Wine fridges...again

[daver6]

Ok I realise this topic has been done to death, but Im going to use it to summarise my findings and hopefully those in the know can point out any mistakes Ive made.

My requirements are a 150-200 capacity fridge. Its going in the living room of an apartment so it needs to look alright too. Ie glass door.

So far from what Ive gathered.

Vintec/Transtherm - Seems a fair few people have had issues here and I have to admit, kinda puts me off a bit.

Liebherr - Seems to be the go. Downside is more expensive than others

Kitchener - Seem to be a good option in terms of value for money. However the Peltier series look kinda ugly so out of consideration sadlly. The CT range seem great, but use a compressor, rather than thermo-electric. The EuroCave seem good, but are expensive (and unsure of cooling method?)

I also realise there are some cheaper brands around, but Ive got the attitude that I dont want to mess around and just buy the right fridge first time rather than something smaller/cheaper and then need to upgrade in a few years time.

So do you guys agree with my above summary? Have I missed anything (or other brands I should look at)/got any facts wrong?

A penny for your thoughts

david

[daz]

Ok I realise this topic has been done to death, but Im going to use it to summarise my findings and hopefully those in the know can point out any mistakes Ive made.

My requirements are a 150-200 capacity fridge. Its going in the living room of an apartment so it needs to look alright too. Ie glass door.

So far from what Ive gathered.

Vintec/Transtherm - Seems a fair few people have had issues here and I have to admit, kinda puts me off a bit.

Liebherr - Seems to be the go. Downside is more expensive than others

Kitchener - Seem to be a good option in terms of value for money. However the Peltier series look kinda ugly so out of consideration sadlly. The CT range seem great, but use a compressor, rather than thermo-electric. The EuroCave seem good, but are expensive (and unsure of cooling method?)

I also realise there are some cheaper brands around, but Ive got the attitude that I dont want to mess around and just buy the right fridge first time rather than something smaller/cheaper and then need to upgrade in a few years time.

So do you guys agree with my above summary? Have I missed anything (or other brands I should look at)/got any facts wrong?

A penny for your thoughts

david

If I could afford a purpose-built underground cellar I'd have one. If I could afford a peltier Kitchener, regardless of the appearance, it'd be my next choice.

daz

[maddia]

Bought a Leibheir multi zone 5 weeks ago. 176 bottle capacity I think. Got a heck of a deal from Clive Peeters and saved around $1200 on their list price.

[jafa]

My requirements are a 150-200 capacity fridge. Its going in the living room of an apartment so it needs to look alright too. Ie glass door.
Vintec/Transtherm - Seems a fair few people have had issues here and I have to admit, kinda puts me off a bit.
david

I have 3 transtherm 260 bottle units, all running without problems for several years. Solid doors (I use for long term storage, and want to exclude light). I have minimum shelves installed, bottles stacked 13 to layer, to max 6 layers high, which makes organising and extracting bottles difficult at times. Means I unload, reload every couple of years, and "salt" wines through the layers.
I'm in NZ, which means lower ambient temps and higher humidity, so units likely have easier operating conditions. Installed in basement, so style is not important.
I have digital thermometers, interior/exterior temps, installed on each so I don't need to open door to check operation, and the units seem to have good temp control eg past cold winter interior temp at 10Cmin (external 6C), and summer external 21-22C, interior 14Cmax. Set temp is 12C. I open doors as infrequently as poss. Have no experience of other suppliers, but these are doing the job OK.
cheers jafa.

[Boyeah]

I have two Transtherm 230 bottles each, solid door since 1999 no issue at all, I have many friends have transtherms never heard of any issues at all.
Transtherm is pricey, about the same price as the Miele and cheaper than the Sub-zero.
Cheers Boyeah

[daver6]

Having been out to the shops today Ive found with the Liebherr fridges the shelves dont really seem to roll out all the easily. Ie, the shelves arent on rollers. What concerned me is if the shelf was loaded up, it would be extremely difficult to access ones wines. I noticed some of the other brands, eg LG happened to have proper slider rollers which enabled you to pull out the shelf about 75% of the way without the need to support the weight oneself.

Does anyone know anywhere in Perth that actually has a good range of models on the floor to have a look at. Ive been around the HN, Rick Hart etc and they all have just one or two models out and the staff are far from knowledgable.

thanks again

david

[Blue]

Ok I realise this topic has been done to death, but Im going to use it to summarise my findings and hopefully those in the know can point out any mistakes Ive made.

My requirements are a 150-200 capacity fridge. Its going in the living room of an apartment so it needs to look alright too. Ie glass door.

So far from what Ive gathered.

Vintec/Transtherm - Seems a fair few people have had issues here and I have to admit, kinda puts me off a bit.

Liebherr - Seems to be the go. Downside is more expensive than others

Kitchener - Seem to be a good option in terms of value for money. However the Peltier series look kinda ugly so out of consideration sadlly. The CT range seem great, but use a compressor, rather than thermo-electric. The EuroCave seem good, but are expensive (and unsure of cooling method?)

I also realise there are some cheaper brands around, but Ive got the attitude that I dont want to mess around and just buy the right fridge first time rather than something smaller/cheaper and then need to upgrade in a few years time.

So do you guys agree with my above summary? Have I missed anything (or other brands I should look at)/got any facts wrong?

A penny for your thoughts

david

Agree with you, Liebherr is the way to go. I have 3 of them and all of them are single zone, no problem for the last 4 years. Saved a lot by not buying the multi zone, but the main purpose is cellaring . Single zone is the way to go IMHO. I am about to buy another one soon...

[xsorxpire]

Kambos in Malaga have a few.

Having been out to the shops today Ive found with the Liebherr fridges the shelves dont really seem to roll out all the easily. Ie, the shelves arent on rollers. What concerned me is if the shelf was loaded up, it would be extremely difficult to access ones wines. I noticed some of the other brands, eg LG happened to have proper slider rollers which enabled you to pull out the shelf about 75% of the way without the need to support the weight oneself.

Does anyone know anywhere in Perth that actually has a good range of models on the floor to have a look at. Ive been around the HN, Rick Hart etc and they all have just one or two models out and the staff are far from knowledgable.

thanks again

david

[daver6]

Well after much investigating and stuffing around I've ordered a Liebherr WK 6476, 312 bottle unit. In the end the cost of a glass door was just not worth it

thanks for everyones feedback.

david

[Cloudy]

Onya Davero ok so Liebherr cost more but German brands (Miele etc)are 100% reliable, kinda like Kraut cars Porsche, Merc, BMW no gimmicks, good solid performing products accurate and built to last. minus the hassles of cheaper brands with mega issues that put your wine at risk and end up costing heaps in wasted time & money, not to mention the angst when they wont perform.

[TiggerK]

Bit grumpy about your fridge there Cloudy?? I feel your pain, my vintech is a bit crap too, smells very chemically, and even after they sent a replacement (service was good), it smells bad too.... But as for german brands (cars, fridges etc), they are NOT 100% reliable, that's just silly. More reliable than really cheap stuff I agree, but if you head over to the the car forums, you'll see a huge number of peoples complaints about their german brand cars with their unreliable gimmicks and the crap arrogant service from the dealers. And have you seen the pictures around here somewhere about how the back of someone's new Liebherr looks?? Shoddy is an understatement, and they checked, and they all look like that.

Problem is simply that stuff just ain't made the way it used to be, (it's often hard to buy real quality no matter what the $$$) and the service agents are usually third parties and it's normally a nightmare when things so wrong. My 4 month old portable air con has now been away for 6 weeks, and finally they announce on Friday that it's not fixable and they're applying for a replacement. I'm so grumpy but just can't be bothered trying to take it back for refund etc, if it wasn't so big and heavy I would be though.

The biggest complaint I have is that you're more likely to get good repair service if you're angry, forceful, demanding and grumpy. Being nice doesn't seem to make them help you in a hurry. But I refuse to be grumpy.

Cheers
TiggerK

[dazza1968]

My wife bought me a vintec dual zone wine fridge now it was 1500 odd bucks and i have to say the biggest over priced piece of shit i have ever seen , first fridge lasted 3 days now the prob was we went away 2 days in and all was spot on then stocked it ready for when we got back from a xmas trip to melbourne . Broke down wrecked a grands worth of wine then they sent out a replacement fridge Now it really hit home when i had a decent look at the compressor and its an LG Compressor and a made in china sticker for me didnt help .

For me you dont pay top dollar for anything chinese and in this case we did . since then i watch the fridge , keep regular checks on temp variation and have been waiting for it to break down (how sad) to be honest with you if i could send it back i would and then get something else

regards Dazza