Vinotemp

[chuck1rar]

Any members in the Asian region know where to get hold of a Vinotemp locally or any wine cooler that is thermoelectric?

Shipping from the US just is not worth the whole process..

Have done so many net searches but cant find anything of substance.

Cheers

[Guest rob]

I'm in Australia and I looked for ages for some cheap fridges.

I looked in wine shops and Electrical appliance retailers but I couldn't find anything at a decent price (wither online or in store) until I went to Target.

They had 32 bottle fridges for $120 AUD.

I'm not sure where you have been looking but I would recommend trying your local department stores.

Also, I have used high end and budget fridges and can see no functional difference at all between them. They both seal well and they both keep the inside to temperature.

Good luck.

[sinnyc]

» Shipping from the US just is not worth the whole process..

»

» Cheers

You are quite right. I'm a US resident and have used 2 28-bottle Vinotemps for some time now. They are not overly sturdy and I wouldn't even have had them shipped to me from within the US - I went directly to the store (Target) and picked them up myself. The boxes are paper thin and every one of the boxes on the shelves showed signs of some abuse from shipping and warehousing. Basically, I'd say unless you can carry it home, don't bother.

Having said all that about the packaging, the units themselves perform admirably and are an outstanding and inexpensive solution for a temperature controlled environment. I used approximately 2 lbs of 65% RH beads in each of mine and they have run like champions for 6 and 10 months respectively.

Good luck,

Tim

[asc]

Lots of Haier in China, possibly other areas of Asia?

Good brand, makes some TEC coolers.

[joeydoggs333]

» Lots of Haier in China, possibly other areas of Asia?

» Good brand, makes some TEC coolers.

I checked out the vinotemp at target it looked pretty good but how cold does it stay. The only thing is that it is kinda small does vinotemp make bigger ones

[asc]

» I checked out the vinotemp at target it looked pretty good but how cold

» does it stay. The only thing is that it is kinda small does vinotemp make

» bigger ones

I have the 28 bottle model from target.

Got home, it was 84 and humid in the house, vinotemp was rock solid 64ºF and 65%. (GREAT seal)

Remember, thermoelectric at this price point is going to depend on your ambient temperature. The hotter it is in your home, the warmer it will be in the fridge. Hope this helps.

[joeydoggs333]

» » I checked out the vinotemp at target it looked pretty good but how cold

» » does it stay. The only thing is that it is kinda small does vinotemp

» make

» » bigger ones

»

» I have the 28 bottle model from target.

» Got home, it was 84 and humid in the house, vinotemp was rock solid 64ºF

» and 65%. (GREAT seal)

»

» Remember, thermoelectric at this price point is going to depend on your

» ambient temperature. The hotter it is in your home, the warmer it will be

» in the fridge. Hope this helps.

asc what do u use for the humidity in the vinotemp and approximately how many boxes can u fit in the fridge?

[solid]

Avanti makes some nice reliable units. I have two 16-Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Coolers, and both have been working fine. I live in SoCal so it gets really hot, and if I run the AC all day the electric bill can become extremely expensive. For humidification I simply put Boveda Humidipacks inside the cigar boxes, and I also have two desktop humidors with the new Cigar Oasis Ultra on the lids. So my cigars are properly humidified, and stored at a cool 68 degrees. I think Target is your best bet for the Vinotemp, and Avanti units:

http://www.target.com/Avanti-16-Bottle-The...se=1&rh=&page=1

[asc]

» asc what do u use for the humidity in the vinotemp and approximately how

» many boxes can u fit in the fridge?

I have 1/2 pound of 65% bead, and a small dish of silica craft crystals as a slow moisture release when the overall rH drops. (A left over practice from my cooler days).

As far as how many boxes...not sure. I'm still transitioning my stash from cooler to fridge. Hopefully these help give you an idea...I think it will be MORE than enough for me...in addition to the online cigar locker once this fills up

I could easily get 7 boxes on the top shelf, presently have the middle and bottom shelves set a bit deeper. So bare min. of ~25 boxes I would say.

The top shelf has psp#2s, HdM PR, Boli PC and Inmensas right now to give you a sense of size. I want to change the bowls that I have in there right now to make it more space friendly...as well as put together two stacking trays for the bottom shelf for singles...with room to spare for boxes as well.

I believe the interior dimensions are ~14" wide, 16" deep, and 28" high...although I could be off slightly (?)

[soltino]

» Any members in the Asian region know where to get hold of a Vinotemp

» locally or any wine cooler that is thermoelectric?

»

» Shipping from the US just is not worth the whole process..

» Have done so many net searches but cant find anything of substance.

»

I have the same problem... I would love to get a cabinet shipped across but the shipping costs the same as the cabinet! Seems a bit over kill.

I've seen several wine fridges around the place here but I'm not an expert on what the differences are between a thermoelectric cooler and any other sort, so I haven't ventured to buy one yet... most of the fridges I've looked at all have their details written in Chinese which certainly doesn't help!

So if anyone can let me know how to tell by looking at a wine cooler/fridge whether it is thermoelectric or not then I'd much appreciated it :-)

[Guest rob]

» So if anyone can let me know how to tell by looking at a wine

» cooler/fridge whether it is thermoelectric or not then I'd much

» appreciated it :-)

A thermoelectric unit wont have a big compressor in the bottom rear of the unit. (the inside of the unit will look like all square with no bulge at the bottom where a compressor would be)

You should expect to see just a medium sized grill on the interior back wall with a small computer fan behind the grill.

Good luck.

[soltino]

» A thermoelectric unit wont have a big compressor in the bottom rear of the

» unit. (the inside of the unit will look like all square with no bulge at

» the bottom where a compressor would be)

»

» You should expect to see just a medium sized grill on the interior back

» wall with a small computer fan behind the grill.

»

Awesome, thanks Rob, much appreciated :-) Let the searching (and hopefully buying) commence!

[GP012]

» asc what do u use for the humidity in the vinotemp and approximately how

» many boxes can u fit in the fridge?

I'll add some photos my setup. Black on the left is an Urbina Design 28 thermo I got for $80 on Overstock a while back, which is almost identical in size to the 28 thermo Vinotemp (silver).

Here's the interior of the Urbina:

I have since crammed a few more boxes into it, and moved everything off of the bottom of the cooler.

[Guest rob]

» I have since crammed a few more boxes into it, and moved everything off of

» the bottom of the cooler.

Why bag everything?