Sears Cooler

[Mister Moo]

The local Sears closed out a $369 41-bottle cooler for $199. I saw it on the floor and asked for a little help - they moved to $140 in 2-seconds. It goes home tonight.

Come summer the house gets left at 85F, sometimes for weeks, when nobody is around... this might be cheaper than leaving the house thermostat at 72. If it works.

Anyone used the Sears cooler?

[Mister Moo]

The el cheapo 41-bottle Sears cooler needs:

1. a +10-degree thermostat reset;
2. some cedar lining/shelves; and
3. a timer'd 12VDC circulating fan wired into the interior light circuit.

Standard high setting (aka condition REDWINE) balances top-to-bottom around 59f - decent cellar temperature but not prime cigar-aging territory. I haven't bothered to check the low setting. Unplugged it's a stable place to stash cigars; it maintains humidity and temp throughout day/night around +/- 3-degrees and 3%. The unit has seven shelves.

[JezterVA]

Sweet deal for only $140.00. Congrats.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by JezterVA

Sweet deal for only $140.00. Congrats.

Thanks - it was a pretty good find - especially if I can figure out how to make it hold 68-72F. I guess with the house at a good ambient temp, it's still a decent humidor even if I never plug it in.

[Danimal]

Looks like a great buy with plenty of space. Buy the Johnson A419 controller if you have any problems holding temperature with the given thermostat.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Danimal

Looks like a great buy with plenty of space. Buy the Johnson A419 controller if you have any problems holding temperature with the given thermostat.

You're the mindreader - thanks, that. I went for a 12VDC fan that I'll install at soonest to even out the temp. Wine coolers (I learned) are intended to stratify thermally so white wine is coolest (at the bottom) and reds are warmer (atop). It looks like this unit won't even out above the low 60's w/ a fan so controls will prob'ly need attention.

I discover a big enuff slice of Oasis foam and 50/50 pg/dist water keeps things steady 69%. When the door is opened for more than a few moments the humidity crashes fast, then comes back up over a few hours; I'll need to lose the metal racks and replace with Spanish cedar shelves and sidewalls to buffer the "shock" of opened door as seen in other post(s). I'm liking the wine cooler. If it totally craps out as a humidor for some reason I can always go back to pulling corks for a hobby.

Interesting aside - I got the 12VDC fan at Radio Shack and discussed the project with the store manager; he says he was the wine cooler rep before he went to Radio Shack and told me the short of wine cooler marketing, pricing, problems, etc. Big news (for me) was my Sears brand was Haier production and a great bargain; bad news is sales are going lower than projected (market wide); fewer, nicer trimmed units will probably be produced. Higher, not lower, prices are planned. He said.

[Jsabbi01]

Looks like you are off to a great start. I would love to piece one together, but don't have nearly enough sticks to fill it and my parents yould kill me. Good luck, and please post some pics if you can!

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Jsabbi01

Looks like you are off to a great start. I would love to piece one together, but don't have nearly enough sticks to fill it and my parents yould kill me. Good luck, and please post some pics if you can!

A bad pic at: http://photobucket.com/albums/v339/x...oolerdorlr.jpg

I looked at the Johnson temp controller (online) Danimal mentioned and it seems like a simple, clean way to go. A Sears & Roebuck winecoolerdor is utilitarian but souless - functional, but not craftsmanship that makes you feel warm and fuzzy like some of the home made beauties I've seen here.

There's a 100-count humi where the two lower shelves used to be - five more shelves leaves room for about 8-10 more boxes after adding the Oasis slab, some cedar, and fan. I guess it's a lot of space. I'll maybe need a second mortgage to fill it.