How well do wine fridges work for cellering?

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by m4ttj0nes, Mar 12, 2012.

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  1. chanokokoro

    chanokokoro Initiate (0) Jan 31, 2012 Illinois

    I'd suggest just going to Lowe's and seeing what they have to offer. Their prices are based on the area you live by checking the web site you can get an idea of what the cost will be. Although it's been a while if I remember correctly they had models of every product they had for sale and I believe the wine cellar and beverage cooler were much closer in price in the Chicago area. Do some simple research and see what works for you. Cheers!
     
  2. OneBeertoRTA

    OneBeertoRTA Initiate (0) Jan 2, 2010 California

    Great advice mate.

    I just picked up one this morning at Lowe's. I need to build some shelves and black out the glass. Did you build the shelve yourself?


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Alieniloquium

    Alieniloquium Grand Pooh-Bah (3,800) Dec 16, 2008 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I cruised Craigslist for a few weeks until I found someone trying to ditch a refrigerator for $25. I took a friend who could save my life if it turned out to be a serial rapist selling the fridge and loaded it onto the truck. I got a temperature controller and now I can cellar well over 100 bottles upright at 55 degrees. The attractiveness factor is significantly lower than those wine coolers, but I paid much less than $399 and brewery stickers are slowly covering up the repulsiveness of the unit. Also, a container of Damp Rid seems to do a decent job of controlling humidity, although I haven't done any actual humidity tests.
     
  4. Mahlik

    Mahlik Initiate (0) Aug 21, 2010 Oregon
    Trader

    I just went to Lowe's today and bought the same one! It was the last one they had in stock. I plan on building my shelf tomorrow and figuring out how to black out the glass. I'm probably just going to use a piece of wood for the shelf. I'll post some pics when I have it fully up and running.
     
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  5. 1up

    1up Initiate (0) Mar 5, 2013 District of Columbia

    These wine coolers are supposed to have UV light protection built in to the glass. Does anyone know whether for sure (not just a guess) if the glass offers enough protection for beer? There is a window somewhat close to the only space I have available for a wine cooler.

    This is the closest I've found to what I'm looking for but it's a bit small and pricey:

    [​IMG]

    http://www.amazon.com/SPT-Cubic-Fee...=UTF8&qid=1372771157&sr=8-1&keywords=spt+beer
     
  6. Auracom

    Auracom Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2010 Illinois

    In my Frigidaire (same unit that s1ckboy posted), the glass definitely needed covered up from the inside. Since light is as significant as consistent temperature, I wouldn't risk it.

    For the unit you posted - I would pass. The temp range was 24 F - 41 F, definitely too cold.
     
  7. 1up

    1up Initiate (0) Mar 5, 2013 District of Columbia

    Ah, didn't see that bit. I was intending to shoot for 55* of course. Does it still look nice with the glass covered up?
     
  8. Auracom

    Auracom Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2010 Illinois


    I think so.

    This is a [very] old shot of my fridge without the covering to black out the window -

    [​IMG]

    A repost from s1ckboy's fridge with the cover [again mine looks identical] -

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

  10. JasonLovesBeer

    JasonLovesBeer Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2013 Canada (BC)

    "Beverage centers" are pretty common to find and are literally just wine cellars with the racks swapped out for shelves. They tend to have poor reviews because people buy them to keep their cola freezing cold and are disappointed to find they don't do that. But that's because they are wine fridges really, which are the ideal thing for (real) beer.

    This is mine, I like it a lot. It holds 50-60 bottles (mix of bombers, 750s, 375s and 330s) and I have it set to 55-60F on the top shelf which translates to around 5F cooler on the bottom shelf.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. 1up

    1up Initiate (0) Mar 5, 2013 District of Columbia

    Which brand/model is yours?
     
  12. XmnwildX12

    XmnwildX12 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,066) Nov 12, 2010 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

  13. 1up

    1up Initiate (0) Mar 5, 2013 District of Columbia

  14. jacobbocce72

    jacobbocce72 Initiate (0) Dec 18, 2011 Texas

    I've got a regular "dorm style" mini fridge in our media room at the moment. I've got it at a pretty consistant 50 degrees, which is decent for cellaring and great for drinking. Only issue... it's loud as crap.

    So... it seems like a beverage center would be a good option, but I'm worried about the noise factor. Anyone have any experience on the "noisiness" of these? I guess I could always go with a wine fridge as well (just seem to be a little pricier than the beverage centers).

    Edit: This seems like a pretty decent option: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Vissani-...Steel-WAS-249-HVBC31ST/203428829#.Ud3d8z7uVHg
     
  15. JasonLovesBeer

    JasonLovesBeer Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2013 Canada (BC)

    Mine's made by 'Magic Chef' and it's a 4.7L model. It's cheap and works just fine for me, though it's a little bit of an energy pig from what I can tell.
     
  16. Sam_Frank

    Sam_Frank Initiate (0) Nov 29, 2012 California

    looks good. just curious is it loud?
     
  17. HoppingAlong

    HoppingAlong Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2013 California

    Thanks for this thread, all. I am new to BA and this has been super helpful for getting my cellering set up. I was scouring Craig's List this morning and found a Danby Wine Fridge for $100. While it doesn't have a temperature gauge, $10 bucks at WalMart (I hate shopping there but I had to) got me a digital thermometer that hangs on the middle rack. I have the fridge set at 55 degrees . By my calculation the fridge holds 35 total bottles of varying size.

    Again, thanks for all the helpful input.
     
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