The Auswine Forum

Is regassing a wine cabinet a viable thing? We've seen one (Euroart JG168BL) listed which says the compressor runs but needs a regas. Naturally it's a risk and there could be something else wrong with it but we're wondering whether it's worth investigating / taking?

I'm not a fridge/air con pro, but suspect it's not worth it. They are closed systems so if they say it needs a regas it likely indicates there is a leak somewhere in the system, which would be difficult or not feasible to find and repair. Or it's not holding temp properly which is why they think it needs a regas but it's actually a control board or temp sensor issue, again tricky or expensive to diagnose and repair.

I've had a fair few wine fridges over the past 20 years and any attempts to fix them or ask professionals (I have some as clients) was met universally with a 'forget it, don't bother, chuck it out' response.

Of course to be sure you'd want to check with a EuroArt technician....

Okay, that's probably along the lines of what I was thinking.

Thanks

*sigh* so the Vintec is no longer working. Without having a tech look at it, I think it might be a gas leak as there's evidence that's consistent with a leak (greenish powder in the back) found in another Vintec on another forum.

So, we'll probably price a replacement option except as you know, these things aren't cheap. I'm now annoyed that I overlooked one of those Aldi Sterling models a few months back.

Anyway, we have more bottles than we can store anyway so I'm wondering whether I should consider offsite storage? It's not like we have a truckload of bottles, currently 80 that we're keeping which I expect will grow to 120 - 150ish. Any idea what cost of that might look like?

How old is the cabinet? Might be worth giving them a call and seeing what they are prepared to do if it is out of the normal warranty. You could bring up the old "reasonable expected lifetime" warranty and they may help in some way. My 160 bottle vintec developed a crack in the inside back condenser (which degassed the system) before the standard one year warranty was up. To have the parts replaced and included labour it would have been ~$800 on a $2000 cabinet!

It's about four years. Yes, I'd read that that was the angle that this other guy had taken and it was two or three years old. Electrolux (who bought Vintec) offered him another cabinet and a better price. The repair cost more than the replacement. I've read plenty of comments that it's not normally worth repair.

Redav wrote:*sigh* so the Vintec is no longer working. Without having a tech look at it, I think it might be a gas leak as there's evidence that's consistent with a leak (greenish powder in the back) found in another Vintec on another forum.

So, we'll probably price a replacement option except as you know, these things aren't cheap. I'm now annoyed that I overlooked one of those Aldi Sterling models a few months back.

Anyway, we have more bottles than we can store anyway so I'm wondering whether I should consider offsite storage? It's not like we have a truckload of bottles, currently 80 that we're keeping which I expect will grow to 120 - 150ish. Any idea what cost of that might look like?

A few on this forum including myself use Kennards for off-site storage. Looking at their website, costs for Brisbane start at $42/month for 0.39sqm (Milton). Cost varies depending on the demand at each Kennards.

I use two at home wine fridges and a 24 case locker at Kennards, the latter for long term stuff that I can set and forget for 5+ years. The yearly bill for the offsite does certainly add up, and adds to the cost of each bottle but overall it's not much more than buying and maintaining a big wine fridge, electricity etc. As Ozzie says, costs do vary amongst suppliers, so def shop around. The location being closer isn't a big deal if you only go there once or twice a year, as I do to swap in/out a case or two, or to grab a special bottle, so just see what's on offer and compare that to a wine fridge.

Having said all that, for 80-120 bottles, I'd likely go a 150-200 bottle wine fridge personally (it will grow!!). Bigger outlay to start with, but once done, barring bad luck, they are generally set and forget for at least 5 years, much more likely 8-10 years.

Yet 4 years is bit young, I'd be hitting them up for a good deal on a new one, and make sure they tell you if it's a factory second/shop damaged item or not if the deal is particularly good.

Cheers
Tim

Redav wrote:*sigh* so the Vintec is no longer working. Without having a tech look at it, I think it might be a gas leak as there's evidence that's consistent with a leak (greenish powder in the back) found in another Vintec on another forum.

So, we'll probably price a replacement option except as you know, these things aren't cheap. I'm now annoyed that I overlooked one of those Aldi Sterling models a few months back.

Anyway, we have more bottles than we can store anyway so I'm wondering whether I should consider offsite storage? It's not like we have a truckload of bottles, currently 80 that we're keeping which I expect will grow to 120 - 150ish. Any idea what cost of that might look like?

I use WineArk in Fortitude Valley. $17 per month for a cabinet which fits about 12 cases (depending on how they are stacked).

I then have a small 35 bottle wine fridge at home for current consumption, being a Hisense which I picked up brand new from the good guys for $350.

TiggerK wrote:The yearly bill for the offsite does certainly add up, and adds to the cost of each bottle but overall it's not much more than buying and maintaining a big wine fridge, electricity etc.

Yeah, hence why it was off in the first place - to better understand their impact on our power usage. We have a home sewerage treatment plant and that adds a noticeable amount to the base load of the house and I'm hoping that we can offset that with solar one day so the other daily appliances can be offset too but our issue is we're surrounded by trees

TiggerK wrote:Having said all that, for 80-120 bottles, I'd likely go a 150-200 bottle wine fridge personally (it will grow!!).

Yes, it's certainly growing so I'd have wanted to accomodate it but as you say, it's quite a hit up front which isn't presently possible.

TiggerK wrote:Yet 4 years is bit young, I'd be hitting them up for a good deal on a new one, and make sure they tell you if it's a factory second/shop damaged item or not if the deal is particularly good.

It does sound a bit young but it also sounds like a common issue with them.

tuxy85 wrote:I use WineArk in Fortitude Valley. $17 per month for a cabinet which fits about 12 cases (depending on how they are stacked).

I then have a small 35 bottle wine fridge at home for current consumption, being a Hisense which I picked up brand new from the good guys for $350.

Yup. That's what one of the other guys was saying. I think that could be what we're thinking of doing. Wine Ark is around the corner from work so that's clearly handy. I'll pop in for a chat with them to better understand things. But I thnk we'll still be after one for home to store the drink now wines / store until I can stash it elsewhere.

Thanks for all the feedback, it's pretty much affirmed our thoughts.

It really shits me what these massive companies get away with when it comes to warranty.
And not because I want to do it too, quite the opposite, I fixed things out of warranty x2 or more just because of how long it SHOULD last

(Poor builder rant over!)

For what it's worth, we had an appliance guy out to look at a freezer that was behaving oddly but apparently was behaving fine. Probably a case of seeing something for the first time and assuming that's not how it's normally working. Anyway, while he was here he had a look at the Vintec and said that it's pointless re-gassing. I'll just drop it again, maybe that afternoon, maybe next month. I mentioned that it was turned off for a while and he said that they are best left running. Either way, he said these things typically last three to five years so thought ours was par for the course. The other Gumtree special we have is probably close to ten years so hopefully it will make up for this one.

We might sell the shelves instead

tuxy85 wrote:

Redav wrote:*sigh* so the Vintec is no longer working. Without having a tech look at it, I think it might be a gas leak as there's evidence that's consistent with a leak (greenish powder in the back) found in another Vintec on another forum.

So, we'll probably price a replacement option except as you know, these things aren't cheap. I'm now annoyed that I overlooked one of those Aldi Sterling models a few months back.

Anyway, we have more bottles than we can store anyway so I'm wondering whether I should consider offsite storage? It's not like we have a truckload of bottles, currently 80 that we're keeping which I expect will grow to 120 - 150ish. Any idea what cost of that might look like?

I use WineArk in Fortitude Valley. $17 per month for a cabinet which fits about 12 cases (depending on how they are stacked).

I then have a small 35 bottle wine fridge at home for current consumption, being a Hisense which I picked up brand new from the good guys for $350.

Wine Ark sounds ok, that's about $1.42/b/yr. Kennards that Ozzie mentioned (we both use it in Melb) works out a little dearer here. I have a modest space there which is packed full and works out about $1.58/b/yr

Redav wrote:For what it's worth, we had an appliance guy out to look at a freezer that was behaving oddly but apparently was behaving fine. Probably a case of seeing something for the first time and assuming that's not how it's normally working. Anyway, while he was here he had a look at the Vintec and said that it's pointless re-gassing. I'll just drop it again, maybe that afternoon, maybe next month. I mentioned that it was turned off for a while and he said that they are best left running. Either way, he said these things typically last three to five years so thought ours was par for the course. The other Gumtree special we have is probably close to ten years so hopefully it will make up for this one.

We might sell the shelves instead

Just a FYI on Vintec - they are now owned by Electrolux. I recently assisted a mate with a repair that was outside of warranty. We argued that the 3-5 year life expectancy that we also experienced was not good enough given the value and nature of the product. We had to keep pushing but eventually they agreed to replace without cost. First they tried to offer a subsidised unit, but when I threatened VCAT they came to the party. Feel free to PM me if you want any extra guidance.

Yes, we found that they now owned them and we had a discussion with them about that and they weren't interested. We don't seem to have any luck quoting ACCC law Someone else here ended up buying a subsidised fridge as a result of their inquiry. We've ended up with the old one still running and 80 bottles in Wine Ark which works out to be cheaper than buying and running a small cabinet, especially when they have a short life time.

I had a 4 and a half year old vintec pack its self this year. Called a wine cellar mechanic in the barossa, being under 5 year warranty, he made the claim and a brand new fridge was delivery in a week for a $100 fee.

MY Vintec has started playing up. Been going well since may 2012 but it doesnt seem to be able to hold temp under 15-17 degrees. Tried resestting it as per factory instructions and on advice from Vintec customer care but no dice. Next step is a service. But from what I gather these things are like giant disposable cameras. Once there's a chink in the armour it's all downhill. Seems like 7 years is a good run!

Update on my fridge.
Vintec (Electrolux) fixed my fridge for $0.00!
They're attitutde and service/delivery throughout has been 10/10 I have to say.
We often hear the horror stories post purchase in terms of service and warranty but in this case I was looked after.
Gas leak apparently. According to the mech it was a pretty basic fix.
Fingers crossed for another 7 years and beyond.

Did they ask for a receipt/proof of purchase for the warranty service?

I can highly recommend Wineaway in Bowen Hills for wine storage. Good database tracking of your wines online plus handle-in/handle-out history. Also host interesting tastings from time to time.