After much mental debating between the options of a cheap coolers like Dansbys, a replacement 170 bottle unit like N’finity or Wine enthusiast own brand, a La Cache, a Eurocave or trying to build out something i have decided to go with a EuroCave Premiere L unit from Wine Enthusiast with approx 200 bottle capacity, i will keep my offsite.
I think this is the best route for the following reasons
1 - The Eurocave while more expensive than most and roughly equal to the La cache in price it seems like the best unit, not that La Cache is bad just the Eurocave looks better
2 -Building out a home cellar would be a lot more work and that money would never be recooped in house value, it would effectively be dead money so i think paying for the offsite in the long run is still the better option, its $1000 for a 96 case offsite, building a 1000 bottle cellar with outside labour would cost at least $15,000 done properly so by the time you add in running cost, maintenance etc the roi is a long time.
Anyone got any Eurocave issues or thoughts why this would not be the best way forward
i got a scratch & dent Eurocave from Wine Enthusiast, for a steal. It broke in transit, they shipped me a new one. One little scratch on the side - nothing noticeable. The unit has worked flawlessly for ~5 years. They key with Eurocave is balancing capacity with ease of pulling bottles. I have a mix of slide out shelves, and bulk/fixed shelves that require bottle stacking.
Where do you find a 96 case offsite for $1000/year? That is rather cheap…
Alan, with care and close attention to where it is placed, a long time. that 1982 jobby I paid $1025 for is still in my buddy’s garage (which I recommended against) since 1996. It had a compressor change in 1995. Crazy huh? The ConFort 266 I have now is on it’s 8th year. Change the filters yearly and enjoy.
In between I had a crappy overpriced but beautiful unit. Forgot the name. Regretted not getting another Eurocave. it could not hold temperature for crap. Fixed that in 2007.
I just moved my thermostat to 59. I think 55 was too cool. I did it slowly. My thinking is even if the unit runs 10% less; it’s 10% longer life since it is cycling on/off less.
Same here - I’ve totally neglected mine for a little more than 10 years, only changing the battery in display, moved it twice and it is still going strong. Mine was also a cosmetically damaged unit (small scratch on the side) purchased for a very nice price from Wine Enthusiast.
Love mine but anyone had issue with too much humidity/moisture? I only have 2 shelves and stack on the bottom 4 bottles high and think that could be part of it. The back wall does seem to collect a lot of condensation though, but so far so good.
I have a small Eurocave (Performance 59) and it has performed like a champ.
However, like Tyler, mine does build up moisture – I have to wipe out the bottom with a cloth every month or two. Kind of annoying, but not really a problem. I asked tech support for solutions but they came up blank.
One of mine is 11 years; the other 6 years. I change the charcoal filter every year. Haven’t had to do anything else yet. If needed, I will buy Eurocave again.
I own two units a 260 that I bought in 2009 and a 266 I bought in 2015 due to vinfolio raping storage charges. First off Eurocave’s are great and worth the investment. However, note that wine enthusiast frequently has free shipping so wait to save on that. Eurocave now has a few lower end units so make sure you go with at least the 266. on the latest unit they changed the shelving from all one to individual bottle holders. it works well but they did not pack the plastic holders well and they came broken. Wine Enthusiast replaced them without an issue. Just don’t expect to get a case one shelf due to bottle size variation the total capacity is way off for the unit and a shelve can hold 10 bottles comfortably.
A couple things to watch out for is Moisture builds up and will leak out the filter if you do not have properly spaced bottles. also it may frost up a little bit but cycles through it meaning you may open it and see a little frost but in 12 hours it is gone. I live in Hawaii and the room does get hot in the summer as I never had AC until this year.
pay the extra money for the over priced filters and change them yearly.
I bought a New Eurocave Premiere L this summer and had moisture issues throughout the summer (Texas). Many labels have wrinkled. I don’t notice issues now that we are in the fall. My other cooling unit has never caused condensation on the bottles even though humidity is maintained at 60 to 70%.
Have one and loved it when I was using it. About 6 years and no issues. It’s in stasis now since I built a cellar. Eventually when I run out of room in the cellar the Eurocave will be booted back up to store the whites. Only issue is fat or long bottles and sliding shelf spacing…it can get a little tight and doesn’t really hold 12 per shelf unless they are bordeaux style and not oversized. So it ends up holding slightly less than advertised.
Bought a 260 in 2001 and then gave it to a friend in 2010 (still chugging). Only maintenance was changing the battery on the display. Highly recommended.