Need Recommendation For A Good Mini Fridge To Store Seeds Long Term?

[MajorGrindage]

Ive always been told to get a fridge for my seeds to store them for the long term, but ive been slacking on getting it for a while.

I was wondering if there is a specific fridge on amazon or anywhere else that you guys would recommend that works and maintains its temperature well?

Ive got some great seeds itd be a shame to lose, but im having trouble finding a good fridge on amazon.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Quote Reply

 

[Gone Camping]

Any mini fridge would do, mine came cheap from marketplace. This one has a small freezer section on top for pollen, which i didnt realize i need.

I store drinks, seeds and also product in my fridge. Similar to this.. but i'm not shopping for barn size. I'm following your other thread.

Whirlpool 4.3 cu ft Mini Refrigerator Stainless Steel WH43S1E

Read reviews and buy Whirlpool 4.3 cu ft Mini Refrigerator Stainless Steel WH43S1E at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.

www.target.com

 

[MajorGrindage]

Any mini fridge would do, mine came cheap from marketplace. This one has a small freezer section on top for pollen, which i didnt realize i need.

I store drinks, seeds and also product in my fridge. Similar to this.. but i'm not shopping for barn size. I'm following your other thread.

Whirlpool 4.3 cu ft Mini Refrigerator Stainless Steel WH43S1E

Read reviews and buy Whirlpool 4.3 cu ft Mini Refrigerator Stainless Steel WH43S1E at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.

www.target.com

Thank you so much for the help!

I just looked into the one you posted, and noticed it doesnt have an exact digital temperature control. It seems to have a dial numbered 0-7

Do you find that youre able to get a good temperature for your seeds even though there isnt an exact temperature setting?

Thanks!

 

[420PyRoS]

I use one of these.

Scored a blue one too! Hah
A compressor/refrigerant style. Not those thermal electric types.

 

[Gone Camping]

Thank you so much for the help!

I just looked into the one you posted, and noticed it doesnt have an exact digital temperature control. It seems to have a dial numbered 0-7

Do you find that youre able to get a good temperature for your seeds even though there isnt an exact temperature setting?

Thanks!

I searched the subject of proper temp for storage, i came away with 42*F being the target most agree on. Mine is dial also, i use a temp probe i had in my toolbox for checking the Jeep's AC output. You could surely find something online similar to a bbq monitor. Just check it works at the lower temps..

The 42* is just right for a cool beverage while working the plants too.

 

[Ca++]

Salad storage numbers. 42f is 5.5c and a cold-room figure, rather than fridge. 5c and under is a fridge. Though not too far under, or it's a freezer. 2-5c is typical.
Some have frozen seeds. It seems like certain death to me, but enough have said it, to make it worth posing the question again.

I kinda fancy a glass door, and lots of test tube racks. Then you can burp them, to let the damp out. Chilling air raises the RH, which doesn't seem wise. I just hatched some stored in dry rice for years. I thought that would be stupidly dry, but they all worked (to my surprise). A friend was hatching seeds in the back of his fridge a bit back. A few other people got onboard. The idea was, that anything starting to grow at them temps, was good. The initial discovery was from accidentally wetting some in the condense. So I really would be sure about the RH in any long term storage vessel.

Be interesting to hear other peoples thoughts on this

Today, I just don't have room for milk.

 

[420PyRoS]

I let the tiny freezer box evaporator coils deal with any moisture in the mini fridge. Ice ice baby.

Just remember to clean the ice off once in a while. You lose efficiency.

Don't work harder, work smarter.
Oldest seeds I have prob close to 8 years still popping.

Yup, 5C is potato locker stuff.
2-5C (ideally 3C) is your beer fridge and under 0C you freeze it all including moisture.

Compressors die in 8 plus years so watch out.

 

[Ca++]

I let the tiny freezer box evaporator coils deal with any moisture in the mini fridge. Ice ice baby.

Just remember to clean the ice off once in a while. You lose efficiency.

Don't work harder, work smarter.
Oldest seeds I have prob close to 8 years still popping.

Yup, 5C is potato locker stuff.
2-5C (ideally 3C) is your beer fridge and under 0C you freeze it all including moisture.

Compressors die in 8 plus years so watch out.

You are exposing your seeds to the atmosphere in the fridge then?
A few of my beans have come in plastic capped tubes lately. You know, the last 20 years or so
I have chilled them as they came, without giving it a second thought.
Others have sat on card, with a vacuum formed plastic cover over them. So fully exposed really. I bagged them with rice. Someone I gave a load said they were all dried up, but mine worked fine a couple of years later. Obviously some come in bags, that are sealed to a degree. My own are in folded paper wraps. Which in turn go in bags.

Here we go

If I pop my seeds in a tube, in a 21c room @ 50%RH (a standard working environment) then at 13c I hit dew point.
From another angle, I could be lounging around at 23c in winter, with a quite dry 20% due to heating. Yet water is still forming on my windows, as it cools to 10c.
This numbers have real meaning, if we don't want wet beans. I have opened the bags to get fridge air in them before, like burping.
I guess this is all just science, and so we should lid up a jam jar, and drop it in the fridge to see if water gathers. Perhaps even with an RH meter in there. It won't take long.. Well.. any longer than finding an RH meter.

Edit: I had a moment of clarity. It depends how much air. Them little tubes may hit dew point, but it's still so little moisture condensing from the air, that it's no use to the seed. It's really if you put a seed in a larger box, where there is actually enough condense to gather and do something.

Still.. burping just feels safer. I don't really want to add any moisture. When I get them out, I'm quick to not let them warm. Not while still sealed, and so causing an RH drop.

Some people seems to keep them much better than others. While saying they did the same thing. Perhaps the difference just didn't cross their minds.
I don't have many 20yo seeds, and didn't keep them well before that. I think a Seed Bank Californian Indica is my actual oldest.

 

[420PyRoS]

Unfortunately I don't have 20 yr seeds to test.

Most the seeds I have are in breeder packs sealed so I can't really say they are exposed per say. The 8yr seeds I tested were from seed I put in containers myself. I didn't use rice or desiccant.

I'm not entirely sure how some of these breeder packs are packaged with desiccant or rice etc as i havent opened yet. I do keep the zip locks kinda open in case I trapped moist air when I put the packs in there to protect from any condensation trapped that can be removed via evap coils.
The seeds in plastic containers may have a chance at some slight condensation but the volume of air in there is kinda small so idk. If anything any warm air from opening fridge going over the cooled containers would condensate on the outside because the cool air is trapped on inside and container surface already, like a sealed fridge. But I guess it's possible to get a duel effect in/out esp if you packed in an extreme humid situation trapping high RH in those sealed containers initially with temps risen on the container surface overcoming the volume inside temp.
My fridge area isn't actually that cold but cool enough. I'll see if I can find my temp gun to take readings where I have the zips placed.

In a home, your A/C units condenser will remove moisture from the air by converting to condensate with warm air blowing from your home over your cold coils. The water then gets removed by the condensate array/pump.

I always worried about over drying those seeds also. Don't want the things to turn to dust from the inside out. I may be worrying waaaay to much though.

These seeds are resilient.
Still better off (hopefully) than the fuji film containers sitting in normal environment ambient temps their whole life.

Also, did ppl really select the best seeds back in the day or just put a bunch of viable and non viable mixed and store them. I've seen some guys whip out old film containers and you see some white seeds etc. Sometimes you still see that from breeder packs today, the odd premature seeds packaged with a bunch of good developed seed. Big tick off.

On top of all this, think of the torture seeds get over some winters naturally. Temps/humidity constantly changing throughout season. Extreme cold to warm and back. I've heard some seeds can handle these extreme changes over multiple years and still germinate viable. Trust the seed I guess.

(Sorry for any misplaced words, auto correct had (HAS!!!!!!) a tendency to change words like CAN to CAN'T)

 

[420PyRoS]

If I pop my seeds in a tube, in a 21c room @ 50%RH (a standard working environment) then at 13c I hit dew point.
From another angle, I could be lounging around at 23c in winter, with a quite dry 20% due to heating. Yet water is still forming on my windows, as it cools to 10c.
.

Is the water forming on the outside part of your windows though?

See with thermodynamics, heat transfers. Heat -----> cold.

If its cool/cold outside and your home is warm , the window pane will be warmer than the outside cooler temp, condensation can form on outside pane. Heats transferring outward through the glass pane. If you have a bad seal in your windows that allow cool air inside part of window, you will condensate inside on that window.

Now if you cool your home to 21C in say a 28C summer day, heat from outside is trying to transfer in. So the cool air in your home can now condensate on the inside as it's moving against the warm window pane from outside. This is why we duel pane windows and use the condenser coils in Cental A/C units to condensate water in the process of cooling the house so there less moisture in the air as you cool hitting against warm window panes.
This is why it's always better to cool your home slowly, instead of an oversized cental A/C units because it won't have enough time to condensate all that RH before the home gets cold/cool and systems shuts off. Disaster.

My poor mother in law lived in a condo with a central cooling system but there was no/ or not enough return vents for air to circulate and condensate. So cool air blows into a humid warm room to cool it down, and condensates like a water fall in there on windows and walls nearby inside.

Generally outside, you drop in temp you drop humidity. Temps go up, you raise humidity. Winters are dry in -15C but can feel wet around 0C

Cold freezes water molecules and warm evaporates bodies of water like lakes etc.

High humidity is low pressure, rises up in the mighty sky, becomes cooled, and rains.

Low humidity/dry air is denser/high pressure.

 

[ojd]

I found best to avoid these mini fridges ( extra small) and just get the smallest normal fridges they sell.

The mini fridges lifespan and quality are less of a normal fridge in my experience