"Prima" 72 bottle wine fridge review (+Cybercool)

[odyssey]

EDIT 2 (17/03/2012): I have since had one of the PCB boards blown inside the unit as has another poster below. The Cybercool purrs along.

Consequently I don't recommend the Prima.

-----------
EDIT: Post from below bumped up to here:

I have since purchased a Cybercool 72 bottle, for around the same price, which appears to be a very similar shell but has markedly different internal electronics, and passed today's heatwave with flying colours - 14 degrees at the bottom and 18 degrees at the top.

The Prima 72, set at 14 degrees, ranged from 13.9 at the bottom through to 25 degrees at the top. It appears that it must have the thermostat at the bottom? And whilst it can handle the required temperature there, its insulation is obviously not good enough to keep the top at a similar temperature. Buyer beware.

Recommendations for anyone looking at the Prima is to go with the Cybercool instead.

----------
Original post:
When I originally purchased one of these I noticed that, whilst a lot of people think about picking up this fridge, there is a lack of detailed reviews out there (just a few opinions and anecdotes).

For those of us who drink and store wine on a tight budget and can't yet fork out for the top of the line brands, I hope this can help when considering your (possibly first?) wine fridge purchase.

Temperatures:
After finding a split weather station on sale for $20 at Australian Geographic, I took a few measurements, (I didn't entirely trust the thermostat provided). With the split measurements I can take readings at both the top and bottom of the fridge. Our fridge is located in a basement garage (which is typically the coolest part of our Sydney townhouse, fortunately it receives almost no sunlight on the roller door and has no windows).

I previously had the thermostat set at 15 degrees but after some measurements decided to put it down a notch to 14. With the thermostat set at 14:
- Cold days: the bottom of the fridge averages around 13.9 at the bottom and 15.2 at the top.
- Moderate days: 13.9 at the bottom and (EDIT:) 22 at the top on a moderate day (23-25 outdoors). The fridge is still quiet, barely doing much work.
- Hot days: (EDIT:) 13.9 at the bottom and 25 degrees at the top (37 degrees outdoors). It is not really doing it's job for the entire fridge.

The true test will be during summer of course, if there is a particularly hot or bitterly-cold day then I will update the result.

Bottle size:
The fans in the back occasionally prevent longer-than-average bottles from fitting in (about 8-10 spots out of the 72 are slightly restricted in this way). However typical bottle lengths generally still fit in these spots albeit somewhat snugly.

Rack distance appears to have been designed around Bordeaux shaped bottles, as Burgundy shaped bottles are very snug, scraping the top and bottom racks just a little when adding or removing. Nothing too drastic. As regards to magnums, I have pulled out the bottom rack and can fit a magnum sideways. You can stack a few bottles beside and around it to make use of space, a few half-size bottles fitted very well around the magnum.

Noise:
It appears to have 3 fan speeds when actively cooling (ie. not dormant). The first is a whisper which regularly switches on to keep the interior cool. The second speed is about as loud as a regular fridge, which kicks in intermittently on moderate temperature days (external temperatures of, say, 7-10 degrees above the desired). The third speed is a bit noisy and generally only kicks in when first switching on the fridge or on very hot days. This speed is about as loud as an airconditioner at full power.

After 6 months of operation it occasionally started emitting an high pitched buzz when it went dormant, somewhat like the sound that old TVs and CRT monitors used to make. This wasn't too big an issue as it is no longer kept in a living area, but if others have the same experience it may get annoying. It may just be our fridge that has this issue. It wasn't annoying enough to warrant the whole fuss of a return or replacement.

Other
- Unfortunately it has a moderate sized window so light ingress could be a problem. Best kept in dark places, or if the living area is the only option then perhaps black cardboard inside or even a UV tint film?
- Looks quite good if you have to keep it in a living area (even the mother-in-law gave it a tick of approval!).
- Our particular fridge had an issue with the screws not fitting for the front door handle. This was easily dealt with by leaving the handle off - it looks better that way and I was too lazy to kick up a fuss about some little screws.
- Metal racks are not entirely ideal as I have read that they could become cold points against the glass of the bottle. However this may have just been a sales pitch from a timber-racked fridge maker.
- No particular problems purchasing online. One thing I would have done if purchased from a store is consider a replacement due to the high-pitched buzz, but delivery costs (along with the effort of emptying, packing, sending, unpacking and restocking the fridge) make refund or replacement a pain unless absolutely required. In this case it wasn't.

Pros:
- Cheapest 72 bottle available
- Can fit most standard bottles, which can be accessed without having to remove other bottles.
- Maintains a fairly steady temperature
- Mostly quiet
- Vibration not an issue due to Thermoelectric cooling
- Nice exterior design if necessary to store in living areas
- Humidity remains between 50-80%

Cons:
- Occasional high pitched buzz (may be just our particular fridge)
- Light ingress through front window.
- Struggles on 30+ temperatures (largely due to Thermoelectric)
- Magnums won't fit unless a rack is removed.
- Door screws provided didn't fit (may be just our particular package)
- (Metal racks may or may not be an issue)
- Online-only purchase makes replacement or refund a pain

Cheers

[Loztralia]

Good summary and one that chimes with my experience of the same unit. Just some points I'd note:

- The problem with Burgundy shaped bottles seems to be a bit more acute with my unit. I've got a couple of bottles with damaged labels after trying to squeeze them into very snug gaps (including at least one of my precious, precious 2007 Clonakilla SVs). That's not a problem for me as I don't expect to sell anything but if you are planning to sell or are particularly anal about having pristine labels then beware. There is some inconsistency as well - some slots will accept a Burgundy bottle without complaint where others are snug to the point of inaccessible.
- There is a little beeper internal to the fridge which goes off when you change the temperature or switch the (pointless) light on or off. Mine developed a short with the intensely irritating side-effect of intermittent beeps day and night. In the end I set about the wiring with some pliers and removed the beeper itself "with extreme prejudice". It hasn't affected the unit's functionality but again, beware.
- My door screws didn't fit either.

Overall I'd entirely agree with the conclusion - if you want or are restricted to a budget unit it does the most important thing - keeping wine at a reasonably consistent, low temperature - well enough to more than justify the $300-odd price. However the build quality is low which does give me some concerns about longevity.

[dazza1968]

However the build quality is low which does give me some concerns about longevity.
Maybe its like the chinese quality air conds , They seem to be a throw away item (not saying your fridge is the same but if you get 3 to 4 years out of it then its paid for itself really)

Regards Dazza

P.S Good Luck to both of you

[odyssey]

Loz, agreed on the labels, I haven't had that occur but it's been close. I wouldn't recommend any serious re-sellers use one of these.

I entirely forgot to mention the light. As you said it is totally pointless. You'd get more light by using a mobile phone!

Dazza, thanks for the well wishes. The quality seems enough to last at least that long, I'm being optimistic and hoping for around 8-10 years if cleaned of dust and maintained. I know this is no indication of electronics quality but it feels solid and that's comforting in a way. You wouldn't be storing dozens of Granges and HoGs but I think it will suffice for mid-range premiums for the life of the fridge - at which point it carks it, it will be a sign from above to drink them.

And if it carks it early then I guess I'll just have to drink more.

Cheers

[Loztralia]

if you get 3 to 4 years out of it then its paid for itself really

Absolutely - I view it as a stop-gap anyway. Where I live I don't have space for serious on-site cellaring let alone space with consistent temperatures. When my "cellar" gets too big for the house I'll have to go to third party storage - in the meantime this does the job for a bargain price, and when I finally do shift the bulk of my collection off site it will also hold a few cases for short-term access at home.

[daver6]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to write it and sharing it with us.

[Andre]

Here is a graph with very accurate temperatures took from one of this Prima 72. (Temperature and Humidity recorded every few seconds during 24 hours in may Melbourne).

http://www.qexperts.com/redfridge.pdf

You will see a small temperature variation around 16C and the fridge display was showing 13C all the time.

It works quite well if the ambient temperature does not goes above 30C.
I wouldn't use for long term cellaring.

[odyssey]

Today's 37 degree temperatures have separated the mice from the men.

I have since purchased a Cybercool 72 bottle, for around the same price, which appears to be a very similar fridge but has markedly different internal electronics, and passed today's heatwave with flying colours - 14 degrees at the bottom and 16.9 degrees at the top.

The Prima 72, set at 14 degrees, ranged from 13.9 at the bottom through to 22.1 degrees at the top. It appears that it must have the thermostat at the bottom, and whilst it can handle the required temperature there, its insulation is obviously not good enough to keep the top at a similar temperature. Buyer beware.

Recommendations for anyone looking at the Prima is to go with the Cybercool instead.

[nelson_m]

Hi, I have a Cybercool 72 bottle unit, which I have been very happy with for over 3 years, however during the Xmas period the temperatures started to vary somewhat from top to bottom. Has anyone else experienced this and have an easy fix?

thanks in advanced,
WNM

[ufo]

Good summary and one that chimes with my experience of the same unit. Just some points I'd note:

- The problem with Burgundy shaped bottles seems to be a bit more acute with my unit. I've got a couple of bottles with damaged labels after trying to squeeze them into very snug gaps (including at least one of my precious, precious 2007 Clonakilla SVs). That's not a problem for me as I don't expect to sell anything but if you are planning to sell or are particularly anal about having pristine labels then beware. There is some inconsistency as well - some slots will accept a Burgundy bottle without complaint where others are snug to the point of inaccessible.
- There is a little beeper internal to the fridge which goes off when you change the temperature or switch the (pointless) light on or off. Mine developed a short with the intensely irritating side-effect of intermittent beeps day and night. In the end I set about the wiring with some pliers and removed the beeper itself "with extreme prejudice". It hasn't affected the unit's functionality but again, beware.
- My door screws didn't fit either.

Overall I'd entirely agree with the conclusion - if you want or are restricted to a budget unit it does the most important thing - keeping wine at a reasonably consistent, low temperature - well enough to more than justify the $300-odd price. However the build quality is low which does give me some concerns about longevity.

the $300-odd price ????

Cheapest I can find it is $ 449. Where is it on sale for $300 ?

[odyssey]

Hi, I have a Cybercool 72 bottle unit, which I have been very happy with for over 3 years, however during the Xmas period the temperatures started to vary somewhat from top to bottom. Has anyone else experienced this and have an easy fix?

thanks in advanced,
WNM

Hi WNM and welcome to the forum.

Do you know roughly what kind of temperatures it is hitting between top and bottom? As mentioned at the top of the thread, both the Cybercool and Prima do it but the Cybercool isn't quite as bad and keeps me happy.

I am planning a little pet project involving washing-machine hose, a plastic funnel and electrical tape, which I will attach to one of the lowest fans to suck air from the top of the fridge, which may help airflow and alleviate the disparity, fingers crossed.

Cheers

[Loztralia]

Good summary and one that chimes with my experience of the same unit. Just some points I'd note:

- The problem with Burgundy shaped bottles seems to be a bit more acute with my unit. I've got a couple of bottles with damaged labels after trying to squeeze them into very snug gaps (including at least one of my precious, precious 2007 Clonakilla SVs). That's not a problem for me as I don't expect to sell anything but if you are planning to sell or are particularly anal about having pristine labels then beware. There is some inconsistency as well - some slots will accept a Burgundy bottle without complaint where others are snug to the point of inaccessible.
- There is a little beeper internal to the fridge which goes off when you change the temperature or switch the (pointless) light on or off. Mine developed a short with the intensely irritating side-effect of intermittent beeps day and night. In the end I set about the wiring with some pliers and removed the beeper itself "with extreme prejudice". It hasn't affected the unit's functionality but again, beware.
- My door screws didn't fit either.

Overall I'd entirely agree with the conclusion - if you want or are restricted to a budget unit it does the most important thing - keeping wine at a reasonably consistent, low temperature - well enough to more than justify the $300-odd price. However the build quality is low which does give me some concerns about longevity.

the $300-odd price ????

Cheapest I can find it is $ 449. Where is it on sale for $300 ?

I believe I got mine from Deals Direct though it was a while ago now (I only think that's the case because I still get their bloody spam emails on a weekly basis and I can't think what else I might have possibly bought from them). I wouldn't go on the stand and swear to that price at this stage either, but if that's what I said at the time I guess I must have got a bargain.

Two years down the track from purchase I'm still using mine, incidentally, but it has taken on a slightly revised role as I now have a "three tier storage solution". Two dozen or so quaffers are stored on normal wine racks at home, the Prima is full of better wine that I expect to drink in the next year or two and I have offsite, temperature controlled storage for everything I want to hold on to for the longer haul. I have no idea if this is the most economical way of doing things but in my living circumstances (little room at home and no living areas that don't get pretty warm) it's the best compromise for keeping enough good gear at home to deal with occasional whims while also having optimal storage for the best stuff.

[cabanaman]

Just a quick one......how is your CyberCool 72 bottle fridge performing now ?

An update would be very timely as I am seriously considering purchasing one on line.

Regards

Cabanaman.

[odyssey]

gday cabanaman

Still pretty happy with it for a discount brand, seems to be going well but i havent had the thermostat/hygrometer in it lately (been using that to test the new aircon)

Tell you what, i'll whack it in as it will be hot on Monday. Anecdotally its still pretty consistent, hasn't really had to kick in over the last 6 months until the past 2 weeks or so.

Will let you know next week. I'd still happily swap my Prima for another Cybercool - the Prima has been working hard for a couple of months now, the fan makes a godawful noise and the top rack is about room temp.

[calm]

I have a cybercool 72 bottle. Starting to warm up in Brisbane but seems happy at about 16 deg at the top and 13-14 deg near the bottom when set to 13 deg.

[tdnsfo]

Hi all, I am new to the forum so this is my first post.
I bought a 72 bottle Prima fridge online from oo.com.au which is the only place I have ever seen them advertised. I am guessing I have had it for approx 4 years. For the first 2 years it ran reasonably well in that it kept the bottles cool at 14degrees which is what I set it at. I noticed though that the engine was extremely noisy and since it was in the next room to the bedroom, it often could be heard at night. After two years I only chose to run it for six months...ie: from Oct to March as I am in Melbourne so the winter months were unnecessary to run the fridge. In year 3 the fridge struggled to stay at 14deg and often was around 20. As of last week the fridge officially died. The fans ran exceptionally weak and after I returned home from a Xmas holiday I was horrified to notice the temperature of the fridge at 33deg despite the engine running. During the excessive high 30s low 40s last week, it could not cope at all. I guess I have to be happy with 3 years of use for a $450 fridge, so that is what everyone should expect from a Prima wine fridge. 2 years working well, year 3 average....dies in year 4. I don't know if it is worth servicing and would like to know if anyone has tried.

Question for this forum.......I have a number of my better bottles in this fridge such as Rockford BP, Thomas Hardy Cab Sauv, Jack Mann Cab Sauv and the Tintara Single Vineyard Series Shiraz......with these wines stored for 2 weeks in 33 degrees, possibly with temps that fluctuated excessively between day and night, could the wines be ruined?? Not sure if 2 weeks of poor conditions are enough to destroy a quality wine.

Regards
Scott

[griff]

Bad luck!

The high temperature would be detrimental to the wine but to what extent would be hard to say. Wikipedia says that an 8 degree C increase doubles reactions (halves the storage life). Isn't that simple as there are a myriad of reactions occurring in a bottle of wine and using the Arrhenius equation it really depends on the activation energies of the reactions but it does give you an indication of what might be occurring. So you are almost three times over ideal storage (plus the the time at 20 degrees). In addition different reactions occur at higher temperature and 20 degrees and over is enough to get brett bloom if present in the bottle. On a positive note, the reds you mention are more likely to be able to withstand the heat due to the high extract. Also, if it was packed to the gills then there wouldn't have been much fluctuation as there is a lot of heat inertia in 72 bottles of wine. Leaking is a sign that there was fluctuation.

If I were you I would be starting to look for opportunities to start opening them in likely order of maturity. Based on what you taste then you can speed up or slow down opening further bottles. I hope they open well!

cheers

Carl

[Michael McNally]

If I were you I would be starting to look for opportunities to start opening them in likely order of maturity. Based on what you taste then you can speed up or slow down opening further bottles. I hope they open well!

cheers

Carl

Carl is right on the money here, particularly with his suggested solution. What better excuse to crack a couple of good bottles!

We often feel that wine is somehow fragile and that it needs perfect conditions to maintain its integrity and/or improve. I think the reality is that wine is far more robust than that.

The thermal mass that Carl refers to will have helped with the fluctuation and the heat inside. It would have taken some time to get up to the external temp (assuming that the 33 degrees you refer to was the external temp, not the results of a thermometer you had inside the unit).

Regardless the wine is probably fine.

Welcome to the forum by the way! I look forward to some notes on the wines as you try them.

Cheers

Michael

[sbv]

Scott,

I also have the prima fridge. It sounds like one or more of the fans in the fridge have stopped working. They are necessary to extract the hot air from the heat sinks. I have had them sieze up in my fridge. You can easily replace them.

You could try to get the fan/(s) working again with a bit of wd40 but I would just replace them all.
I recommend these from jaycar. http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... rm=KEYWORD. They will also make the fridge a lot quieter than before so replace all 3 @ $25 each.

Here is a picture of the Back of the fridge with the cover off.
https://twitter.com/sbv72/status/156110713969065984

Let me know if you need any more details.

Cheers Scott

[odyssey]

Awesome, I'm getting pimp-my-fridge ideas now. The fans on my prima are on their last legs (or at least sound like they are). I like the idea of replacing them with something better from Jaycar.

I wonder if pimping it up with bigger fans with an adjustable RPM would get more efficiency in winter and better cooling in summer (adjust it to low rpm in winter, higher rpm in summer). Could be automatic - it obviously already has some kind of fan-speed adjustment based on the thermostat. The original lighting inside is also pretty pathetic... perhaps a switchable neon-style flexible LED light to run around the interior frame?

[sbv]

Don't think the fridge has the circuitry for controlling the speed of the fan. It is either on or off.

But I did add an internal fan to circulate the air in the fridge.

It used to be significantly hotter at the top but now the wile fridge is an even temp.

https://twitter.com/sbv72/status/156277932757745664

Better internal lighting - a project for when I get back from holidays.

[odyssey]

Nice work! I'm not so sure that it doesnt.... If I switch it from 18 to 14 it ramps up to top rpm and makes a real racket until it gets nearer to temp, when it drops speeds. However it's not gradual, more like it has 4 rpm presets.

Nice internal fan, where did you pick it up - Jaycar again? Attached up to the main fridge power??

Cheers

[tdnsfo]

Sbv, thanks for the info on the fans. I am going to buy these tomorrow.

However i am a useless handyman, so how easy is it to install the new fans.....is any electrical know how required?

Nice to see a Wynns black label Cab in your fridge. The first wine i ever collected. I still have three 1998s left.

I tried one of the Tintara Single vineyard bottles after the heat fluctuations. It was still very good as you would expect for an $80 bottle.

[TiggerK]

Nice internal fan, where did you pick it up - Jaycar again? Attached up to the main fridge power??

Cheers

Looks like an Antec computer case fan, or suchlike. Normally slots into a computer card slot (PCI etc) or sometimes a custom fan to mount near the CPU into a high end case. Runs off 5-12V DC.

(Odyssey, will check the garage tmrw - I think I have a spare one just like that that I can bring to dave's event for you)

Cheers
Tim

[sbv]

The internal fan came from jaycar. Here is the link. http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... rm=KEYWORD. They also have a bigger one. Not sure at the moment which one I have.

It runs off the main fridge power. Needed to take one of the heat sinks out for a bit to get the wiring in place.

Tdnsfo, It isn't hard to replace the fans. Just need to unscrew the casing over the heat sinks, put new fan in the casing and connect the wiring. Cut the wiring on the existing fan and connect the new one the same way (red to red and white to white - the silent fan has 3 wires - 1 is for speed control but just ignore that wire.) you probably should get some sort of wiring connectors but at the moment I have just twisted the wires together and covered with electrical tape.

[Michael McNally]

And perhaps turn it off first!

[odyssey]

Thanks Tim let us know how you go! Although I'll probably still need to pick up a second one from Jaycar for the 2nd fridge, along with some better fans for the dodgy fridge.

sbv I assume you simply spliced/taped it into the same wire as the back fan?

Cheers
Andrew

[sbv]

Andrew,

yes I attached it to the same wiring as the middle fan.

Friend told me today that power was off at my place, one of the fuses had tripped off. Could have been the wine fridge struggling with the heat with the house closed up. May have some modifications to do when I get home from holiday on Saturday.

Cheers

[rens]

I have a new idea for a TV show-Pimp my fridge.

[daz]

The one I have died about 12 or so months ago. Had a PM from a forumite who had the same thing happen. He and f-i-l took the rear panel off and found a burned out electricity supply module that they by-passed - fixed it apparently. Haven't got around to having a look at mine, drank down the contents as I did when a 28 bottle cooler died prior to the Prima. The sales promo didn't mention, as did the owner brochure that came with it, that it was meant for use in maximum 25C climates - it always struggled in the several NQ summers it worked through, fans worked overtime.