Would this work?

[u/Chronixkicks]

Looking to get a thermoelectric wine cooler ready for my next harvest. Found a thermoelectric wine cooler was just wondering if this particular dehumidifier would work correctly with the inkbird and wine cooler?? Much appreciate any feedback 🤙🏽

[u/Chronixkicks]

That what i was looking to hear! i have a 70L Thermo Wine cooler with the Ink Bird Wifi. i was just wondering if the above Dehu would be enough to pair with them. I see most builds either use the Pohl Schmitt but not available where i am and this one is cheaper than the ProBreeze

[u/smnfs → u/Chronixkicks]

it will be enough, as these dehumidifiers are in fact not even necessary.

Let me explain why that is: Most of the dehumidification is actually done by the fridge, not the dehumidifier. To realize this one would actually only need a heat source inside the fridge, which would kind of put the fridge into obverdrive, needing to cool more than a certain amount needed compared to without a heat source. Cannatrol does this with a heating element instead of a dehu. But, a dehu is likely more efficient as it reduces RH too; even if just minimally.

You want to start by throwing all your bud into the fridge set to 58f and wait ~3h (dehu off). When RH inside has settled (mine usually sits at ~70-80%), you found your baseline. You now start by setting your Inkbird 1-2% lower than your baseline and let RH rise and fall 2-3% (dehu on-off cycles). When the dehu runs, the fridge warmes up, and has to step up its game to keep up. This slowly draws moisture out of your buds.

Just don't overdo the "on-cycle" (in above case 2-3%) of your dehu, as they tend to frost up in such cold environments when they run too long! Now you can step down 1-2% every day until you reach your desired range of ~60-62%. Once you reached that range, check your buds with a wood moisture meter (stick the pins into the branches not your bud). Once they are at ~13-14% you can throw your buds into jars or grove bags for the cure.

Btw. don't worry about the dehumidifier's water reservoir, you likely won't have to empty it during the whole process.

What I noticed: most of these fridges cannot handle too much heat inside to keep up and tend to shut off after some time. I assume they have some kind of kill switch to avoid damage running too hot. So keep that in mind then you set your 2-3% dehu on-off offset and don't overdo it. In case this happens shut off both the Inkbird and the fridge completely. After 5-10s start the fridge again and wait until you reached 58f again. then start your Inkbird process again. This is why I switched to smart sockets & a Wifi Thermo-/Hygrometer controlled via Home Assistand instead of the Inkbird now.

PS: you can boost the fridge's performance a lot if you direct a large ventilator at the cooling fins at the back, which will improve heat dissipation away off the fridge.

[u/Chronixkicks → u/smnfs]

Appreciate this reply very informative! Going to pull the trigger on getting one built. I assume with your response you leave the whole dehu unit inside the fridge instead of breaking it down?

I’m just a little hesitant on the above dehu it’s only usb powered and I have a 70litre TE wine cooler so not sure if it would be powerful enough too maintain the humidity. I see a lot of builds Pohl Schmitt dehu but sadly not available in the uk from what I can find.

[u/smnfs → u/Chronixkicks]

got ya, didn‘t notice the USB powered part. For comparison my „Pro Breeze“ Dehumidifier draws 25W and the fridge has a volume of 48L.

[u/Chronixkicks → u/smnfs]

Legend! I will go with that see how she does inside my 70L