The Auswine Forum

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to keep a cellar (read built in wardrobe with two exterior walls) cool(ish) in a long hot Perth summer.

All my really good stuff (which is only 6 doz) is in a friends cellar, but I don't want to press things

Long shot I know, but you guys must know something...

Big bucket of ice, replaced every few days.

Probably obvious, but do you insulate with styrofoam? My cellar is reasonably cool, I find this is usually enough.

move to the auckland islands

Craig(NZ) wrote:move to the auckland islands

They're cooler than Perth for sure, as they're considered to be among the bleakest islands on earth. Being entirely uninhabited may be a hindrance though. I think the fact that the fourth largest of the islands is called "Disappointment Island" would put me off.

yes they look a fantastic set of rocks and very remote and bleak. no one to share the wine with either as you have noted

however back to the subject at hand...the wine would remain cooler

I reckon the bucket of ice sounds a fair enough proposition.

Bury the wardrobe a couple of meters underground.

Sorry Jules,

Many years ago, I used a room of my (then) house, as a cellar, and did a little polystyrene insulating, etc. The house itself was also roof-insulated. Alas, the Hygrotherm showed temperatures peaking at 30 degrees.

Insulating a built-in robe might be fractionally more successful, but it's those two external walls that are the problem - especially if they store daytime heat.

Maybe renting a little more space in your mate's cellar is the go?

Cheers

Allan

I had a wonderful experience with Cellar Solutions last week (a company in Sydney). They (Laurie) sold me a second hand WhisperCool wine cellar aircon unit that will keep a small room at 15 degrees and protect your wine. You may need to do a bit of insulating here and there but after a couple of days the unit only goes on for a few hours to keep the temp.

Luke W wrote:I had a wonderful experience with Cellar Solutions last week (a company in Sydney). They (Laurie) sold me a second hand WhisperCool wine cellar aircon unit that will keep a small room at 15 degrees and protect your wine. You may need to do a bit of insulating here and there but after a couple of days the unit only goes on for a few hours to keep the temp.

Good to hear, LukeW. What sort of price are we talking, and what room size? Just so poeple on the forum can get an idea of VFM.

The unit that I purchased was a WhisperKool WK 3000 (i.e. 3000 BTU) and will cool a room no bigger than 16cubic metres (My cold room is 5'x6'x7'). It is a stand alone aircon unit that you slide into the wall and is dedicated for wine cellars (no vibration, no drying out). I paid Laurie $600 for the unit (I think they are about $3500 new but I suspect that the Fondis units are comparable if not better but you are less likely able to get a second hand one) and $100 for delivery - it's a few years old. It keeps the wine at any temp from 12 - 20 degrees (with humidity between 50 - 70%) depending on your setting. I'm keeping mine at 15 degrees - it worked a fair bit getting the temp down but since getting there only works for a couple of hours a day (and this is in Yeppoon, CQ). There is some question about the WhisperKool fans having a shelf life of only a few years if they are worked overtime but they can be replaced fairly cheaply.

Laurie can be contacted on 0299486347.

I have a similar system and use ice and the home air conditioner to cool the room, would a portable evaporative air conditioner work any good in Perth. They are not very effective in Sydney as the humidity is already quiet high, but could work quite well to cool a small room and are reasonably inexpensive.

I store my wines in Styrofoam boxes in the cupboard which insulates them well and has the added advantage that you can pack them in years of drinking, putting the one you are drinking a long time from now at the bottom and the recent drinkers in the top box, just ask your local green grocer they usually have heaps and are happy for you to take them.

I also have a small indoor/outdoor thermometer and the remote sensor is in the most valued box so you can monitor the temperature. All these systems keep the temperature reasonably stable (around 1-2 degrees) drift week to week.