Vinotemp 101

[thebayratt]

Originally Posted by Juicestain

I've ran into the same issue around me Dave. Spend a few hours running around yesterday looking for a wine chiller. Hit Costco,Target,Best Buy, Sears, Home Depot with no luck. Everything I found was too small or a compressor model. I have also not been able to find the 28 bottle Vinotemp anywhere. Might just have to settle for the 18 bottle myself. Seen it online for about $200, then shipping on top of that...

I work at LOWES and we can special order the Vinotemp 28bottle (VT-28TEDS) and it says 7-10 days lead time but appliances usually come in quicker; depending on how close you are to the Distribution Center. I want to say the cost was about $320 give or take. That is in the MS market too mind you. We got 6months no payments/no interest if put on a Lowes card. I think I may grab me one and some shelves/trays and have it payed off by Christmas. I wish I could afford to outrite buy it but then again...... I work at Lowe's!

How much have you all spent on average for a new one??

[htran1023]

Originally Posted by Captain53

Check this one out at Compact Appliance for something a little cheaper with free shipping:

TWR282S - EdgeStar 28 Bottle Wine Cooler - Platinum

The ones I see other than Vinotemp list an Auto-Defrost feature which is supposed to prevent icing. However, I remember reading somewhere that this can potentially be bad for cigars (I can't seem to find that thread anymore). Can anyone confirm this?

[AlohaStyle]

Vinotemp's website sells the 28-bottle directly. It's not a deal, but if you want it, they are selling it for $329 plus $99 shipping. I can't post links otherwise I would.

I don't have a big collection and just bought the 12-bottle Vinotemp at Best Buy for $99. I would love the 28-bottle, but the wife wouldn't!!

[Juicestain]

Originally Posted by thebayratt

I work at LOWES and we can special order the Vinotemp 28bottle (VT-28TEDS) and it says 7-10 days lead time but appliances usually come in quicker; depending on how close you are to the Distribution Center. I want to say the cost was about $320 give or take. That is in the MS market too mind you. We got 6months no payments/no interest if put on a Lowes card. I think I may grab me one and some shelves/trays and have it payed off by Christmas. I wish I could afford to outrite buy it but then again...... I work at Lowe's!

How much have you all spent on average for a new one??

Thanks for the tip Shawn. I think I'm going to go with the edge star 28 bottle unit. Seen it a few places online for $220-280 shipped. And noticed that ChasDen's drawers will fit this model as well. Now that the weather is getting cooler and no beatles yet it's not as high a priority as more cigars!

[thebayratt]

Originally Posted by htran1023

The ones I see other than Vinotemp list an Auto-Defrost feature which is supposed to prevent icing. However, I remember reading somewhere that this can potentially be bad for cigars (I can't seem to find that thread anymore). Can anyone confirm this?

If it says "Auto Defrost" means it probly has a compressor and more like a small fridge. It will help keep them cool BUT will draw alot of humidity out of the sticks. Stay away from a compressor, look for Thermoelectric Cooling. Wikopedia the term and it will explain the principle behind it and maybe shed some light on it to ya.

I put a few ice cubes in a dish in my humi once to lower the temp, it did AND my RH too. Scratched that idea real quick!

[ssutton219]

Alrighty guys...


You can use a compressor model to cool your stix.

I have and will do again when I get my collection back up to the size where its needed.

I had the fridge plugged into a timer which ran the fridge for 15 mins every 2 hrs which kept it at 66-67 degrees. I had a lot of beads and had them under the freezer section so if there was any condensation from the on/off action it would drip into the beads.

I had a remote sensor and could watch it when the compressor would turn on and yes the RH would dip but it would come back up. I had all my cigars in the boxes so they did not experiance the drop as the rest of the fridge did.


You work with what you got...Good Luck!




Shawn

[Captain53]

Originally Posted by Trex

has anyone bought this and how does it compare to the VT?

ha

I have had it up and running for about 3 weeks now and it is great. Holds a real steady 66 degrees, Acu-rite shows low 65 hi 67 continuously over 24 hour periods. It is near dead silent also. Light is weak but that is common. Really Satisfied with it so far. Waiting on ChasDen drawers now to finish off.

[bartolomeo]

Meijer.com has a deal on the Vinotemp 28ct for $250

Bart

[bartolomeo]

My new one just arrived today.........letting it breathe to air it out, added some temporary cedar trays to help with smell, cant wait

Question(and yes I read this thread and did a search )

1. For seasoning it, just use Distilled water, dont add the beads until Humi is ready to go, is this correct?

2. I am leaving the fan off until seasoned, is this correct as well?

Thanks for your help in advance,

Bart

[JukkaN]

I'm having a problem setting up my wine cooler. I have a pretty similar 28 bottle thermoelectronic wine cooler than the common Vinotemp people here have. Inside I have two digital hygrometers, Hydra SM and a full pound of beads. So far I only have alot of empty cedar cigar boxes in it.

Everything works fine when the cooler is not working. Humidity goes to 65-67 quite fast and stays there. But as soon as I turn it on and it lowers the temperature to 62-65 degrees Fahrenheit, both digital hygrometers show RH of 55-57 and it just wont climb any higher. I've checked both meters with Boveda calibrating kit and the other one is spot on, the other 1% off.

I'm just wondering what's going on, Hydra seems to be quite happy, the digital meter on that shows RH of 65% when it's set to 67. But both separate meters still 55-57%. Can the lower temp affect that much in the two hygrometers ability to be accurate or what. I actually just threw both meters into the Boveda bag and then put it into the cooler just to see what happens.

[JukkaN]

Ok, the problem is not the hygrometers, I put em inside the Boveda calibrating kit which I threw into the wine cooler, and they show a nice 74 and 75 RH%.

[BigRonS]

How are you guys "prepping" your Vino temps as far as odor? i got another cooler and i forgot what method i used to get some of the odor out.. It has that horrible "Plasticky " smell..

i believe i just used baking soda in there for a few days. but i forget..... anybody?

[bartolomeo]

Originally Posted by BigRonS

How are you guys "prepping" your Vino temps as far as odor? i got another cooler and i forgot what method i used to get some of the odor out.. It has that horrible "Plasticky " smell..

i believe i just used baking soda in there for a few days. but i forget..... anybody?

I did a combination of leaving door open and letting air out as well as using baking soda.....it took at least 2 days.......best way to test it is when you think your done, close the door for 10 mins and open back up to see what it smells like......still smells, go back to step one

Bart

[BigRonS]

Originally Posted by bartolomeo

I did a combination of leaving door open and letting air out as well as using baking soda.....it took at least 2 days.......best way to test it is when you think your done, close the door for 10 mins and open back up to see what it smells like......still smells, go back to step one

Bart

hmm i can try that.. and yea i was thinkin 2 days should be sufficient... anybody else? hehe

[AlohaStyle]

Originally Posted by bartolomeo

I did a combination of leaving door open and letting air out as well as using baking soda.....it took at least 2 days.......best way to test it is when you think your done, close the door for 10 mins and open back up to see what it smells like......still smells, go back to step one

Bart

Yep, that's exactly what I did. I needed a couple more days as mine was pretty potent... Bart is exactly right, close the door for a little bit after a couple days of it being open and check the smell. Do another quick scrub down if it still smells and keep the door open again.