Refrigeration Part II

[Anonymous]

Here is a still of the well used dorm refrigerator I cleaned up today.
It seems to be holding the 35 to 36 degree level very well, with zero products inside. I picked up a “select grade” ribeye loin at a meat locker on the way home with the fridge. Wow.. prices have skyrocketed.
Tomorrow I hope to do a supplement paper clip photo or video for the forum here to show how easy it is to vaccum seal a loin.
:blink:
“C~W”

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[Ron Pratt]

C~W,
That’s a nice unit – I have one that is quite similar as an undercounter bar. I’m not sure you need the aux fan. Ours has a black plastic faced outer door and I bought it maybe 12 years ago at Sears for like $160. It works VERY well, though it does need good ventilation out the back. OTOH we run about 3 YEARS between any needed defrosting. You did good with getting it for only $40! BTW we have a similar sized Philco down in the basement that is now 38 years old! Remember that brand?
Ron

[Anonymous]

This one is a GE, but sounds exactly like yours. So far so good.. It gets down to 24 degrees when pushed to the limits.. Empty of course.
🙂

[Anonymous]

Do you have a way to check temperature in different parts of the little fridge? If the temp is consistent throughout, a fan might not be necessary. If it isn’t, the fan idea would probably help take care of it.

[Anonymous]

Hi Nick..
I believe yours and Ron’s thoughts are valid.. I am running without a internal fan due to my haste to get this one on the road. The loin is resting on the central ribbed wire shelf so if I do insert a fan later, it will be a very small low speed circulating fan. I think it will speed up the moisture evaporation time of the loin. I wonder if this is done in the large hanging beef coolers??
“C~W”

[Ron Pratt]

C~W,
Several months ago “kinder” posted a recommendation in this thread:

http://www.drybagsteak.com/forum/7-sealing-tips-a-tricks/180-bar-fridge

that addressed using a battery operated fan. That would be a lot less effort than retro fitting a fan through the wall and taking a chance of hitting a circulation tube. As for the large commercial operation drying rooms yes they do control air circulation, humidity levels and temp. I have read that some even have lighting that prevents bacteria growth. All that is for operations dry aging “tons of beef” a year, but that’s why the DrysteakBag product works so well to cover those bases for those of us just aging 1, 2 or a few sub-primals at home.
Ron

[Anonymous]

I am shying away from the through case wiring idea as light duty flat drop cord should seal well aroung the door seals for the fan. I already have a portable muffin fan to use, even if temporary.
Thanks for the reference to the “kinder” posting.
“C~W”

[Ron Pratt]

C~W,
You are certainly welcome! BTW if you wade clear through that thread you”ll also see a subsequent report by kinder that his primal froze up. Just saying you might want to keep an eye on the progress for a while.
Ron

[Anonymous]

Ya be careful, the thermometer on the bottom of the little bar fridge read37-39 all the time, and I had my primal on the top shelf, and even though it was about 6 inches from the cooling unit it froze, and I had a little fan running in there. I think you need a fridge that blows cold air in to circulate like a full size fridge has, I wouldnt take any chances

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips KInder and Ron. I am watching it very close and re adjusting the temperature control knob upward in temps… Its been running 32 to 33F…and now this mornigng after a late night reset, its running 34.8 to 35.8F.
I may tweak it a bit higher. No fan yet, and the loin is on the central rack position. I was afraid to put it on the top, due to what Kinder is reporting.
Thats the really coldest spot as the cold flows downward as we know.
So far.. tis working fine.
24 hours into the drybag process.
:S
“C~W”

[Anonymous]

A strange thing.. and I am puzzled.
The internal temperature of the GE refrigerator continues to drop over time, and I must continue to reduce the knob settings to hold above the freezing mark. This emphasizes the comments made by Kimber to “Watch” it.
Overall the dorm fridge is doing nicely as per the full 15.6 lb Angus Select loin.
The drybag sealing is near perfect, and the meat exterior is darkening nicely.
I may cut this one after 14 days into 2″ sliced ribeye steak, and then use the FoodSaver to bag and freeze all but ONE thats heading over my lips and into my tummy. :woohoo:
I may order one of those external temperature controls as per an earlier posting.
Cheers..
“C~W”
B)

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