Slave's Edgestar 28 build

[slave2theaxe]

OK...so my wife gave me the go ahead to pull the trigger on an Edgestar 28 bottle as an early Christmas present (Aint she great!?!). I had been waiting for the open box to come back up.

So this thread is going to follow my build from start to finish...lots of pics since I know we all love pics!!! I'm going to keep as much contained to this post as possible so you don't have to search the whole thread for pics/info.

OK...Here goes:

First shipment of stuff arrived today (along with a trip to Home Depot for some hardware).

Screws and spacers from Home Depot for mounting the fans.

Here's the finished product...I'm taking a page out of another BOTL's book and just using hot glue to secure the studs to the interior of the fridge...that way they are easy to remove if I ever want to reposition them.

Yes, I'm really using 4...a couple reasons: They don't push a ton of air, they are not going to run constantly (timer), and...

FOR LOOKS...Here is the "bling" I mentioned.

12VDC adapter to run the fans.

Digital timer to run the fan cycles...This one has 20 on/off cycles.

Ranco ETC

Yup, it's a power strip...nothing special.

Last but not least, a little cable braiding and heatshrink to keep things nice and neat.

THE ACTUAL WORK:

OK...the Edgestar arrived today. I got some prep work done in the morning before work, and then after work I spent the evening getting all the electronics set up.

First, the Edgestar prior to any modification.

Drilled through the unit using the drain hole exit on the back of the unit as a guide. I was going to try and route the wiring through the drain hole, but it was just to small to fit, plus it's curved.

I added braided covering over all of the wiring just to keep things looking nice...not a necessity and pretty much a huge pain in the ass, but the end product is worth the trouble. (Even though the flash makes it look like it's not there in most of the pics...Trust me, it looks nice).

Feeding the Temp control and fan wiring through.

Mounted the temp sensor about midway up in one of the recesses for a shelf that wont be used.

This is the wiring for the door open fan kill switch. I don't have the magnetic sensor yet, so I just ran the wire ahead of time so when I get it, I can just splice it in easily.

Bottom fans mounted and wired up. Used hot glue on the screw heads to mount the fans to the interior.

Running the wires to the top fans. I used 3M self adhesive cable ties to secure the wiring.

Top fans mounted and wired up. The top fans blow down and the bottom fans blow toward the door.

View looking up at the top fans.

View looking down at the bottom fans.

All the electronics installed in the back of the unit.

Time for some BLING!!!!

OK...all of the electronics work is done (except for the door open kill switch for the fans).

Now it's just the waiting game for the Chasidor shelves/trays

*UPDATE*

I forgot to add pics of my water catch ramp. After running for a few days, I noticed a bit of condensation starting to pool in the recess where the drain hole used to be...not a lot, but enough that if I left it for a day or two it would have started to run down the back and pool on the floor. I didn't want that so I modified the water catch that used to be on the back (drain hole exit) into a ramp that will direct the water into a container that I can then empty whenever needed...or put some beads in there to recycle the moisture...I'll see how it goes...anyway pics...

Used a cutting wheel bit on my dremel to do the cutting...first I cut the ends off and then started to get some measurements.

After a few cuts and figuring out where the chasidor stuff is going to be, I came up with this...

Here it is installed...I used hot glue to attach and seal around the edge...now when the water pools in the drain recess and overflows, it runs down the ramp into a container on the bottom shelf (not pictured).

Cedar shelves from Chasidor showed up. (Still waiting on my trays)

I had to do a bit of modification to the bottom shelf to allow room for the fans.

Here it is installed...Like a glove

UPDATE - Installed fan kill switch for when the door is opened.

Next pics should be when my trays show up hopefully in the next few weeks...we shall see.

UPDATE - Chasidor trays are now installed...Here's the link to the final product:
http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=49436

 

[slave2theaxe]

While waiting for the unit to arrive, I've been planning/purchasing some needed items.

Already here:
Edgestar 28 Bottle Wine Cooler
2 Chasidor cedar shelves
Ranco ETC (Temp Controller)
Computer case fans...(I'm going "blingy" here...you'll see)
DC Power supply (for above mentioned fans)
Digital On/Off Timer for fans
1.5 lbs of 65% Shilala Beads (Probably get another 1/2 lb later for good measure)
2 HygroSet Adjustable Digital Hygrometers (also from Shilala)
Door open switch (Got this from my brother who is a slot tech in a casino...just so happened that they use a switch on the slot machines that worked perfect for my apllication).

Ordered or on the way:
Chasidor Trays (2 single, 2 double)

 

[twenty5]

While waiting on the HF beads to come in stock, take a look at the shilala beads. There are a ton of reviews on them and while a bit more expensive, I personally think they are much better and will last a lot longer (if not forever).

http://www.shilalabeads.com/

 

[lbowles2]

While waiting on the HF beads to come in stock, take a look at the shilala beads. There are a ton of reviews on them and while a bit more expensive, I personally think they are much better and will last a lot longer (if not forever).

http://www.shilalabeads.com/

I agree with the Shilala beads. I have about 2lbs of them in my 28 bottle vino and it holds rock solid at 65% with no need to recharge them. You probably really only need 1 to 1.5 lbs but the more you put just helps it to recover faster if you've had the door open for a bit.

 

[slave2theaxe]

Thanks guys...I ordered 1.5 lbs of the Shilala beads. That should do for now, but I'll probably add another 1/2 lb later on for good measure.

 

[slave2theaxe]

Might be a bit of overkill (which in all honesty is kinda what I'm going for here...lol), but after reading a thread somehwere about fans pushing humidity out of the humidor if they are running when the door is open, I got an idea.

I'm thinking about hooking up a kill switch for the fans, so they will shut off if they happen to be running when I open the door (rather than waiting for them to shut off before opening the door). My plan is to wire up a set of those magnetic door/window contacts (for alarm systems) and have my fan power run through that so as long as the door is closed, the fans can come on, but if the door is open they wont.

My only concern is if the magnet on the door seal will interfere with the magnetic contacts, since they will have to be in close proximity. The contacts only cost a couple bucks so if it doesn't work it's no big deal...just time lost.

What do you guys think?

 

[mcroom]

Might be a bit of overkill (which in all honesty is kinda what I'm going for here...lol), but after reading a thread somehwere about fans pushing humidity out of the humidor if they are running when the door is open, I got an idea.

I'm thinking about hooking up a kill switch for the fans, so they will shut off if they happen to be running when I open the door (rather than waiting for them to shut off before opening the door). My plan is to wire up a set of those magnetic door/window contacts (for alarm systems) and have my fan power run through that so as long as the door is closed, the fans can come on, but if the door is open they wont.

My only concern is if the magnet on the door seal will interfere with the magnetic contacts, since they will have to be in close proximity. The contacts only cost a couple bucks so if it doesn't work it's no big deal...just time lost.

What do you guys think?

We also use this type switching for the electric steps on RVs so I am very familiar with them. I would suggest mounting the switch on the door jamb and the magnet in the gasket may be enough to set the switch so as to not have to mount the magnet on the door.

 

[twenty5]

Seems like a lot of trouble to fix a problem that I have never experienced.... Dont forget, with an ETC, your cooler will only be running when the temp is above a certain range and only for 2-3 minutes at a time.... What are the chances you NEED to get in there at the same time that the unit will be cooling? If you are talking about the computer fans on the otherhand, I wouldnt have them running all the time, for example, mine runs for 5 minutes at a time 20 times per day. I use a light timer kind of thing.

 

[slave2theaxe]

If you are talking about the computer fans on the otherhand, I wouldnt have them running all the time, for example, mine runs for 5 minutes at a time 20 times per day. I use a light timer kind of thing.

Yeah, that's what I was talking about...And I do plan on running the fans on a timer...as I said, I know it's kind of overkill, but I'm intentionally going overboard on this thing. I figure if I'm gonna do it, I want to do it up right...I'm gonna bling this thing out...lol Besides, I'm an aircraft electrician by trade so wiring and electronics is kind of my thing...I enjoy it.

 

[mav_sd]

I would caution against going too overboard on the computer fans... I learned from my build that the CFM is an important thing to consider. I had 4 fans blowing at the same time over my beads and eventually abandoned the model. Even running for ONE MINUTE passed something like 80 cubic feet of air over the beads... that's the entire area in my fridge like 20 times over... the beads were drying out and I became worried about the sticks.

If you use fans, keep the fans and timing space appropriate for your cubic feet, and remember indirect airflow over your beads and sticks.

 

[lbowles2]

I don't use fans in mine... but I don't run my vino. It's in the basement and stays right around 70 degrees. I suppose if I plugged it in I would probably run a single 40mm fan on a timer. I really doesn't take much to cycle the air in that small a space.

 

[slave2theaxe]

Ok...first shipment arrived today. Got the Ranco ETC. Looks like I should be getting the fans/power supply from Newegg today as well based off the tracking info.

The actual Edgestar unit should be here tomorrow and then I can start the build. Gonna be a busy weekend...I forsee several trips to Home Depot to get something I didn't think about. Its gonna be fun!!!

 

[SergeantStogie]

Thanks for the updates! I'm going to do this myself, and as great as twenty5's 101 is, it'll be cool too see it progress.

 

[EricF]

Can't wait to see the pics on this one!

Looks like its gonna be a good one!

 

[slave2theaxe]

OK...first round of pics is up...just supplies that arrived today. The Edgestar should be here tomorrow so I'll get to building this weekend.

 

[waffle]

What size screw/spacer did you use, I've been trying to do something like that and didnt even think of that as an option?

 

[slave2theaxe]

What size screw/spacer did you use, I've been trying to do something like that and didnt even think of that as an option?

The screw is a #8-32 x 2-1/2"

I have 2 spacers on each...1 is 1", the other is 1/4"...so 1-1/4" total. I wanted to give the fans a bit of room underneath to breathe, but if I need a bit of extra space I can loose the 1/4" spacer and it should still work.

 

[waffle]

The screw is a #8-32 x 2-1/2"

I have 2 spacers on each...1 is 1", the other is 1/4"...so 1-1/4" total. I wanted to give the fans a bit of room underneath to breathe, but if I need a bit of extra space I can loose the 1/4" spacer and it should still work.

Thanks! Looks like its off to Home Depot on my lunch break!

 

[Slow Burn]

looks like some good ideas so far...

 

[slave2theaxe]

Well, the Edgestar actually showed up early enough today for me to make some good progress. I've already got the ETC hooked up and routed and I've routed the power for the fans into the interior. I'm off to work now, but I might actually be able to finish all the wiring tonight. I've already got a bunch of pics, so I'll post up later tonight.