Thermoelectric wine cooler drying and curing - DIY

[mobilekasey]

I'm contemplating building a second unit. First one I did with the smaller Koolatron. I see since then you guys have been hard at work making larger ones. I found a 35 bottle unit on Amazon for $249. With those larger fridges do you use 2 dehumidifiers?

 

[mobilekasey]

Hello, I have a problem, can someone possibly help me? I have the IHC-200-Wifi which shows an RH of 66.7%. Then I have 2 thermometers with humidity sensor....

IHC-200-Wifi: 66.7%
Thermometer1: 61%
Thermometer2: 62%

Do you think the IHC-200-Wifi is defective? It was a new device.

I suspect you need to calibrate the new one.

 

[HeavzGunner93]

The way I do it is watch the history of my RH. If I have my fridge set at 60 and the average is 60 for a couple of days I know its ready to go.

Do you mean the avarage RH of the Inkbird margin is at 60%. I am right now set at 76% but with the cycle being between 64% and 78% my avarage is around 70%. Does this make sense

 

[mobilekasey]

Do you mean the avarage RH of the Inkbird margin is at 60%. I am right now set at 76% but with the cycle being between 64% and 78% my avarage is around 70%. Does this make sense

It makes sense. I do it differently. When I first load up the fridge I am set to 75% with 1% buffer. Each day I lower it by 1% until I reach 60%. I leave it there for as long as I want but I know its ready to bag when my average is consistently 60% without any high spikes.

 

[esco9ine]

I'm contemplating building a second unit. First one I did with the smaller Koolatron. I see since then you guys have been hard at work making larger ones. I found a 35 bottle unit on Amazon for $249. With those larger fridges do you use 2 dehumidifiers?

Hmm. This would likely depend on the size of the dehumidifier and how efficient it is. You'll have to try with just the one and see if you can get the RH lowered enough. I'm curious to know how it works out. Please let us know.

 

[esco9ine]

Okay so after building my unit and harvesting I have now completed my first cold curing process. Thanks so very much for all the help advice given by everyone on this thread especially @Hook Daddy for starting us on this pretty cool adventure. Next season will be bigger and better. Here are some pictures of my harvest (80g in total from 2 plants) Please don't be shy with any criticism regarding my buds as this was my first time growing. I'm all ears. Cheers

 

[mobilekasey]

Hmm. This would likely depend on the size of the dehumidifier and how efficient it is. You'll have to try with just the one and see if you can get the RH lowered enough. I'm curious to know how it works out. Please let us know.

Thanks but there are some folks on here that have already built the larger 35 bottle units. I was looking for their advice based on experience.

 

[Mojo421]

I have a question about the wiring of the dehumidifier unit, does the fan from the humidifier blows on the metal fins, or away from it?
My fan blows on the fins and the air get out at the top, but i thought it was the other way, air get sucked from above and the fan blows it away?
Im a bit worried that i wired it the wrong way, would this damage the peletier element of the dehumidifier?

 

[sgnpuflm]

Thanks but there are some folks on here that have already built the larger 35 bottle units. I was looking for their advice based on experience.

I built one of the larger units and found one dehumidifier to suffice.

 

[HeavzGunner93]

Hello guys,

So 11 days later and last night I took out of the fridge 3 of the bigget nuggs and put them in a jar with a RH meter. They stayed there for approximatelly 4h and is stayed at stable 61%. Would you say it is ready for jarring? The inkbird is at 66% today but I guess because the fridge is 35 bottle model and the material was not a lot it managed to dry to this point in only 11 days. The buds fell dry on the outside yes the small fan leafs are braking but the small stem on the bottom of the nug still fells kind of bendy and not braking.

 

[gooshpoo]

Hello guys,
View attachment 5441743
So 11 days later and last night I took out of the fridge 3 of the bigget nuggs and put them in a jar with a RH meter. They stayed there for approximatelly 4h and is stayed at stable 61%. Would you say it is ready for jarring? The inkbird is at 66% today but I guess because the fridge is 35 bottle model and the material was not a lot it managed to dry to this point in only 11 days. The buds fell dry on the outside yes the small fan leafs are braking but the small stem on the bottom of the nug still fells kind of bendy and not braking.

you can jar or let go for 1 more day then jar

 

[by2]

I have a question about the wiring of the dehumidifier unit, does the fan from the humidifier blows on the metal fins, or away from it?
My fan blows on the fins and the air get out at the top, but i thought it was the other way, air get sucked from above and the fan blows it away?
Im a bit worried that i wired it the wrong way, would this damage the peletier element of the dehumidifier?

I think that MR Hook Daddy himself has the fan blowing forward, but I think that the fan is then wired the wrong way. I guess it handles the heat since it is in a fridge.
I had the fan blowing up this time and had some spikes in temperature so will try and rewire it to blow forward instead for my next time to see if it make a difference.

 

[Hook Daddy]

I have a question about the wiring of the dehumidifier unit, does the fan from the humidifier blows on the metal fins, or away from it?
My fan blows on the fins and the air get out at the top, but i thought it was the other way, air get sucked from above and the fan blows it away?
Im a bit worried that i wired it the wrong way, would this damage the peletier element of the dehumidifier?

On mine there is no fan on the cold side, which is the side with the pointed metal fins. The fan is on the hot side attached to another Heat sink, and blows away from the TEC, drawing air through the heat sink and pushing it forward and away from the entire unit. This is as it was designed, it is wired as it came with both reds to positive and both blacks to negative.

 

[by2]

On mine there is no fan on the cold side, which is the side with the pointed metal fins. The fan is on the hot side attached to another Heat sink, and blows away from the TEC, drawing air through the heat sink and pushing it forward and away from the entire unit. This is as it was designed, it is wired as it came with both reds to positive and both blacks to negative.

That is interesting. If I compare my dehumidifier to yours they look the same when taken apart.
The difference is that mine is configured to blow on the heatsink on the hot side and direct the air up. I have indicators on the fan showing the direction of the air and it is pointing towards the heatsink, and all cable colors match so I would assume mine is designed this way.
It is strange that so similar dehumidifiers would be designed to operate different.
That being said I think it is better to have the fan blowing away as you have.
I had a couple of spikes in temp and hum, And I think that might be due to the hot air blowing on the back of the fridge and heats up the cold plate more than necessary.
So I will rewire or maybe even change the direction of my fan until next run.

 

[Mojo421]

So I will rewire or maybe even change the direction of my fan until next run.

Thanks for the replys, yeah mine works the same. Wired the same, but hadnt time to check the Heat/Cooling sides, because it is running the second run. But im also sure i wired it right. First worked, but was a bit empty and fast and had also alot of spikes.

Can i just change the polarities from the fan, or should i turn it around?

 

[by2]

Thanks for the replys, yeah mine works the same. Wired the same, but hadnt time to check the Heat/Cooling sides, because it is running the second run. But im also sure i wired it right. First worked, but was a bit empty and fast and had also alot of spikes.

Can i just change the polarities from the fan, or should i turn it around?

I turned mine around. It was just stuck with some pins and hot glue so it was easy to flip it around.

 

[Atarihuana]

I built my own. Couldn’t fit 3lbs in one. Doubled up 2” foam sheets to make 2x2x4’ cabinet. Used the dehu everyone has and 2 double peltier units 2x140w. Made 12 shelves with stainless mesh and plastic corners and ran INKBIRD temp/rh units with a 2circulating fans, 12v 30amp psu. First run. Working well. Thanks for all the info everyone provided.

Wow, I’m impressed! How does it work and how are the results so far? Would you mind sharing some detail on how you’ve built it and what components you used etc? I’d love to build one myself

 

[Mojo421]

I turned mine around. It was just stuck with some pins and hot glue so it was easy to flip it around.

Works like a charm to turn it around, mine was only clipped. Now i have no more spikes and the RLF get down easy.
I realised that the Fridge cools down more then needed when its the wrong way, because the warm air is blown on the Fridge-Cooling and there was Water at the Backwall because of that also. When its the wrong way, the Backwall is used to Dehumidify also, but as soon as the Inkbird turns off, most of the Water stays in the Fridge.

Thanks for the amazing guide

 

[Scibomber420]

Wow, I’m impressed! How does it work and how are the results so far? Would you mind sharing some detail on how you’ve built it and what components you used etc? I’d love to build one myself

Wow, I’m impressed! How does it work and how are the results so far? Would you mind sharing some detail on how you’ve built it and what components you used etc? I’d love to build one myself

I used 3 4x8’ sheet of 2” thick xps foam board, 3 rolls on 2” foil tape, INKBIRD ihc200wifi and ihc308wifi controllers, 12v30a power supply ( https://a.co/d/g1fEOYS ) and

2 peltier units

https://a.co/d/6EexLH7

1 dehumidifier

Amazon.com

the hardest part was getting the drains pitched correctly And fabricating the water catch drain pans

I used 10 1” x10’ Sheetrock corners to crazy glue and zip tie stainless steel 1/4” mesh for 12 shelves.

https://a.co/d/cM2nyjA

I also used 2 12v fans to circulate the air inside

Amazon.com

and lastly the rubber gasket to seal off the door

Amazon.com

used racket straps to keep the door shut tight, but honestly they are annoying and useless. The door seal fine without them.



That’s most of the things u need to get started

 

[Scibomber420]

I used 3 4x8’ sheet of 2” thick xps foam board, 3 rolls on 2” foil tape, INKBIRD ihc200wifi and ihc308wifi controllers, 12v30a power supply ( https://a.co/d/g1fEOYS ) and

2 peltier units

https://a.co/d/6EexLH7

1 dehumidifier

Amazon.com

the hardest part was getting the drains pitched correctly And fabricating the water catch drain pans

I used 10 1” x10’ Sheetrock corners to crazy glue and zip tie stainless steel 1/4” mesh for 12 shelves.

https://a.co/d/cM2nyjA

I also used 2 12v fans to circulate the air inside

Amazon.com

and lastly the rubber gasket to seal off the door

Amazon.com

used racket straps to keep the door shut tight, but honestly they are annoying and useless. The door seal fine without them.



That’s most of the things u need to get started

messed up the 12v fans link. I got of these, one on
Top and one on bottom

Amazon.com