The Auswine Forum

I have been able to get Harvey Norman down from $800 to $700 on this fridge:

http://www.lemair.co.nz/swc200k.htm

Does anyone have any experience with this product? Is it likely to create excess vibrations or draw all the humidity out of the air? All I am looking to do is keep some of my more expensive (~$40 per bottle) wines cool so they don't get cooked over summer.

Any input on this matter would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Edit: If this fridge is available through my favoured retailer I'll be getting it for cost price + GST, so I'll have to wait and see whether he has it in stock and how low the price is.

For not much more money you can get a good quality split unit aircon with reverse cycle installed and keep all of your plonk at a reasonable temp.

Not an option as I am renting.

Sorry have not had this product. I have had a couple of different types but I am currently using the budget priced Dome units from Target. They have no vibrations (no noisy compressor, works on thermoelectric), has a variable temp setting and stays very constant temperature (have put a high grade thermometer to monitor) and retains a good level of humidity. Doesn’t look too bad either for the price (from memory $300 for 28btl but got it for $150 on special). I’ve got about $2500 worth in each and they have never skipped a beat. Food for thought.

Langers wrote:I have been able to get Harvey Norman down from $800 to $700 on this fridge:

http://www.lemair.co.nz/swc200k.htm

Does anyone have any experience with this product? Is it likely to create excess vibrations or draw all the humidity out of the air? All I am looking to do is keep some of my more expensive (~$40 per bottle) wines cool so they don't get cooked over summer.

Any input on this matter would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Edit: If this fridge is available through my favoured retailer I'll be getting it for cost price + GST, so I'll have to wait and see whether he has it in stock and how low the price is.

Couldn't really tell from the link but if there's a boxy section inside at the bottom, it's a compressor type that will generate some vibration. Ask if it's a peltier of thermoelectric model.

I paid $270 each for a couple of Mountbank peltier 28 btl units that are probably the same as Partagas' Dome (great price, $150) and am considering getting another for $199 before summer as I've more than enough wine to fill a third.

Interesting.

No idea whether it is compressor or thermoelectric, and I don't think the guy at Harvey Norman would know either!

Langers

I actually import (via Italy) the 66 bottle unit that Lemair show in the link as the SWR 270. This unit is compressor cooled and has no humidity control, so it is more than likely that the smaller units badged as Lemair do not either. Vibration seems minimal in these units, but I do not recommend them to our customers for long term storage, more for keeping bottles protected against temperature variation for a relative short term. As an aside, we sell this larger unit for $695, so I'm sure you can push Harvey Norman some more on the $700 quote.
Cheers
Andrew

Really interesting! Are small wine coolers as good as large ones? Just want to buy one for my own apartment and I dont have much room.

Really interesting! Are small wine coolers as good as large ones? Just want to buy one for my own apartment and I dont have much room.

Really interesting! Are small wine coolers as good as large ones? Just want to buy one for my own apartment and I dont have much room.

dont know if this brands any good but u can pick up Mistral 40bottle wine cooler fridges at kmart for $300 but they go on special atleast once a month for 200bucks even saw it for $150 once
dunno if its as good as the domes though

tbcha1 wrote:dont know if this brands any good but u can pick up Mistral 40bottle wine cooler fridges at kmart for $300 but they go on special atleast once a month for 200bucks even saw it for $150 once
dunno if its as good as the domes though

I believe the Mistral is a compressor type.

daz

dont know if this brands any good but u can pick up Mistral 40bottle wine cooler fridges at kmart for $300 but they go on special atleast once a month for 200bucks even saw it for $150 once
dunno if its as good as the domes though

I had this type for less then a year and it died. It did have a compressor and was noisy. Dome is stacks better

thanks for the info about the mistral. Ive checked out Target and they had some Dome 40 bottle wine coolers there but no boxes but from what i read in the manual it sounds like it is a compressor type wine fridge. Does anyone know if this is true? as the target staff were no help. There was also a 24 bottle fridge as well but i couldnt make out if it was a compressor or thermoelectric one. Is there a way we can tell?
Also Big W has a 28 bottle Rank Arean brand wine cooler thats thermo electric for $188. Anyone know if is as good as the dome ones for a cheap reliable?
thanks in advance
TC

I went into Kmart at the weekend (Hurstville) and they are selling the Mistral 42 (or 40?) bottle fride for $349, although in the city (Sydney) they are selling it for $299. Asked them about specials, to which they said they didn't do them on the model?

Partagas - When I looked at the sticker on the front of the Mistral fridge it said it had a 3 year warranty, so I would contact them for a replacement.

Then went into Target and had a look at the Dome 40/42 bottle fridge, which they were selling at $499. Is the Dome alot better??? I would be keeping the fridge in the garage, so would the compressor thing matter? I assume it is just noisy as opposed to harmful to the wine??

On a completely different subject why has it started to rain in Sydney the day before I do the 100km Oxfam bushwalk .... typical, sunny all week and then wallop, rain ... just what you need when you're walking for 26 hours ... oh dear . At least there is the wine that I can sit down and drink with great satisfication after the race ... I should say 'race' is quite a loose term

mkcoleman wrote:On a completely different subject why has it started to rain in Sydney the day before I do the 100km Oxfam bushwalk .... typical, sunny all week and then wallop, rain ... just what you need when you're walking for 26 hours ... oh dear . At least there is the wine that I can sit down and drink with great satisfication after the race ... I should say 'race' is quite a loose term

All the best MK. As far as I can see the weather is meant to clear. Hope they are right.
Mike.

I've looked into buying a wine fridge a few times due to a rental situation, and everytime i've never followed through on a purchase because I want to store quality bottles long term; and if you want longer than 6month storage I'm 100% convinced you need humidity control.

I've always looked at the bigger units that stand household fridge tall, most don't have adequete humidity control in the 1000-1800 range; if you read there operating condtions almost all of them state consume within 6months.

The other trap i've seen is buying units with multiple temperature zones, using this feature creats humidity problems because of two different temperatures in a encolosed area and turns the unit into a consume in 6months.

It's also hard to prove the effectiveness of wine fridges because most knowledge is second hand, or you can't judge just how savy the person is judging it.

On a commercial level though most people put there trust in transtherms ermitage single zone fridge, but @ around $4000 to memory you'd want to be storing something serious and have no other option.

Personally, I don't have any experience with wine fridges but someone once suggested that an old cold drink refrigerator, the kind they use in stores with a coke or 7-up logo on top, can be an effective cool unit for wines. A second hand unit might not cost much and it could hold a fair number of wines. You would run it at a relatively "high" setting and of course get rid of the lighting.

As far as humidity is concerned i wouldn't take the manufacturer's recommendation of consuming within six months very seriously. It is not likely that your corks will dry out unless you plan to keep the wines for a very long time. And don't forget, many of the wines now come with screwcaps. One other idea, put a pan of water at the bottom of the unit and keep refilling it as needed.

Just to let you know, my wines are in a basement in Canada and I have never given humidity a second thought (it is very dry in Edmonton and far from the ocean). My chief concern was temperature. In summer the basement temperature was close to 14-15 degrees and in winter it hovered around 10 degrees and I have never had any trouble with my wines. A 1981 Taltarni cabernet bought in 1986 served blind in 2002 was doing fine and passed as a Bordeaux. As far as I am concerned the most important thing about cellaring is temperature and affection for your wines.

Good Luck with whatever you decide,

Mahmoud.

With so many reds having screwcaps instead of cork - humidity is no longer as important - why not think of a second hand fridge to store these wines in.
I have a fridge in the shed for storing home brew and at a pinch I reckon you could store 60 bottles in it. The main considerations for a normal fridge would be low vibration(compressor) and decent door seal. A secondhand fridge maybe $150-300

regards

I'll agree that the introduction of screw caps makes humidity a lesser problem, and for wines in this closure I think fridge storage and humidity concerns are void.

But for champagne, and red + white using corks or alternate closure I've seen a few issues storing in a fridge as some have suggested. My experience was in a restaurant where white wine and champage were kept in a commercial fridge lying down for a short-medium period of time, due to the turnover i'd say the oldest of them were 18months, with most 6-12. The problem in this situation wasn't dry corks but saturated corks and mold development. Due to their lying down position humidity had drawn the liquid through the cork. Lining up similar bottles upright showed big differences in shoulder levels also. This also was a good illustratration in the difference in cork quality.

The lesson gained for that establishment was if it's got a cork and it's likely it won't be consumer in 6months, leave it out of the fridge.

I bought a nice Vintec 144 bottle fridge last week from a guy on Ebay.
Works nicely.....

Partagas - When I looked at the sticker on the front of the Mistral fridge it said it had a 3 year warranty, so I would contact them for a replacement.

Then went into Target and had a look at the Dome 40/42 bottle fridge, which they were selling at $499. Is the Dome alot better??? I would be keeping the fridge in the garage, so would the compressor thing matter? I assume it is just noisy as opposed to harmful to the wine??

The model I had was obsolete and they would not replace it even though it had a “replacement” warranty. Food for thought those that are interested in Mistral. The after care was terrible. Got my money back and bought a couple of Domes that are absolutely flawless. They are only the 24 (or 28) capacity but definitely is thermoelectric. Not sure about the higher capacity but I would have assumed they would be the same.

The compressor type does vibrate which is not a good thing, so this does make a bit of a difference.

Dumb question time - with thermoelectric wine fridges - do they heat as well as cool??

regards

just a heads up for you guys who are interested in the dome 24 wine fridge. Its on sale at target 50% off $150. Well in the victoria catalogue anyways. Dont know for sure if its thermoelectric for sure since the ones mentioned here were 28bottles? i think

Sorry, just to clarify.

It is the 24 bottle and I paid the same amount here in Perth a while back. It definitely is thermoE and can’t recommend it enough. As mentioned before, it has stayed the same temp (I have it at 14c) the whole time and may fluctuate a degree (and that is even in Perth summer). It does not have a thermometer but I picked up a primo lifetime guaranteed fridge type for about 8 bucks. Well worth the purchase.

It seems the Target 50% off offer is nationwide. I bought the Dome 24 bottle fridge from Target in Bondi Junction, Sydney for $150. They have plenty of stock at present .. well at least 10 fridges. Also they are fairly light, so easy enough to pop into the car (well 4x4).

As other people have mentioned there is no temperature gauge (just a dial which goes from Medium to Low), so went and bought a $10 thermometer ... within 24 hours with the fridge full it was purring at 14C, when setting the dial between medium and low.

It is also seriously quiet, with no vibrations.

Only problem, I have filled the fridge so it is making me want to buy another fridge and then enough more wine ... oh dear

D'oh, missed the Target Dome sale, knew it was on, but was away when it finsihed a month or two ago...

Has anybody had any luck with one of the eBay ones?

Seems like you could get a Prima or ATI delivered for around $250. (both Thermoelectric)

Anybody know if they are better/worse (or exactly the same) as the Domes?

In areas of my expertise, I'm more than happy to buy on eBay, but I am a bit out of my depth here. Would I be better to wait for the next Target Dome sale (cheaper price, better recourse in case of early failure)

I've just purchased a couple of 72 btl Prima fridges will let everyone know what they're like in a week or so

scoey wrote:I've just purchased a couple of 72 btl Prima fridges will let everyone know what they're like in a week or so

I bought one on eBay about a month or so ago - it seems to struggle in hotter weather so wouldn't really recommend this model. My couple of 28 btl Mountbase units seem to work much better in hotter weather.

daz

The Domes are on sale at the moment for $150 at target

Andrew