Wine/Beer Fridge Help

I just picked a Vinotemp unit from Costco. It wasn't listed on the website but our local store had it. Its a real fridge not a thermoelectric unit. 24 bottles and was only 200 bucks. So far it is great holds right at 55 degrees. It has a pump that does hum unlike a thermo unit but its in my living room and I don't feel its too loud. I almost bought one from Home Depot glad i looked up the reviews on it before I bought it, never seen so many 1 star reviews. This is my first one so don't have any way to compare. Good luck

 

Always many pros and cons. What size are you looking for?

 

I don't want to thread hijack, but I'm in the exact same boat. So many negative Amazon reviews for the more affordable ones. I was looking for one where I could do maybe 6-12 750ml bottles, preferably upright.

 

I think a bit more information is needed.

Where do you plan to keep it?
Expected bottle capacity?
Amount you can spend?
Temp range for cooling? (ie are you looking for cellar temps or serving temps?)

 

Jumping on this is as well. Hope this is ok.

Capacity - Looking to do between 60-100 bottles, upright
Budget - Around $800?
Temp - Would like a range of 40-55F
Area- Inside a garage (not connected to a house) or potentially in doors. May eventually be outdoors under rain protection (if thats feasible).

Is there a selling forum for these on BA? Guessing it would be IP only as shipping would be high.

 

I bought a Magic Chef 48 bottle wine cooler (model MCWC45A) from Craigslist. I'm not sure if they make them new anymore but you should be able to find something similar used. They retailed for 200-250 and I was able to get it for $75 in ideal condition. Just keep in mind that the wine capacity is based on laying the bottles down not standing them up. I was able to take out all of the wire racks and have a wooden shelf (cut piece of thick wood) put in to one of the slots halfway. I am able to fit bombers on the top and bottom and have about 25ish in there comfortably.

Seriously, look at Craigslist though.

 

With that budget you could get a good sized upright freezer and use a STC 1000 to control the temp. That's what I have in my garage and love it.

 

Was it hard to install temp controller?

 

Not too bad. There are some pretty good youtube tutorials on wiring the controller. The part that made me nervous was drilling the hole in the side to route the probe through. I started my hole on the inside only drilling deep enough to get through the plastic. After that you can use an ice pick to dig around the foam to locate any coils. Once you make sure no coils are in the way drill the rest, run the probe in, and seal with silicone or that great stuff foam. It sounds worse than it really is.

 

If asthetics aren't a concern (and I wouldn't really expect them to be if it is in a garage) you can keep an eye out for some scratch & dent coolers. The key here is the cheap ones are normally thermoelectric, which can only reach -20 to -25 or so below ambient temps. Meaning that when it is 95 in your garage your beer would be closer to 70-75.

OpenBoxDirect normally has some scratch & dent ones in the range of $600-800. Free shipping and they normally have a coupon code for 10% off.

Now if you plan on having this outside at some point then you would want to cover the door with some light blocking material.

Example - $630 shipped after 10% coupon.
http://www.openboxdirect.com/Summit...age_and_Bar-Scratch_and_Dent-Beverage_Coolers

 

I would not mind spending a few bucks more and having an aesthetically pleasing option, if there is such a thing. I am not exactly a handyman so preferably something with temperature control built in, as you pointed out, if in the garage in the summer it may get warmer than most spots. Hopefully it would be indoors eventually, just looking like I may be a bit of a nomad for a few years.

 

Another great idea. The STC-1000's work great. I've used a couple to convert chest freezers into fermentation chambers.

http://brewprof.com/weekend-diy-homebrew-project-dual-stage-temperature-controller-stc-1000/

Couple quick notes: If you are fine reading/converting Celsius to Fahrenheit then you shouldn't have an issue. I just spent the couple extra bucks and got a Fahrenheit version.

You can also spend more and get a pre-wired Ranco or JCI which is plug and play.

Also when you place your probe into the freezer/fridge you want to place that probe into something so that the temp swings from opening the door won't kick your compressor on. Some people use old White Labs vials, I used an old purse hand sanitizer bottle from the wife.

Also if you are buying a used upgright freezer, make sure to get one that doesn't have the cooling coils in the shelfs. Price wise I've been seeing new 16 cuft upright freezers for a little over $500 here in the midwest, a new 20 cuft one we can get here for around $650.

 

This is good advice and on my to do list for this weekend. Temp swings are pretty crazy without it.

 

Looking at the link it looks like this one has an adjustadble dial thermostat. Would this be subject to the issue with only being at 20-25 below ambient temp or would this be able to stay at the set temp on the thermostat?

Thanks for the help.

 

This would stay at the set temp on the thermostat. Most places when they list these will either mention that it is thermoelectric or they mention a compressor.

Warranty: 5-years compressor

• Freon type: R134a

Those were two bits I picked up on from the web page list. Now that all being said, I've never placed an order from OpenBoxDirect, partially because they don't give ANY information about the extent of the "scratch & dents".

For me personally I would only go with one of those units if I planned to "show" it off, like being mounted flush in the kitchen or something. Going with a upright freezer and temp controller overall will be a better value IMHO. You get more space for about the same cost.

 

Thanks for the info. I would eventually like to have is as a nice display, but I may be a few years away from it. However, I like the idea of having it come ready to my doorstep to plug in and set the temp. I assume all the standing freezers do not come with a built in temp control and would need some DIY type set up?

edit - I asked customer service and the thermostat just had a knob with settings 1-5.. I am guessing I can toy with it and leave a thermometer inside to see which setting correlates with which temperature

 

How does your do with condensation? I've used these in my kegerator, fementation chamber and gun safe with great results.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0XFD2

I've also been considering taking my out of the container and taping it to control can/bottle of beer after reading this article.

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2014/10/temperature-probe-place-to-immerse-or-not-to-immerse.html

 

If you want something like that this would work for you.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidai...ss-Refrigerator-in-White-FFRU17G8QW/205556882

Plug it in an go. It's basically a fridge with no freezer. Most of the big box stores should have them.

 

Condensation isn't terrible but bad enough that I'll end up getting an Eva-dry. Every time I open the door for more than a few seconds I get a nice layer on all the bottles.

Thanks for that link! It's the info I've been looking for and since I haven't placed my sensor properly I'll try the zip tie can option. It just so happens that I have a can of Guinness aging unintentionally that's perfect for this.