Thermoelectric wine cooler drying and curing - DIY

[taproot]

Yes, I have it a temp controlled room for just that reason..

So the thermoelectric coolers don't work well if the ambient temp is high? This is the primary reason I was looking to build something, the summers are long and hot here in the US south. It's 100+ F @ 30-40% RH for months outside and 80+ F or so inside. I couldn't afford to run a AC all day for just drying and curing which is why I was looking for solutions.

If the latter is true I'd have to look for a compressor based fridge. And, if I got a small compressor based fridge wouldn't frost free be the way to go since it helps to remove moisture. Wonder if you'd even need a dehu in a frost free fridge?

The lotus cure and the wine fridges look basically the same to me.

 

[Hook Daddy]

So the thermoelectric coolers don't work well if the ambient temp is high? This is the primary reason I was looking to build something, the summers are long and hot here in the US south. It's 100+ F @ 30-40% RH for months outside and 80+ F or so inside. I couldn't afford to run a AC all day for just drying and curing which is why I was looking for solutions.

If the latter is true I'd have to look for a compressor based fridge. And, if I got a small compressor based fridge wouldn't frost free be the way to go since it helps to remove moisture. Wonder if you'd even need a dehu in a frost free fridge?

The lotus cure and the wine fridges look basically the same to me.

I can relate to high temps, and the room my coolers are in gets up to 80f frequently with no problems, but not much higher than mid 80s. I live in the mid-east and we are always hot and humid, same reason I made the coolers as well, I can’t afford to cool and dehumidify an entire room just to dry. If the room you plan on putting the cooler in stays above 90f for much of the time the thermoelectric coolers may not be best, I don’t know anyone that’s tried personally.

 

[taproot]

Next I drilled the hole in the fridge. I chose lower and to the right, staying away from the power cable and any other fridge parts. It’s just thin metal and insulation. I had a half inch hole saw that was the perfect size. I cleaned up the hole so there were no sharp edges that could cut cables, the fed the sensor cable and dehumidifier power cable through. I read in other threads to be careful using silicone to seal the hole, the smell is hard to get rid of. I used hot glue, and two neoprene plugs from an old cloner I had made that I cut down to fit tight. After it was finished I think I could have skipped the hot glue all together.

Hole in the fridge from the front
View attachment 5273723

Hole from the back of the fridge with wire through. I had not taped up and protected the power for the humidifier here yet, I did that later.
View attachment 5273724

Humidifier in place. It just sets there with the fins in the channel that drains to the tray under the fridge. At first I worried about the tray filling up but it is designed to evaporate out fairly quickly, it never had more that a dozen tablespoons or so of water in it. The Inkbird sensor is next to it, I ended up mounting the sensor with hot glue to the back right of the fridge fan and between shelves where it will not touch anything including your drying flower once loaded up.

View attachment 5273726

When you have the whole dehu in the same space the evap and condenser are in the same space. I'm seeing this on other builds both compressor based and thermoelectric.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's the cold side (condenser) that pulls the moisture out by lowering the dew point and forming condensation? Is this correct? The hot side isn't the working side pulling the condensation out right? It's how the big compressor based dehu work for basements and such..the cold side is what condensates and how a AC works as well?

I'm curious why not mount it like the themoelectric peltier that came with the fridge where the hot side is outside the box so you're not adding heat back into the environment causing the compressor / peltier to run more?

Awesome thread by the way.

 

[taproot]

I can relate to high temps, and the room my coolers are in gets up to 80f frequently with no problems, but not much higher than mid 80s. I live in the mid-east and we are always hot and humid, same reason I made the coolers as well, I can’t afford to cool and dehumidify an entire room just to dry. If the room you plan on putting the cooler in stays above 90f for much of the time the thermoelectric coolers may not be best, I don’t know anyone that’s tried personally.

Normally about 85f in the house with energy prices so high.

 

[Hook Daddy]

When you have the whole dehu in the same space the evap and condenser are in the same space. I'm seeing this on other builds both compressor based and thermoelectric.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's the cold side (condenser) that pulls the moisture out by lowering the dew point and forming condensation? Is this correct? The hot side isn't the working side pulling the condensation out right? It's how the big compressor based dehu work for basements and such..the cold side is what condensates and how a AC works as well?

I'm curious why not mount it like the themoelectric peltier that came with the fridge where the hot side is outside the box so you're not adding heat back into the environment causing the compressor / peltier to run more?

Awesome thread by the way.

You are correct that it is the cold side that pulls the moisture out as it condenses. I have never tried putting the hot side of the dehumidifier outside the cooler just because of the extensive modifications required to the insulated box of the cooler. Now it’s just one small hole and done, and it works. The bit of heat the dehumidifier creates inside the box triggers the cooler to activate, and the 2 peltiers work in tandem pulling moisture out, so it is almost counter productive to go through the effort unless you are in a situation like your where you just can’t find a place that stays consistently under 85f or so. Mine stays at 55f in an 80f room, so if the temps were at 90f I believe it would still hold 65f, but have never tried so can’t be certain.

 

[Hook Daddy]

Normally about 85f in the house with energy prices so high.

If it stays 85f and under I think it would work just fine, esp. if you are planning to dry at 60f, no problem.

 

[taproot]

If it stays 85f and under I think it would work just fine, esp. if you are planning to dry at 60f, no problem.

I'm just curious, have you tried the lotus cure in a modern frost free fridge compared to what you're doing now?

I'm curious how they compare and differ. I've only dried and cured in my frost free freezer.

 

[Hook Daddy]

I'm just curious, have you tried the lotus cure in a modern frost free fridge compared to what you're doing now?

I'm curious how they compare and differ. I've only dried and cured in my frost free freezer.

No I have not tried the lotus cure. Something about putting the buds in pizza boxes made me look elsewhere, but I later did hear some people love it. If you have fridge room give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

 

[taproot]

No I have not tried the lotus cure. Something about putting the buds in pizza boxes made me look elsewhere, but I later did hear some people love it. If you have fridge room give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

I'm in the FF freezer at the moment but plan on trying it next run. I was going to use paper grocery bags.

Not sure if you're interested in another discussion but if you are....

DIY Wine Fridge Dryer share your version

Awsome… I will need to read thru these and see shat new ideas could be in these. Super cool love the new concept ideas !!!

overgrow.com

Thanks Hook for your time discussing your setup.

 

[sgnpuflm]

So the thermoelectric coolers don't work well if the ambient temp is high? This is the primary reason I was looking to build something, the summers are long and hot here in the US south. It's 100+ F @ 30-40% RH for months outside and 80+ F or so inside. I couldn't afford to run a AC all day for just drying and curing which is why I was looking for solutions.

If the latter is true I'd have to look for a compressor based fridge. And, if I got a small compressor based fridge wouldn't frost free be the way to go since it helps to remove moisture. Wonder if you'd even need a dehu in a frost free fridge?

The lotus cure and the wine fridges look basically the same to me.

I live in a similar environment, but with more humidity. Though I keep my house around 76, it can peak to 80. All that is to say though that I've had ZERO issues running this unit so far on my first attempt with it in this heat. I even had to leave for a week or so after the initial water removal days and everything was aces the whole time while there was a local heat wave, and I could kick the humidity down as needed using the C79P from 1,200+miles away.

 

[Tony9d9ct]

Normally about 85f in the house with energy prices so high.

I have everything in an 8x8 tent which stays around 85 degrees 58rh. During heat waves it's been consistent 92 all day in there and mine held 63 degrees no problem. I bought an eBay 8x8 and put a 4x4 MH and a smaller ebay tent for veg in, along with 2 Koolatrons and all my nutrients. Our humidity swings alot so it allows me to control humidity with a smart dehumidifier inside the 8x8, which helps me dial in vpd in each tent since I have a consistent environment. It also helps avoid any smells if I open my tents to look or move them around, defoliation etc. Both hold fine even at 92 during the day.

 

[Castermtm]

I decided since I was building another dry/cool box I needed two things right away. Something more available for a shelving solution, and a name for the project. Here’s my solution for the shelving this round. I found this on Amazon, it’s made to line shelves of dehydrators and grills, it’s a mesh with much more airflow than the silicone mats most people have been using, more similar to the stainless mesh I had used on the last one. Here’s the product I chose, many different brands for the same price, same size…

Amazon.com

View attachment 5308726

I took a sheet and place it on top of the shelf, then ran tie wraps through the bottom and around and secured it to the existing shelves. Looks just like the stainless ones I made, but cheap and easy. If you have the same shelves they have two rails, tie wrap to the inner rail so the tie wrap doesn’t interfere with the shelf sliding in and out.

View attachment 5308727

I trimmed the edges and the tie wraps and they look great. Ready to dry and cure. I didn’t do the bottom shelf yet, I will have to modify it for the dehumidifier still.

View attachment 5308728

 

[mcog200]

8 Days in, currently running at 55F/69%, seems like most of that fresh-chopped water is gone, RH swings are much smaller, seems on track for 62% next week.

Definitely does flatten a side if you don't rotate your buds, aside from that pretty hands-off

 

[Blue brother]

So the thermoelectric coolers don't work well if the ambient temp is high? This is the primary reason I was looking to build something, the summers are long and hot here in the US south. It's 100+ F @ 30-40% RH for months outside and 80+ F or so inside. I couldn't afford to run a AC all day for just drying and curing which is why I was looking for solutions.

If the latter is true I'd have to look for a compressor based fridge. And, if I got a small compressor based fridge wouldn't frost free be the way to go since it helps to remove moisture. Wonder if you'd even need a dehu in a frost free fridge?

The lotus cure and the wine fridges look basically the same to me.

Chances are you'll need to create a barrier inside a compressor fridge as the moisture would be stripped away too quickly, I'm working on a ptfe fabric that will allow moisture to escape at the correct rate so as not to dry too quickly but still allow the water to escape when certain Vapor pressure parameters are met. Think grove bag.

If you go with compressor based fridge you will need a humidifier on a controller to smooth out the peaks and valleys in humidity as the compressor cycles.

 

[taproot]

Chances are you'll need to create a barrier inside a compressor fridge as the moisture would be stripped away too quickly, I'm working on a ptfe fabric that will allow moisture to escape at the correct rate so as not to dry too quickly but still allow the water to escape when certain Vapor pressure parameters are met. Think grove bag.

If you go with compressor based fridge you will need a humidifier on a controller to smooth out the peaks and valleys in humidity as the compressor cycles.

Thanks for the input.

I'd like to hear from guys that used both a compressor based and thermoelectric based to compare. They also make small frost free fridges to, wish they did that with freezers but anyways.... Wonder if you'd even need a dehu with a small frost free fridge?

I've been reading and talking to people that do the lotus cure in their frost free fridge. Some of those guys chop, wash, drip dry for a few hours then straight into the fridge in paper bags for a few weeks to a month. No humidifiers or timers or controllers or dehus. I'd be interested to compare that as well.

Let me know how the fabric comes out. You can find compressor based fridges for free when college graduation come around.

 

[Blue brother]

Thanks for the input.

I'd like to hear from guys that used both a compressor based and thermoelectric based to compare. They also make small frost free fridges to, wish they did that with freezers but anyways.... Wonder if you'd even need a dehu with a small frost free fridge?

I've been reading and talking to people that do the lotus cure in their frost free fridge. Some of those guys chop, wash, drip dry for a few hours then straight into the fridge in paper bags for a few weeks to a month. No humidifiers or timers or controllers or dehus. I'd be interested to compare that as well.

Let me know how the fabric comes out. You can find compressor based fridges for free when college graduation come around.

You won't need a dehu in a compressor fridge as the action of the compressor does all the work for you, the problem is it works too well and you can't control the humidity independent of the temperature, the people who do lotus usually put the bud in some sort of porous container, pizza box, paper bag etc, or in jars and periodically burp them.

 

[Tolerance Break]

I've been converted. There's no reason to cure any other way for small home growers. My friend doesn't like that the sides of the bud get flattened, but I dont give 5 fucks. I'm sure someone here has found a way to alleviate that. This last round wasn't particularly stinky, but this next round should be, and I'm hyped to see how the cure goes! Only shame is I won't be starting flower until October-November

 

[Hook Daddy]

I've been converted. There's no reason to cure any other way for small home growers. My friend doesn't like that the sides of the bud get flattened, but I dont could give 5 fucks. I'm sure someone here has found a way to alleviate that. This last round wasn't particularly stinky, but this next round should be, and I'm hyped to see how the cure goes! Only shame is I won't be starting flower until October-November

It cracks me up people are worried about a flat spot, it makes taking pictures of the bud much easier, and once it comes out of the grinder or gets turned into hash I can never seem to find where the flat spot went. I guess if I was selling and my customers complained I might try to find a solution. My only dilemma is do I build a third one. I’ll never hang dry again unless I just run out of room in the coolers, which does happen.

 

[Norlovestogrow]

This is interesting thanks for all the info ! It looks almost exactly like my meat curing fridge I made ( thought not nearly as well done), little annoyed i didn’t think curing is curing. Thanks again I have a winter project for this year!

 

[Tolerance Break]

It cracks me up people are worried about a flat spot, it makes taking pictures of the bud much easier, and once it comes out of the grinder or gets turned into hash I can never seem to find where the flat spot went. I guess if I was selling and my customers complained I might try to find a solution. My only dilemma is do I build a third one. I’ll never hang dry again unless I just run out of room in the coolers, which does happen.

Right!? Neither of us sell, we just test each other's goods. Even considering that, the time saved micromanaging a whole climate, and in my case cooling/dehumidifying a room on the second floor of my house in the middle of summer, it's well worth it.