Cooling unit recommendations

[strausj]

I am currently constructing a wine cellar in an old coal room in my basement here in Chicago. The room is 7x20x7, has 3 walls of stone (2 feet thick & 3/4 below ground), one wall is wood frame. The temp is ranging from 55 degrees in the winter to 72 degrees in the summer (outside temp 96 degrees). I would appreciate it if you could recommend a cooling system for this cellar. I currently have approx 300 bottles and plan to expand.<P>

[hotwine]

Howdy, Strausj, welcome to the board. If you'll look under this thread back in mid-July, you'll find a discussion under "Update on the quest for a storage solution" that bears on your request. I had the same kind of problem (although with more extreme temperatures), and it now seems to be fixed. Take a look at that discussion and see if it will help in your situation.

[Hal]

Your situtation sounds similar to mine. I have just moved into an 1899 Limestone rowhouse in Brooklyn, NY. The foundation is stone and though I don't know the thickness, I guess 12-18". There is a small extension off the back of the house that is 7'x 11', with stone foundation on three sides and a stone pillar on the fourth, or interior wall where the door to the rest of the basement is. My foundation is 100% below grade. My temperature results are similar to yours: on recent heatwave days of 95-98 degrees, the cellar reached only 75. I should make it clear that although do intend to keep wine there, I am by no means a collector, nor do I indend to cellar expensive Bordeaux for 20-30 years. All things considered, I am perfectly happy with what will be my passive wine cellar. I am wondering if you have considered keeping your wine cellar passive. I have read just as much in favor of my situation as I have about keeping the temp a constant 55.

[strausj]

Hal, thanks for your thoughts on keeping it passive. I have not heard much about that. Can you tell me where I can get more information on this? We do not intend to cellar our wine for long and all of it is intended for our own use. We do have a nice collection of Silver Oak and Cain Five that we want to maintain - but again, it is for our own collection. Any additional information on keeping it passive will be helpful.<BR>Thanks

[hotwine]

Suggest you get a copy of Dr. Gold's "How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar". He's a PhD in physics as I recall, and has written the definitive little book on the subject.

[Hal]

strausj, I suggest you take hotwine's advice and look at that book. There are those among us who would shudder at the thought of a wine cellar reaching 70-75 degrees for a few weeks in the summer. I am not among them. I like the idea of my stone-walled basement closet serving as a wine cellar without any fuss. Again, I am not collecting expensive wine to hold for years, just looking for an appropriate place to keep a few cases of wine safely out of the way. Maybe someday...