I just finished the construction of my wine cellar about a week ago, and installed a new WhisperKOOL SC Pro 3000i through the wall unit. The unit was advertised as “Ultra quiet”, and the fan in the unit itself is very quiet, but i’m hearing a periodic loud sputtering/crackling noise which almost sounds like popcorn popping. I called the WhisperKOOL tech support line, and they said this sounded normal and it was just the condensate management system working. Has anybody else had a similar experience with one of these units? If this is “normal”, i would definitely not consider this ultra-quiet or ideal for interior installation. The unit is vented into a larger laundry room, so temperature delta isn’t an issue.
I have a similar, but older model WhisperKOOL unit that I’ve been running for the past 6 years or so and have never heard that type of noise. But, I’ve also (in my past 2 cellars with similar unit) never had to use the condensation line - mine have just never emitted any condensation. Is yours draining anything?
Thanks Mike!
Nothing has come out of the condensate line. My understanding is that this “condensate management system” is a new feature with these units that can evaporate up to 3oz per hour of water, so the drain line should never be needed. I’m in So Cal, and the humidity is pretty low. Does your older unit have this condensate management system? If this is considered a “feature”, it is one i definitely don’t want! The unit is under warranty since it is brand new, but i wouldn’t want to replace it with the same unit if it is making these same noises. My concern is that there could be a different underlying issue here. It is cooling the cellar, so there doesn’t appear to be a performance issue with the unit so far.
John, I’m thinking that I don’t have this “condensate management system.” I wasn’t aware they added it. My unit is the SC3000, it does have a spout on the outside, and came with a length of tubing. I’m pretty sure that feature was added on the current generation of units, and mine would be considered the prior gen.
If that’s all by design, I guess I’m glad I don’t have that feature! But sorry to hear about your situation.
For reference, I have a Cellar Pro unit to which I added a condensation line. In the 10 months I’ve had it running it has never produced a drop of condensation.
I installed a SC PRO 4000 unit in my cellar about three months ago. While I would not compare the noise to popping corn, I did describe it as a ‘sizzle’, which is probably the same thing you referred to as a sputtering/cracking noise. Apparently, some people were mistaking the noise as some sort of electrical problem and WhisperKOOL actually sent out a proactive notice informing customers that this noise we due to the condensate system as it removed excess moisture. My unit also has a condensate line, but it remains bone dry…which is as expected since the condensate system is apparently functioning. My cellar is in the basement, so the noise is not really problematic for me, but I can understand how it might be a bit disruptive if your cellar is located in a true living space. As noted above, it’s just part of the condensate system in the new units. All in, however, I have been very pleased with my cellar and my WhisperKOOL cooling unit.
Just received a follow up e-mail from WhisperKOOL:
"It has recently come to our attention that some have mistakenly associated a sizzling noise from the system’s new condensate evaporation system with that of an electrical shortage.
We can assure you this is not the case. Our condensate management system actively works to evaporate up to 3oz of water per hour, and the sound of concern is merely cold water being introduced to the heating element within the condensate management system and evaporating into the atmosphere.
Please watch the provided video to see how our condensate management system works and how this system is actively working to protect your collection in fine wine."
Link to video:
Hope this helps for anyone describing the above noise. For whatever it’s worth, my system is still running strong without any complications.
I wanted to provide an update on my problematic WhisperKOOL cooling unit. They offered to send me a brand new unit with the modified condensate management system explained in the video above. The new unit has been running for 2 weeks now, and I’m happy to say that i haven’t heard a single “sizzle” sound this whole time. The unit is quiet, and I’m happy with its performance… Kudos to WhisperKOOL for making this right!
Glad I found this thread. We installed an SC4000 late last fall and recently have been hearing this sizzling sound. As it has gotten warmer the humidity level has increased so this makes sense to me now. I’ve never seen a drop of water come out of the condensation tube which has concerned me-I was concerned it wasn’t set up correctly or something. Maybe I don’t need to be concerned about that.
We occasionally have a strange aroma flowing through the basement, almost slightly sewer like that is concerning. Didn’t notice it before we had the wine room complete but we notice it every few days now. Smells from the kitchen and even outside if I’m using the charcoal grill seem to get into the basement so I am assuming that this is not coming from the SC4000, but the SC4000 exhaust fan is moving the aromas around the basement. I hope that is the case anyway.
I’ve had no issues with the unit so far, even though it is not as quiet as I was hoping.
Putting a SCPRO 4000 unit in cellar. Do I need to run a drain for the condensation? The marketing material says no. Where do most people run the drain line?
My wine cellar is in our basement and the Whisperkool (don’t know the model but it’s been running without fault since 2016) has a condensate line which I ran through the wall to empty into a 3 gallon bucket. Summertime requires emptying the bucket twice a month; winter weather produces no condensate.
![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}