Text 23504, 54 rader
Skriven 2009-04-20 23:56:24 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
Ärende: A Cunning Plan
======================
How cunning, m'lord?

So cunning, Baldric, that if it had a tail it would be a weasel.

Anyway, I was poking around the internet, exploring nooks and crannies,
when I found a homebrewing site (beer, not game software.)  And there
was a long discussion about lagering and how hard it is to do at home
because of the need to keep the protobeer at a constant low temperature
when lagering, and how a few people had solved the problem by making a
"lagering fridge."

What these homebrewers do is find a secondhand fridge just large 
enough to hold their carboys and modify them - removing shelves etc.
and connecting them to a Johnson Controls powerline thermostat.  Instead
of relying on the notoriously untrustworthy refrigerator controls inside,
the probe end of the JC thermostat is put in the fridge and the fridge's
power cord is plugged into the thermostat instead of the outlet.  When
the proper temp is reached, the t'stat shuts the fridge down by cutting
the power, starting up the fridge later when the temp inside rises.  This
method is better for the electric bill, for the fridge (which doesn't
have to run all the time) and for the lagering process because it can
hold temperatures inside the fridge to within 3 degrees of a set temp.

It dawned on me that this very same equipment can be used to cure
sausages all year round, freeing me from depending upon my attic!

It also happened that checking craigslist revealed a used fridge
on the curb half a mile from here.  ("Free to good home" kinda
thing.)  The fridge works great, was really clean, and has plenty
of room to hang stuff.  I picked up the fridge after
work, just ahead of the rain that moved in this evening.  The
fridge is waiting in my shed for the rain to stop, when Roger and
I will bring it down to the cellar and make the neccessary 
modifications.  The Johnson Controls t'stat has already been 
ordered.

After I get the fridge down cellar, I'll pull out all the shelves and
add hanging bars at the top and halfway up.  I'll fit it with the
thermostat and add a cool-mist humidifyer at the bottom, plugged
into a humistat along the same idea as the thermostat.  After I
get it up and running and make sure it can maintain a constant
temp, I'm going to test it out by making some pancetta.

This is gonna be cool.


---
http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/ - Dave's Cupboard - Food and 
Restaurant Reviews; If I post it here in NCE, you'll find it 
blogged with photos at Dave's Cupboard.

http://bacon-labels.blogspot.com/ - A gallery of bacon package labels.
(The extra shelf in Dave's Cupboard.
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)