Wine cellar cooling systems...

[rden258]

Hi all. I am pretty new to the wine world, but I am thinking about creating a little cellar area in my basement. The temperature in my basement probably fluctuates about 15-20 degrees throughout the year, as summers can be in the 90s or 100s and winters can easily reach below zero temperatures, so I am thinking of buying a wine cooling system for a small space to try to flatten out these temperature fluctations. I have a question though. I have been looking into some of the different wine cooling systems (Breezaire, Koolspace, etc), and I am noticing they are pretty expensive for what they do. I am basically wondering if it would be just stupid of me to buy a wall mount air conditioning unit instead. They seem to be at least half the price of the wine cooling systems. I know the wallmount AC units don't keep a constant humidity, but I am not as concerned about humidity as I am temperature. Can anybody tell me if this is just a totally stupid idea? I am guessing it is, but I thought I would just check if anybody else has looked into this. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Randy

[Innkeeper]

Hi Randy, and welcome to the Wine Board. What do your basement temperatures vary from and to? What sort of humidity is maintained there? There is an excellent possibility that your basement in MN like mine ME does not need a termperature control system. That will enable you to save a lot of money, or spend more money on racking.

[rden258]

Sorry it took so long for me to respond again. I had to go buy a thermometer deal, as I don't have a thermostat downstairs. Anyways, it looks like you are right that my basement might be OK as it is. The temperature range thus far (only over the past 4 days) is between about 59 and 63 degrees. This is on days where it has been over 80 for a few days in a row. That should be OK as long as I am not storing for years, right? Thanks for the help.

Randy