Wine Cooler

[jv38]

I'm thinking about getting me a wine cooler. I'm thinking about a 24-bottle model. I saw a Haier 24 bottle wine cooler and an Avanti 24 bottle fridge. The Haier is cheaper but only have one rack so you have to accommodate all bottles one over the other. The Avanti have four racks for 5 bottles each and the bottom rack for 4 more bottles. The Haier is cheaper at $128 while the Avanti is $189.

I don't know either of those brands. Any suggestion would be a better buy?

[VouvrayHead]

i've heard mixed things about haier and avanti. i bought a wine fridge a few months ago and did a bunch of research...
i ended up getting this, which is more money, but i absolutely love it.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=APPL&pid=04614322000&subcat=Wine+Cellars

if you order it at a store, they'll get it in with no shipping. i have $3 humidity/temp readers at top and bottom of it. get an 6-8 degree differential between top and bottom.

[This message has been edited by VouvrayHead (edited 04-15-2006).]

[Innkeeper]

Go back a year or more on the Storage/Cellars/Racking thread for a lot of good information of this subject.

[jv38]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the Sears site and found antoher one for 24 bottles that cost 149 that looks good.

Kenmore use to be a good brand of appliances, not sure if the still are.

[andypandy]

Vouvray...I'd be interested to know who manufactures the Kenmore wine chillers. If you look on your unit, somewhere there should be a model number. If you can find that, it's possible to cross reference the actual manufacturer here: http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/sears.shtml (Kenmore is the Sears label, and the diverse appliances are actually made by a dozen or so different manufacturers).
I'm also shopping for wine storage as the hot Utah summer is approaching quickly, and I happened to be in Sears yesterday and checked out the Kenmores.

[hotwine]

JV, Kenmore once made decent applicance but I don't think that's still true. We bought a Kenmore "Elite" freezer-on-the-bottom fridge from them maybe 3-4 years ago (whenver it was they first came out), and have found that the materials used in manufacture are thin, flimsy and prone to breakage/damage. Pretty sorry for a 2-grand appliance. I'd look at the Vinotemp at Costco if I needed more wine storage.

[VouvrayHead]

heh, what do ya know? i looked up the model number and it's actually made by Haier!

like i said, we've been really happy with it. it's very quiet, looks nice, and works well. the interface is a bit funky and it's not at the temp. it says since there's a gradient, so two thermometers are a must.

[TheEngineer]

I was just gonna say that (cuz it looked exactly like my haier unit). Friends gave me the Haier unit as a house warming gift. It has actually worked just fine (I've also read about some of the issues). This is really more for wine that I am about to consume.

[andypandy]

Thanks, I thought it looked a lot like catalogue pictures of the Haier I had seen! I'm assuming it's the same unit, but for $150