buying a mini refrigerator for storing beans, need your opinions!

juts

Well-Known Member
So I was thinkin of buying a mini refrigerator for my precious beans..
What should I look for when buying? like specifications and stuff..


I can't use my kitchen refrigerator because it's a non-frost & power saving type meaning it turns off every once in a while.
I tried storing bagseeds in it but moisture builds up in their respective containers even with dessicant so that would be a problem and given the 'normal everyday use' opening/closing the door contributes to the moisture and temperature fluctuations.

TIA:hump:
 

juts

Well-Known Member
Oh, forgot to mention.. I live somewhere in the tropics my brothas! With an average 30-32°C room temp at daytime, 25-27°C at night. 80-85% humidity, 90-95% in my kitchen refrigerator.
I have read many topics on keeping beans in the refrigerator prolong shelf life/viability, even seedbanks and breeders recommend/use refrigerators
Spent almost $300 on beans already with some random pollen chucking and buying new strains every now and then if you know what i mean.. so might aswell protect my growing investment..

Hope you'll understand.
:cry:
 

juts

Well-Known Member
Will their viability degrade faster when kept @ 30-32°CELCIUS(about 86-90°F) & 80-85% humidity(65-70% in their container with alot of dessicant already)
I really want to keep them for a long time because i have a 4-6 plant limit for flowering(4x4x8 garage cab 9 plants max when veg, not a big fan of scrog/LST, i do UB's topping, 2 runs per year, kept some clones) and most of my beans are regular. My collection keeps growin and growin.. not including beans that i make myself.. and I'm itching to order new strains again
:hump:

...just added rice to my stash jar lol but not touching the beans, more of like an insulation lol

btw.. what reliable refrigerator brand would you recommend? One that is NOT frost-free
 

juts

Well-Known Member
I keep mine in fridge in zip bags stored in mason jar..does rice act as desiccant?
I keep my bean stash in a mason jar too but with alot of dessicant instead of rice. Just now, I replaced a couple packs of dessicant with rice.
 

Mister Black

Active Member
I keep my bean stash in a mason jar too but with alot of dessicant instead of rice. Just now, I replaced a couple packs of dessicant with rice.
Hi Juts - also in the tropics here. RH not so high tho. Have you checked the RH of your fridge crisper drawer at the very bottom? I take it you have put a temp/RH gauge in there to measure ranges of temps and RH levels down there with the door closed.

I keep mine in the crisper drawer of the fridge in a metal tin in their packaging. Temp is in the 50's and RH in the 40's. That tip about rice is super. I'll add some to the tin now.

Have you considered vacuum sealing and putting into fridge?
 

juts

Well-Known Member
Hi Juts - also in the tropics here. RH not so high tho. Have you checked the RH of your fridge crisper drawer at the very bottom? I take it you have put a temp/RH gauge in there to measure ranges of temps and RH levels down there with the door closed.

I keep mine in the crisper drawer of the fridge in a metal tin in their packaging. Temp is in the 50's and RH in the 40's. That tip about rice is super. I'll add some to the tin now.

Have you considered vacuum sealing and putting into fridge?
Checked the crisper after reading this, still @ 88% humidity -this is the prob with new-type frost free/power saving fridges and someone opening/closing it every once in a while so thats why i wanna buy them seeds a fridge of their own lol so there's less opening/closing, no drastic temp/humidity fluctuations.

Anyways, yeah I've considered vacuum sealing but I'm afraid doing that would burst their cells or whatever if i overdo it like what happens to meat so might aswell keep them in these small glass containers that i got off ebay with a 3:1 seed-dessicant ratio in a jar with rice & dessicant(wouldn't this be overkill?) lol but i think there will be issues with viability in the long run if i don't do something about it.

....OCD kicks in :hump:
 

juts

Well-Known Member
...now on finding the right type of fridge...still waiting for answers from the seedbanks i've mailed :-P looks like they're too busy taking too long to reply lol
i've seen alot of the new-type mini refrigerators w/c were "power savers" that turns off automatically when a certain temp is reached but i still haven't seen any of the old ones w/c keeps on running 24/7 might aswell try surplus shops too
 

schuylaar

Well-Known Member
Checked the crisper after reading this, still @ 88% humidity -this is the prob with new-type frost free/power saving fridges and someone opening/closing it every once in a while so thats why i wanna buy them seeds a fridge of their own lol so there's less opening/closing, no drastic temp/humidity fluctuations.

Anyways, yeah I've considered vacuum sealing but I'm afraid doing that would burst their cells or whatever if i overdo it like what happens to meat so might aswell keep them in these small glass containers that i got off ebay with a 3:1 seed-dessicant ratio in a jar with rice & dessicant(wouldn't this be overkill?) lol but i think there will be issues with viability in the long run if i don't do something about it.

....OCD kicks in :hump:
Why don't you just buy Boveda 62% rh? They are cheap, delivered fast and worked as promised.
 

juts

Well-Known Member
Alright guys! I've decided to get a small wine chiller instead, thanks to brotha *Boyz N Da Hood* why didn't i think of that? I must be medicating too much again. LOL
 
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