

gonna start marking things out and then see how much I can get cut (if any) before I have to go get the kid from school.
 
Wow! I wish I had one of those surplus stores near me!

... Maybe it's for the best though :p
 
ok Cave/Cooler coming along nicely. I have it roughed in (nothing glued or wired) and it will hold 4 2liter bottles of ice and EASILY 16 2lbs cheeses (24 possible if I go 3 layers)

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Not sure if you can see it but there is a little bit of a gap in the top right corner I left in to run the wires and for a bit of ventilation. If it becomes a issue I'll fill it in. Thinking of putting the thermostat in that top right corner (by Pink Pankther's ear) then the fan to circulate the cold air in the top back (left side) of the cold chamber (near that pink blob above the owens corning block) with the intake in the bottom front(by the crumbs). I'm leaving the whole front panel unattached and will probably hold it in place with a velcro strip or a bungee or something (may have a latch or 2 around here somewhere)
 
Didnt forget about this or put it on a back burner just needed to get the holiday out of the way . . . got it wired up and the top glued on today. I'd post a picture BUT it's in a embarrassing Gerry rigged jig so gonna be a couple days b4 I get a new picture up. Decided to keep the front on with a coupe pieces of velcro . . . looking ugly but good at the same time :D
 
ok She's done . . . got the fan installed
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on the opposite side I installed the thermometer. I mounted it with velcro because I found out with my fermentation chamber it sticks to the polystyrene VERY well and it allows adjustments for getting it level (makes them EZ as hell too)
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using a everyday normal thermometer/relative humidity gauge to monitor for now to monitor everything for now but will probably end up mounting a thermometer on the outside with a probe running through the wall to show inside temps eventually
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here is the finished product . . .
You'll notice I'm using velcro strips to secure the front for a few reasons.

  • it's cheep
  • it will help seal
  • I had it :p
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with 2 2liter bottles of ice it went from 70degrees to 60degrees in about 30 minutes. We'll see how long they last (thats where the outside mounted thermometer will be nice)
I used the extra liquid nails I had to "caulk" the corners to help seal it up and I also used it to glue the internal wires (from thermostat to fan) out of the way.
I think it will work out great.

Thing I would do different . . .

  • I think next time I will break down and buy a hotwire to cut the polystyrene. yeah the jig saw works but >.< makes a big mess
  • Gonna make it a touch wider and deeper. I have these really nice stackable wire cooling racks that would work GREAT for stacking cheese in this thing BUT since I didnt think about it to the end I can only fit 8 of them in it. If I would have made it just a touch wider I'd be able to easily fit 12 in this bad boy (3 wide x 4 high). With my 6" PVC mold I can fit 2 cheeses per level on these racks so I would be looking at a EASY capacity of 24 cheeses. here is a link to the wire rack, VERY FREAKING NICE http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=12474130 (even with making it just a touch bigger you can easily make this out of 1 4x8 sheet)
  • I wish I would have added a light to the outside, maybe its just cuz I'm weird but a tiny little light lets me see if it's running while I'm across the basement, nice for the summer when you need to change ice out more frequently then every 3-4 days (tiny LED is more then enough)
  • outside mounted thermometer, should have bought it right away so I dont have to open the chamber to check the temp
 
OK been a bout 1 weeks worth of operation and all the kinks seem to be worked out. Turns out 5 2liter bottles of ice keep the cave at a nice 55ish for over 24 hours no problems (that's in a 70degree ambient room)

humidity seems to stay over 80% just off the condensation on the bottles so I think I'll add a damp towel to the routine
 
Sorry to go OT in your thread here (build looks great btw) but I want to get into cheesemaking, and you seem to know what your doing with it. I don't want to start a thread with this, but is there any cheeses you could recommend for a beginner? I'm a pretty accomplished cook/baker/brewer so I think I can do something more than a ricotta to start, I just don't know where to start. I have a pretty good book.
 
I like it pumbaa. So the thermostat kicks on and sucks in cold air from the ice bottle area as needed? And you just keep that area full of frozen bottles? I like it.
 
I like it pumbaa. So the thermostat kicks on and sucks in cold air from the ice bottle area as needed? And you just keep that area full of frozen bottles? I like it.

yuppers 5 bottles been lasting me 2-3 days at 60 degrees in the cooler

Sorry to go OT in your thread here (build looks great btw) but I want to get into cheesemaking, and you seem to know what your doing with it. I don't want to start a thread with this, but is there any cheeses you could recommend for a beginner? I'm a pretty accomplished cook/baker/brewer so I think I can do something more than a ricotta to start, I just don't know where to start. I have a pretty good book.
Mozzarella is ez enuff, check these out . . . cheep and simple way to start
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/c/1-Kits.html
 
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