March 7, 2007 - 1:13pm
Cooling source for desem in summer
Hi, I'd be happy with a cheap way to keep the desem at 55 to 65 degrees. I'd be using one of those 5 day cooler things but would like a way to keep that temp range with a thermostat. I could assemble the components myself.
Ron
Share
Ron, do you have a basement? Do you live in a warm area of the country (for this time of year) or cool?
I keep my starter in a crock buried in w.w. flour. Then when I mix up the bread dough, I keep it up here on the main floor during the winter, but when it starts getting hot out I let it rise in the basement. And when we finally turn the AC on in the summer, it's still too warm up here (over 70) so I let it rise in the basement.
The advantage of summer (if it's a hot one) is that I can keep it out on the back porch for it's final proofing and I don't have to mess with the cooler and water, etc.
I'd LOVE to have a bread proofer where I can control the temps - from 55 - 95 and as much or little humidity as I want.
I wonder how much something like that costs.....
Cecelia
Hi Cecelia, No basement here in New Mexico. The climate here is mild most of the time. It can get down to the low teens on occasion and 100 in summer. Our house has 14" adobe walls and our pantry is on the north side of the house so it's great except in summer. I'm thinking of modifying one of those 5 day picnic coolers with some sort of thermost or proportional controler and one or two thermo electric units. They run on 12 volts. We live in an off grid home with a 24 volt solar system. So I could just put two in series if they are not too expensive. I would use it as a source of heat for proofing and as a cooler to keep the 55-65 range in summer. TE units are a bimetal plate if you apply current in one direction it gets hot and in the other direction it gets cold. This is about all I know at the moment. I have to do some research to find out more.
Ron