I'm relatively new to sausage making and very new indeed to the concept of charcuterie (about to embark upon my first pancetta and guanciale next weekend) and would value a bit of advice.
My g/f and I have a six month old son and, accordingly, the better half is a little concerned about me rigging a fridge with homemade electronics anywhere in the house. She has witnessed my 'handiness' before and has not been instilled with confidence.
She has relented to me getting a wine cooler, as I won't have to muck around with the temperature, and I'm therefore trying to work out what the best, cheapest options are; as well as what inherent problems I will need to mitigate and how.
Peltier systems seem cheaper, but appear to have problems with excessive humidity and frosting. Also, maintaining a consistent temperature seems to be a bit of a problem.
Baumatic do a peltier system cheapish cooler which is also 'fan assisted.'
http://www.baumatic.co.uk/bw28bl_5_2341_25300.html
From reading threads on another, US-based site, I have heard that the Vinotemp models are also 'fan-assisted' and lead to a considerable reduction in humidity - leading to a challenge in keeping RH up.
I'm aware that some people here have had some success with wine fridges and I wondered anyone had experience or knowledge of fan assisted thermo-electric coolers, and whether the fans have a dehumidifying effect (which I think might be a preferable challenge to face than excessive humidity). In particular, does anyone have any experience of the Baumatic model above - they do tend to go for a fair price on eBay, which I assume means they're a bit cr*p.
My first batch of pancetta, btw, is going into a big plastic box with holes drilled in it (and possibly a CPU fan if it remains overly humid). Quite keen to get moving on the wine fridge set-up though before my beloved changes her mind (which, I'm told, is her prerogative).
Many thanks
James