I’ve been planning to buy a nice looking Le Cache 5200 for my living room, but I keep putting it off, and now I’m starting to have second thoughts about devoting that much space in that room to wine storage. And I’m a little worried about the noise from the cooling unit. So I’m considering other options. What are peoples’ experiences with running wine cabinets in (non climate-controlled) garages? I’ve looked at the cooling unit selection guide on Le Cache’s site, which seems to indicate that it should be ok (if at the top of the range). But I’m interested to hear real world reports. Can these things really keep up in a hot garage over the long run? Are there units that are better for that environment (if I put it in the garage, I don’t care as much about the “furniture” value – I just want it to be reliable)?
This is the temperature range in my garage over the past couple of weeks (probably not the hottest of the year, but getting up there).
I’ve heard of many people doing it with success, but it would give me real pause without extensive insulation. The units while very reliable are not infallible. If for some reason the unit failed to cool, would I feel confident in its thermal mass to maintain a safe temperature in summer before I was able to address it? (note: there is a high temperature alarm).
For myself, I’d prefer the peace of mind of having in the house where the temperatures are safe if for any reason the unit failed to work. Do you have a library or other sparingly used room? Or is a built-in solution an option?
Unfortunately, the storage of wine is a reality of our collecting.
I think it’s a mistake if the garage is generally warm. The unit essentially runs non-stop. I tried it in a garage and later in a closet that even had ventilation. I burned out two units. I had a mid-level quality wine fridge. Perhaps La Cache can handle it, but I would not do it for southern climates.
Incidentally, I have a normal refrigerator in my garage, for sodas and stuff, and it always seems to run and it sweats alot. I just replaced it. Didn’t care cause I bought as cheap of one as I could find.
Keep in mind that I live in FL where my garage will hit 100 degrees in summer. I do not know the temperature of the closet I used was with the fridge in it, but I doubt it got above mid-80s.
The cooling units in those cabinets cool 30 degrees less than the outside temperature. The harder the unit works the shorter the lifespan - they do sell a heavier duty unit which I would definitely recommend. There is no worse of a feeling than opening your cabinet to see the unit iced up and not cooling properly. My experience is that the units never seem to fail in the dead of winter.
I live in SoCal (near the coast) and I was in the same predicament. Did not have room in the house for a large unit so I bought a LeCache 5200 and I put it in the garage. It bought it in summer 2010 and did not have any issues. I bought the XTS CellarPro unit, which can cool at 55 with an ambient temp of 95.
In this situation, I made sure to keep the unit nearly full to keep the thermal mass up. I also monitor the unit with a laCrosse sensor that texts me if temp/humidity go out of bounds. The only warnings I usually get is the low humidity in the middle of winter, but usually it lasts a few days and its over. I also have a wine specific insurance to cover cooling unit failure. This worked so well for me that I bought another cabinet last fall to put next to the first one.
If I had the space, I would have liked a unit in my house for peace if mind if it failed ( I always get a little nervous when we get a heat wave, but according to the sensor data, everything is at 55 in the cabinets during that time).
Ironically, my small fridge in the house ( not lecache) is the one that failed, and thanks to a lacrosse sensor I put in it I found out pretty quickly.
Don’t do it. You’re already breaking 90° and you say it will get hotter. It may work but your unit WILL have a significantly shorter lifespan, these systems hate high heat (due to a combination of the refrigerant and oil).
Machines break and WHEN yours does you’re entire collection will be cooked.
If I had the chance I would keep the units inside the house, to guard against failures as other posters explained . However since I could not this is the solution I had to use and I encountered no issues.
I have two Eurocaves in the garage approximately 8 miles inland. No problems but in hindsight, I think we should have looked at building an insulated space with a cooling unit.
IIRC every cooling unit mfr claims their units can cool ambient temperature by 25 degrees. That means at 110 in a summer garage the wine gets to 85 potentially. A scary proposition if the unit is sized for the cabinet. On the other hand an oversized unit may be ok.
I have a custom wine room carved out of my third car garage with a very oversized Breezaire unit. I have substantial insulation and the room is kept at 53 degrees. The unit is three times the size needed and works flawlessly. If you can oversize the unit it may work ok.
Rather than looking to make something work outside of its engineered application range, you may want to considered looking in to a restaurant style walk-in fridge designed for outdoor placement. A friend did this for a Las Vegas home and it worked out quite well for him. The panels are camlocked and modular to make installation and later moving easier. He got it from a local restaurant supply store and they hooked him up with a servicing company that handled the setup and rigging the thermostat to work at 55*. Service is on call 24/7/365. They make smaller boxes that are comparable in price to the better ‘wine’ fridges (with racking being an additional cost), but they are far better engineered to accommodate the extra heat load created from garage placement. A quick Google search turned up this Master-Bilt 6’ x 6’ (7’ 6" height) with floor for $5,806 to your door. The refrigeration unit can be wall (side) mounted where ceiling height is a problem and exhausted to the outside. Used units turn up frequently and can yield savings, though require extra due diligence.
Z, the issue with that is that you’re still dealing with cost for modular/custom racking. Nevermind the fact that it’s pretty hideous! Not sure I would even want that in my garage!
If you mean this chart then it looks like you might have trouble maintaining 60 degrees if the garage gets much over 100:
I’d recommend saving a bundle, and gaining more peace of mind during the summer, by using the 1800XTS unit on a BILD3000 cabinet. Why pay up for fancy cabinetry in your garage? Heck, you could buy two of the BILD cabinets for less than the price of a single Le Cache 5200 and get more storage, and more peace of mind (they won’t likely both break at the same time, right?)
I too live in SoCal (Irvine). I put in a Vinotemp 600E with their WineMate HD cooling package into my garage in 1999. It ran a lot during summers, but never failed in 15 yrs. Feeling I was pushing my luck, I installed an CellarPro 1800XT unit 3 mos ago. So far, so good, and it appears to be a more efficient unit that cycles off and on less frequently than the WineMate did. Got the extended warranty which includes home service.
So, yeah, the garage may not be the most ideal place for a wine cellar, but it can work.
I own a le cache and its been in the garage for 3 years. We get over a 100 plenty of times. If your garage is reasonably well insulated you wont have any issues. Mine does NOT run all the time, and it keeps perfect temp.
I did upgrade to the most powerful compressor for my size (the 360 bottle size if I remember correctly).
I dont even consider it loud. If it were in my living room and I was trying to watch TV, then yes I could hear it, but in the garage, I hardly notice its running when I am out there tinkering around .
I dont know your climate but I know mine has had no issues and the temps range from 45 to 95 in the garage
