T-SPX fermentation temp - briefly too high

[mdtenor22]

Hello all,

I'm relatively new to this rewarding hobby and have found you all to be a wealth of information. Thank you all for this amazing resource.

I'll get down to brass tacks: first use of a broken full-size fridge for a stand-alone curing chamber. In an interior room with consistent ambient air temp of 68F, the curing chamber was holding rock steady at 68F and ~95%RH (with an ultrasonic humidifier) without meat. I put in a batch of 8 61mm chubs (approx 20lbs of meat), all of which had been inoculated with T-SPX. The meat was obviously cool when I hung it, and temp dipped a little bit initially, which I expected. When I went to bed around midnight, the chamber was perfect, humidity wise, and right at 68F. I felt pretty darn good about my fermenting babies.

This morning when I woke up, the chamber temp had risen to 85F. At least I know the culture was active, right? I had no idea that the little beasties would put out enough heat to seriously affect the temp of the entire chamber. I immediately put ice packs in front of my circulation fan and cracked the door just a smidge. It is currently down to 71F and is maintaining ~94%RH. Everything smells great and slightly 'tangier' than last night. I guess I'll have to continue to add ice packs and monitor temp. A little worried about things while I'm at work!

1) Is the brief excursion into the 80s (no longer than 8 hours) of any safety concern? I know the temp is above the recommended range for T-SPX, but I couldn't find any threads that specifically addressed what happens when temp exceeds that range.
2) Should my fermentation period be shorter because of the initial overactivity of the culture due to higher temp? I'm unable to get accurate PH readings, based upon my previous experience with PH strips, so I've always just been very careful and trusted the wisdom of 'what works' with regard to the recipes, timing, etc.
3) Is it normal for the chubs to put off that much heat? This was my first attempt at using the nonfunctional fridge as a separate curing chamber. My only previous fermentation experience (which went perfectly) was the first run of my temp-controlled drying chamber setup. I used it for fermentation first and then just dialed it back to the drying stage. I couldn't do that this time because it is full of in-progress meats. Any tips for future fermentation using a non-cooling fridge?

Thanks in advance, everyone. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures to post in a couple of months! (BTW, the varieties this batch were 1) finocchiona (using fennel pollen I brought back from Tuscany), 2) salami di Cervo (pork/venison mix with juniper and dried orange peel), 3) salami tartufo (using Marinsky milano as a guide, seasoned with truffle salt...smells amazing), and 4) classic pepperoni. Very excited, and hoping the temp excursion hasn't ruined anything).

Best,
Andrew

[Bob K]

Andrew-

Don't worry about the temp spike...that brings it up into T-SPX's optimal range for fermenting.
If you can check the Ph you could probably shorten the fermenting time....but keep to your plan if you can't.

I don't think the fermenting product caused the Temp spike.

I am sure others will add to this.