Cheap Thermoelectric Home Cellars
Cuisinart Wine Coolers offer affordable wine refrigeration and storage for wine lovers, though they tend to have quality issues according to user reviews.
Cuisinart is well-known for its stylish kitchen appliances and they expanded their line of products with small, thermoelectric wine cellars designed for freestanding countertop placement.
Unfortunately most models received negative ratings and reviews on online shopping sites.
Regarding storage capacity Cuisinart offers models from 8, 12, 16 and 32 bottle count.
Note: units with the Conair brand name are the same as Cuisinart models.
Main Features
- Design: silver cabinet with emulated stainless steel framed glass door. The door glass is dual pane and slightly tinted for blocking UV rays.
- Cooling Method: Cuisinart wine coolers use thermoelectric (also known as superconductor or Peltier) refrigeration technology. This method is applied in small fridges and wine chillers. The main benefits of this technology are that there are few moving parts (no compressor) so in theory there’s less chance of break down. They work best at ambient temperature less than 70°F (21°C).
- Number of Zones: all models have one temperature zone.
- Installation (Built-In/Freestanding): freestanding, venting is at the back, the coolers operate the best if they are placed in a room where the ambient temperature is less than 70°F (21°C). All units have front leveling legs.
- Temperature Range: 39- 68°F (4 – 20 °C)
- Temperature Control: electronic thermostat with one-touch buttons to set the temperature by 1 °F increments. Models: CWC-600, CWC-800 and CWC-900 come with 8 preset temperature to make temperature setting easier.
Setting the Temperature: Default setting: Mode 1
- Press Preset button.
- Choose Mode Number (1-8) by pressing Preset button repeatedly. Selected Mode Number
will blink for approximately 5 seconds. - LED display will show the corresponding preset temperature of the selected mode. It will
blink until the chosen mode temperature is reached.
Manual temperature adjustment:
Default setting: 7°C (45°F)
- Press Manual Set button.
- Press (+) or (-) button to adjust the temperature.
- Press Manual Set for confirmation.
- Temperature on LED display will blink until it reaches the desired temperature.
Display: blue LED digital readout, the coolers can be set to display temperature either in °F or in °C.
Interior Light: low-intensity LED lighting (light switch is on the control panel) with permanent On-setting. If the switch is in ON position then the light remains on until you turn it off. If the light switch is in OFF position the light will only turn on when you open the cabinet door.
Shelving: pull-out chrome-plated curved wire racks that are designed to hold standard shape 750 ml wine bottles.
Price Range: cc. $120 – $400.
Warranty: all models carry 3 year limited manufacturer warranty.
Are Cuisinart Wine Coolers Reliable?
Complaints, Problems Reported in User Reviews
What people say about their quality? Unfortunately most of the models got low ratings and negative reviews listing the main problems the owners experienced with their Cuisinart wine chiller model.
Pros:
- affordable price
- looks attractive
- easy to use (8 preset temperatures)
Cons:
- doesn’t maintain temperature
- heat-sink fan runs frequently
- loud (due to the moving fan)
- stops working after a couple of months or within 1-2 years
- condensation problems: plastic tray fills up with water and overflows
- in case of power failure (or even if a a slight power surge oocurs) most models reset to the default setting (e.g. 45°F in case of the 6-bottle unit)
Conclusion
If you’re not in a hurry to get a wine bottle cooler right now then wait and save for a higher quality home wine cellar or wine cabinet (Le Cache, EuroCave, Vinotheque).