Was going to say this as well, good idea to post a warning. Sounds like Brian has his cooler in a large space, so the CO2 will dissipate easily, but take care when you first open the door not to breathe to deeply, move away to take some breaths while you’re working on it.
Murphy was an optimist !
These have to be about the most unreliable home appliances on a cost basis. As a counter example, I’ve had the same inexpensive kitchen refrigerator since 1981, a Gibson (is the brand even still active?). Cosmetically it’s pretty dog-eared by now but it’s never needed a repair and keeps cooling like a champ.
I’ve wondered and asked this many times. Why does a $250 refrigerator plug in and work cooling to 38 degrees without any repairs or maintenance for decades, but a $5,000 wine cabinet need frequent repairs and replacements and often ends up dying inside a decade? Why is it so much more expensive yet with so much worse performance?
Capitalism
I know ZERO about this stuff, but it cools differently yes? A refrigerator will take moisture out of the air, but a cellar won’t. So, $4,750 for humidity? Well, and the cool blue light that only lights the top shelf.
It seems to me that wine cabinet longevity may be due to how tightly the temperature is controlled vs a refrigerator. Also there is humidity control as well so that may factor into the longevity equation. I just bought a Le Cache on craigslist myself and it wouldn’t even cool below 62 degrees with an old Breezeaire unit. 600$ in repairs later hopefully it performs a bit better.
On a side note: How does everyone monitor their cellar temperature? I am just getting into the hobby going from ~60 bottles of storage to about ~200. I am planning on using some smart temperature and humidity sensors that I can view plots online. I am wondering if I can look at the number of cycles per day of the unit vs. exterior temperature to look for shifts in performance to predict unit failure.
Thanks. Will give that thread a read.
VERY important!!! Better than your wine die than you do! (OK, not a ton better, but a little). This can be harder to do than you might think, since we spend so much time trying to seal our cellars to keep them cool, and there likely isn’t a window to open. Your CO2 alarm is going to be going crazy even if you have the place ventilated.
I’m not sure but maybe there is some confusion between Carbon Dioxide (Dry ice) and Carbon Monoxide.
I’m not saying Carbon dioxide is not dangerous and can cause oxygen depletion but not as serious as carbon monoxide.
Two different things and the latter is far more deadly. But in a wine cellar, built to be insulated from the outside world, dry ice is going to pump incredible amounts of carbon dioxide into the room, and that can be super dangerous.
Dry ice is considered hazardous three reasons:
Explosion hazard: dry ice releases a large volume of carbon dioxide gas as it sublimates. If packaged in a container that does not allow for release of the gas, it may explode, causing personal injury or property damage.
Suffocation hazard: a large volume of carbon dioxide gas emitted in a confined space, or other unventilated area (e.g. cold room) may create an oxygen deficient atmosphere.Contact hazard: dry ice is a cryogenic material that causes severe frostbite upon contact with skin.
Handling Dry Ice Safely
Dry ice must be stored in a well-ventilated location. NEVER store dry ice in a cold room, warm room, or storage closet unless adequate supply ventilation is provided.
Dry ice cannot be stored in any type of tightly sealed device such as an ultra-low freezer, plastic/glass container, or other enclosed space. Store dry ice in a stryofoam chest, insulated cooler or a special cooler designed for the the storage of dry ice (i.e. allows for the release of carbon dioxide gas).
I don’t have a CO2 alarm. The ice kept my wine cool overnight, was 59° this AM although there was a 4’ tall oak tree growing my in the cellar. Loves that CO2!
BTW the room is 24’ x 30’. We have no concentration issues.
The 20 lbs of dry ice will eventually turn into about 160 cubic feet of gas. So while the cooler itself is probably filled mostly with CO2 after a while, in a larger room the 160 cubic feet of gas will dissipate and be diluted pretty quickly. In a small walk-in cellar, however, it could be enough to have an effect (6x8x10, for example, would be 480 cubic feet, so you’d be at about 2/3 the normal O2 if all the CO2 remained contained - that’s roughly the equivalent of being around 12,000 feet in altitude. Shouldn’t cause anyone to pass out, but if you’re not in shape, and you expose yourself to that, could get a little dizzy.
Out with the old…
In with the new!
![[bye.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/984858d1d14f8b2f351499080ee63857219b69ad.gif "bye"){kind=small}
Voila, Saved!
And to your OP, that’s Florida 9 months out of the year! I still am in mourning by how much quality Bordeaux I lost following the 2004 Florida hurricane season where we had 3 hurricanes come through Central Florida in 4 weeks. My power was out for 3 separate periods, once for 10 days. We basically went to the moutain house for the month. And to think, much of that Bordeaux would be so perfectly drinkable right now. Lots of '95, though I will concede to still not be overwhelmed by that vintage.
Which begs the question, for those of you with big money cellars with specialized cooling units, how many include a replacement unit in storage and a generator in your cellar planning?
I have an appointment next week to price a whole house generator.
I use a room a/c with a fooler circuit and my replacement unit is on the shelf down at the local Sears (or Home Depot when Sears inevitably goes under).
I’ve been thinking about tossing some bags of ice in my cellar just to reduce the load on the cooling unit. Breezaire is now something like 12 years old. It’s going to go at some point.