Advice on refrigerated wine storage unit

[hotwine]

I don't take any winter precautions with the EC, and no, it does not have a heater. It's well-insulated, and the garage is also, so the temp in there probably never gets below 40F (although I've never measured it); we move wife's plants into one side of it when we're expecting a frost, especially if going to the mid-20's, and they've never gotten nipped in there.<P>Our old storm cellar, now refrigerated for wine storage, also lacks a heater. Still, it maintains a nice 57F year-around.<P>Be sure to investigate the impact on total capacity when you order special options like beefed up compressors and sliding shelves. Manufacturers seem to predicate their numbers on a user stacking his wines like cord-wood, and that's not the way most of us store wines.