Some Like It Cold

[s1214215]

I recently converted a fridge into a wardian case. An electrician friend put a variable thermostat on it so I can manually change the temperature for now. Eventually I will automate it so that it varies from 10-12c to 20-22c and back over the course of 24hrs.

I just added a mesh cage to hang mounts on and for stepped shelves. I also added a pane of glass sealed in with bathroom silicone at the bottom. This serves to catch water run off, as well as boost humidity. I will add a fogger soon.

I am just waiting on some live sphagnum moss, and new fans to arrive in the post and I will do some deflasking with the cold grower flasks from Ecuagenera . Flasks I have are Fernandezia maculata, Dracula chiroptera xanthina, Telipogon thomasii and a number of cold growing Lepanthes.

If any of you are on Facebook, I run this group. I direct members back to this group too as there is so much good info to share here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/301381213230652/

Brett

[AussieVanda]

Nice one!

[katrina]

Very clever!

[Paul]

Cool!

[WhiteRabbit]

Very cool!

[s1214215]

I will change the light in the top to a Kessil Tuna 350 LED as that will give me near daylight at the top and low light conditions at the bottom. The current light is enough for growing, but not really enough to get plants to bloom.

The problem with the Kessil is that it is not waterproof, so I may need to make a enclosure for it with venting to let out any heat.

[calvin_orchidL]

That is fricken amazing. Looking forward to seeing how your build develops. How on earth did you find one of these nice fridges with the glass front!

[s1214215]

Hi Calvin

It is just a wine bar fridge. I bought it second hand on ebay. You could buy one new. Pretty easy to find in a good white goods appliance store.

I will keep posting as I add and change things. You can also follow it on my Face Book group.

Brett

[s1214215]

I did a little deflasking.. These are flasks just done;

Telipogon thomasii
Fernandezia maculata
Lepanthes ophioglossa
Lepanthes grandiflora
Lepanthes caprimulgus
Lepanthes escobariana
Lepanthes effusa
Lepanthes ophioglossa
Dracula chiroptera yellow

Flasks I have yet to do;

Lepanthes ingridiana
Lepanthes nicolasii
Telipogon thomasii - got one more flask to do, but waiting to see how the first one goes with aquamat and a little live moss.
Fernandezia maculata - got one more flask to do, but waiting to see how the first goes with a little live moss and aquamat.

I have moved some plants, Den. cuthbertsonii, Chrytroglossa Ben Berliner, Neocogniauxa hexaptera and Lepanthes tsubotae into the fridge too. I am seeing an improvement on the first three in only a week. Its obvious they love the 10c night time drop. The Den. cuthbertsonii has even started a new growth, and the Chrytroglossa are plumping up and looking happier. The Neocogniauxa will take longer as they didnt like my intermediate case.

And these are flasks I have coming courtesy of Ecuagenera and Pepe Portilla. As you can tell, I need to grow these seedlings on the fridge case and move some on to new homes fast so I have room for more hahah;

Masdevallia decumana
Masdevallia lucernula
Masdevallia maxilimax
Dracula hirtzii 'xanthina'

Brett

[Ray]

FYI - You can actually expand that nicely.

If, when you outgrow that volume, you attach a larger enclosure to the face of the fridge, and it'll still have plenty of cooling capacity.

You're welcome
- Ray the enabler.