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Rys
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Registered: 04/10/18
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Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project
#25129008 - 04/10/18 05:09 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hi! Longtime lurker here. I wanted to share a work in progress, and also get some opinions on how to proceed.
My brother-in-law gave me a non-working wine fridge. I made some repairs and got it running for a while, but it crapped out again and I don't really need a wine fridge anyways. But, I thought it would be very useful as a fruiting chamber. I've already gutted it and have a basic idea of what I want to do:


This thing did not have a compressor; it used heat sink coolers with fans on the inside to distribute the cool air, and fans on the outside to dissipate the heat. I removed the inner fans because I don't think they'd survive long in a humid environment. But I think they would be ok mounted on the back. But I am wondering, should I blow air in, or out?


The capacity is twice that of the Sterilite container I use. It has a shelf with blue LED's underneath as well as on the top. They aren't very bright but hopefully will be adequate. My goal is to make this as self-contained and automated as possible.

I plan on mounting a digital timer in the back. I could also mount an airpump. So I guess my options are: 1. Blow the fans into the chamber say, once an hour for a minute or two. 2. Use an airpump and airstones to supply consistent source of fresh air into the chamber. 3. Use option 2 and also blow the fans in periodically. 4. Use option 2 and also blow the fans OUT periodically, to exhaust.
What do you all think? I haven't yet given much thought on how to maintain humidity without misting. I'd love to keep the manual misting and fanning to a minimum, but I can accept that I may have to still do it.
Thanks!
R
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elasticaltiger
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25129020 - 04/10/18 05:13 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I really don't think air stones and bubblers are going to help much. Ideally you would want to pack the thing with enough substrate to supply the humidity.
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Failboat
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: elasticaltiger]
#25129142 - 04/10/18 05:57 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Blow air in the bottom and out the top. Keep temp steady, use the lids on the shoebox properly.
Edited by Failboat (04/10/18 05:58 PM)
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Tormato  
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Failboat]
#25129161 - 04/10/18 06:03 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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OP Why come you need this?
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Edited by Tormato (04/10/18 06:22 PM)
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Failboat
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Tormato]
#25129201 - 04/10/18 06:15 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I want a fridge for edibles, but it needs to work. Otherwise this is clever, but seems extreme.
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Tormato  
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Failboat]
#25129226 - 04/10/18 06:24 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quirkmeister92 said: I want a fridge for edibles, but it needs to work. Otherwise this is clever, but seems extreme.
Seems overkill
-------------------- Helpful Threads
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Tormato's Q&A Thread Post Questions Here or PM me!
"Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been." ~ Grateful Dead
Before you start...Do you have a Pressure Cooker and a Dehydrator? I highly recommend getting both!
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Failboat
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Tormato]
#25129250 - 04/10/18 06:33 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I mean if you're just determined to have a stealth grow...
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bodhisatta 
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25129306 - 04/10/18 06:58 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Take the front off to get air automatically 24/7
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Grimsweeper
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: bodhisatta]
#25129382 - 04/10/18 07:34 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I’ve done something similar with a much larger pop machine. On mine, humidity is CLOSE to where I want it to be with two small tubs of damp perlite. I’ve beeen monkeying with the internal fan speed to increase FAE but if I push it too much my humidity drops and I need to mist a tub I have opened up to FAE. Anything in jars and a tub I’m still colonizing is doing well. You can also control your fan on a dimmer rather than a timer. I like mine for colonizing tubs and jars but I’m not yet certain for fruiting. The jury is still out. Good luck.
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Grimsweeper]
#25129600 - 04/10/18 09:00 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thank you.
I don't see it as overkill. The wine cooler was free, doesn't work anymore, and seems perfect as long as I can figure out the optimal amount of FAE while maintaining humidity.
The airstones might be pointless since I already have fans, is the gist I'm getting so far.
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: elasticaltiger]
#25129657 - 04/10/18 09:22 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
elasticaltiger said: I really don't think air stones and bubblers are going to help much. Ideally you would want to pack the thing with enough substrate to supply the humidity.
Yeah, got me thinking that I should find bigger trays rather than the mini-bulk think I'm doing.
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Failboat]
#25129685 - 04/10/18 09:29 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quirkmeister92 said: Blow air in the bottom and out the top. Keep temp steady, use the lids on the shoebox properly.

Ah, of course. I didn't think of one fan blowing in, and one out. But, shouldn't I blow in the top, and out the bottom? Or would it matter? The way you said would take care of heat buildup, but I'm not sure I will have an issue with that. And don't the gas byproducts sink?
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mushhiehunter
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25130059 - 04/11/18 02:03 AM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Fans are usually a bad idea IME. They dry out the sub way too much. If you insist on using this fridge, get some potentiometers and a timer. You want very little air movement (think how monotub works), use the potentiometer to turn down the power of fans + use the fans for maybe 5min every hour.
But the real problem here is that you are a beginner and probably don't have a good grasp on what the proper conditions should look like. Maybe try SGFC with cakes first to get an idea what the mushrooms want. If you get no fuzzy feet, nice, plump stems and good looking mushrooms, try to replicate the conditions you have observed.
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: mushhiehunter]
#25130632 - 04/11/18 10:46 AM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I have about two years with a SGFC under my belt, but I would agree that I'm by no means an expert. It took me a while, but I got my SGFC "tuned" nicely enough, though I still had to fan with the lid a few times a day for best results. So I am somewhat familiar with what proper conditions are.
The wine fridge, as mentioned, is twice the capacity of my SGFC and looks to have the potential to be less maintenance, mainly (hopefully) by not having to manually fan.
But what you said, mushhiehunter, makes me want to use the airpump/stones. I could use them to constantly introduce a small amount of fresh air in a manner that won't dry out the substrate too quickly. And then, turn the fans on briefly every hour to simply stir up the air, mixing it to avoid pooling of stale air.
Getting the right compromise of high humidity and fresh air, while also allowing the moisture in the substrate to evaporate at the correct rate can be tricky, I've realized!
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hamloaf
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25130795 - 04/11/18 12:14 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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mushhiehunter
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25131120 - 04/11/18 03:02 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Rys said: I have about two years with a SGFC under my belt, but I would agree that I'm by no means an expert. It took me a while, but I got my SGFC "tuned" nicely enough, though I still had to fan with the lid a few times a day for best results. So I am somewhat familiar with what proper conditions are.
The wine fridge, as mentioned, is twice the capacity of my SGFC and looks to have the potential to be less maintenance, mainly (hopefully) by not having to manually fan.
But what you said, mushhiehunter, makes me want to use the airpump/stones. I could use them to constantly introduce a small amount of fresh air in a manner that won't dry out the substrate too quickly. And then, turn the fans on briefly every hour to simply stir up the air, mixing it to avoid pooling of stale air.
Getting the right compromise of high humidity and fresh air, while also allowing the moisture in the substrate to evaporate at the correct rate can be tricky, I've realized!
Watch out for bacteria from the stale water you are gonna get in there, change it often. Also get an air pump with controllable output. You can check how much air it puts out by submersing a vessel of known volume under water and filling it up while keeping time. Then calculate the total volume of the chamber AND then ask someone who operates a martha how many times per day they completely exchange the air in it
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: mushhiehunter]
#25131855 - 04/11/18 08:54 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I have hoarded power supplies for various electronics over the years. The fans are rated at 12v DC and I think 120 mA. I'm sure I have multiple power supplies that will work, so I'll probably use the lowest voltage one (with adequate current) that will start the fans, rather than use a dimmer/potentiometer.
I'm not sure where to find a timer that will allow me to set an "on" time for one minute every hour. I don't really trust cheap timers, but the cheap analog ones have been more reliable than cheap digital ones, in my experience. But the analog ones don't allow that short of an 'on' time. I'll have to do some googling.
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bobwastaken
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25133935 - 04/12/18 07:15 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I'd vouch for a passive design.
Don't use a fan to circulate air within the chamber. co2 doesn't settle out of air or "pool". The fan will only help your mushrooms dehydrate. I use a fan to increase evaporation/humidity but it is positioned in a way to minimize direct air flow to the mushrooms and it took a lot of messing about to get right.
You can have all the FAE you'll need simply by leaving the door cracked. It doesn't take much. A gap of just a few mm will provide a surprising amount of FAE. It will far exceed what an aquarium pump can provide. If you can get a co2 meter that'd make it easy to fine tune otherwise your mushrooms will tell you.
For humidity you could try 2 trays of perlite, bottom/top shelf. Porous materials to expose as much perlite to the air. Mesh baskets would work well. I've also seen someone fill stockings with perlite.
Keep in mind heat generated by lighting will have an impact on your humidity if you decide to increase light intensity. Using dimmable lights makes it easy to strike a balance.
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: bobwastaken]
#25134116 - 04/12/18 08:40 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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I don't want to leave the door open because of bugs, specifically fungus gnats. They only appear if I have a potted plant in the area but I'd still rather keep them out. I can cover the back with cloth or mesh as a bug filter. Maybe the holes for the fans will provide enough FAE, but I'd like to have some control if needed.
Found cheap timers on amazon that will set down to the second. So I could do on a few seconds, off several minutes or something. Could also set them to exhaust only, as it will draw air in from elsewhere and not blow directly on the substrate.
I'm all for the trays of perlite. Maybe I'll continue to make mini bulk trays, and place trays of perlite wherever there's an empty spot. That way it's always full of either substrate or substrate and perlite.
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bobwastaken
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: Rys]
#25134302 - 04/12/18 09:42 PM (6 years, 9 months ago) |
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Go for what suits your requirements. There are so many ways to get the job done. The fan will work fine as an alternative to venting. You could also control FAE simply by having a large hole in the back and a slide to adjust. The existing holes alone will provide some FAE relative to a given mycelial mass. It can't be calculated. You have to run the fc at capacity and find out where you're at. Looking forward to what you come up with
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Rys
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Re: Wine Fridge Fruiting Chamber Project [Re: bobwastaken]
#25144244 - 04/16/18 08:04 PM (6 years, 8 months ago) |
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I think I'm just going to omit the fans entirely and pipe a cool mist humidifier into it, instead. The Crane "Drop" is about the right size to just tape a short duct onto it and pipe into the top hole. It apparently has its own little fan. I'll just leave the bottom hole open/covered with a filter. I'll control the humidifier with the infinite loop timer. How's that sound?
Also, I found 1 gal trays that fill up an entire shelf space nicely. Holds more substrate than my four 24 oz trays, too.
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