Cooling Unit

All,

I hope you remember me. Its been a while.

After ten years my cooling unit died. It was a Koolspace (not sure the model number).

I'm curious what folks recommend these days for single unit through-wall cooling units?

I have a cellar of about 300 cubic feet. 600-700 bottles.

Tom, it's been more than a while! But, it's good to know you are still around. I have a stand alone cabinet so can't really answer your question. My unit is a Vinotheque, and they sell the WhisperKool units for walk-in cellars. below is a URL

http://vinotheque.com/

Bob,

Thanks. Those WhisperKool units certainly aren't cheap.

Bob,

Thanks. Those WhisperKool units certainly aren't cheap.

They certainly aren't Tom! BTW, are you still coaching soccer?

Hockey. I coach, I am a Board Member in our local program, I am the President of a 501C3 that was just given a lease to operate a state-owned rink and I'm on the Board of the governing body for hockey in Massachusetts (Mass Hockey).

Good to see you again, Tom.
This may not work for you, but in interest of general discussion, one solution that tends to be cheaper (and I've heard a lot of people being happy with) is tricking an AC unit. Most ACs bottom out at 65, but some people have done things like attach a resistor to an AC temp probe, so it cools down to 56. I would guess this would work best in a moderate to cool climate with well insulated cellar, if you had one that needed to run a lot it would get awfully dry in cellar.
I have a mostly passive cellar, but found small (5000 BTU) AC that actually goes down to 62, I didn't trick it. I run it about twice a week for an hour or so in August, seems to work to keep temps down. I don't have much in the way of trophy wines, and am comfortable with cellar's slow swings between 50 and 66

[David M. Bueker]

I'm on the Board of the governing body for hockey in Massachusetts (Mass Hockey).

So does that mean Lawton has to suck up to you?

Glad to see you are still around (and still busy).

Knock on wood, but I have been happy with my Breezaire.

Is Mike Lawton involved in youth hockey? I drove by his (old?) house the other day on the way to apple picking.

[David M. Bueker]

I think his daughter is learning to play.

I use the tricked-out room air conditioner solution. I rewired it to bypass the AC's thermostat and instead use an external programmable thermostat that turns the electrical power to the AC on or off as needed. There are two problems with this approach:

1) Room air conditioners tend to ice up at temperatures below about 58 degrees F due to the close placement of the conducting vanes on the cooling coils.

2) Room AC units are not designed to operate at such low temperatures, and the lifetime of the compressor is drastically shortened. If you go this route, plan on replacing the air conditioner every 10 years or so.

-Paul W.

Paul,

Thanks. I know you do that. I'm not sure what to do at this point.

My unit is working again (unplugged it for a day) but I'm nervous that it may not last.

I only really need it June-Sept but my problem is that I built a custom cellar in finshed room where the opening fits exactly the unit I have and none of the units I can find have the same size opening so putting in a new unit is not going to be simple.