 | | VinoCellar.com Wine Forums | |
| |
| | | Author | Messages | |
ChangeMe
Grape Picker
Posts:2
 | | 07/10/2006 4:26 PM |
| This is my first post here and hopefully it is in the right place. We built a house a few years ago and had a ~100 sf room built under a deck to eventually use as a wine storage room. It is on the main floor and we had the builder over-insulate it with rigid board insulation and we followed all of the building steps outlined in the How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar book. I am now trying to get it ready so I can start collecting and storing wine. However, I can't decide what to do about a cooling unit. The best of course would be a split system but that's just too expensive. Then there are a couple of wall units that can vent to the outdoors but they are still on the pricey side. The next step down would be a wall unit that vents inside the house but it would have to vent into our kitchen which is open to the family room so any significant noise from the cooling unit would be unacceptable. Finally, I could install a regular A/C wall unit that would vent to the exterior but I know that it is not an ideal cooling method for a wine room. However, given our other options and our situation it may be the only option we have right now.
So I guess my question is, does anyone know how effective a regular A/C unit would be in cooling a main level wine room? We live in southern Washington and nine months of the year are nice and cool while the other three can get quite warm (up to 100 degrees). My main concerns with using an A/C unit are vibration, air quality, humidity, having it constantly running and whether it can lower the temp of the room enough to adequately store my wine. If anyone has any comments on this issue whether about using a regular A/C unit or any of my other options it would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
Matt | | | |
| JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Lover
Posts:4982
| | 07/10/2006 6:01 PM |
| Matt: Welcome aboard.
Quote:
Then there are a couple of wall units that can vent to the outdoors but they are still on the pricey side.
You have invested money in a dedicated space built to hold wine, and you are ready to invest lots (and lots) more to fill the room. Now is not the time to quibble over the cost of a proper cooling unit. My understanding is that conventional AC is just too cold, powerful and humidity sucking to be appropriate for a 100 sq. ft. area that will hold wine. You'll turn the room into a meat locker. Consult a cooling unit professional who can advise you on the best venting method for a proper unit, whether that be to the outdoors or to the interior. Cooling a 100 sq ft room should not be terribly costly, especially in comparison to the value of the contents that the room will eventually hold. | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
| Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9054
| | 07/10/2006 6:08 PM |
| | Check out Paul Galli's $400 Kenmore solution (I am not endorsing this solution, but it is certainly interesting). | | | |
| Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4767
| | 07/10/2006 8:09 PM |
| Quote:
having it constantly running
Actually, Matt, this is a god thing. You don't want wide temerature swings, so it is better to have a smaller unit that runs longer. Our wine room is bigger than yours, but we still have only a 1/2 horse motor that runs about 18 hours a day in the summer. | | | |
| GreenDrazi
Atlanta, GA
Grape Puncher
Posts:917
| | 07/11/2006 12:02 AM |
| | A window A/C unit can work if the humidity in the area is above average. Here in the Southeast, I have a problem with too much moisture. The better new A/C widow units can cool down to 60 F. and even lower if you trick the unit. See EW’s link mentioned above. Please note that these new units have a fan that will run 24 hr’s a day regardless if the unit is cooling or not which could be a noise problem if venting to a living space. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Stomper
Posts:199
| | 07/11/2006 8:51 PM |
| I've put a window unit that vents into my furnace room. With a properly insulated room it keeps the temp at 55, with a 65% humidy. I did have to trick the thermostat (by moving the probe a little bit away from the original location). It is a tad loud (like most window units) the fan runs constantly (the compressor comes on about every hour or so. Almost no temp swings (gets to 57, the compressor comes on, cools it down in about 2 minutes, goes back off). I think it is great. The ultimate in QPR.
Brian | | | |
| ChangeMe
Grape Picker
Posts:2
| | 07/11/2006 10:13 PM |
| Thanks for all of the great replies. So far this board has been great. I looked at many of the tasting notes and it got me pretty psyched to get my collection going plus I found all sorts of other useful info throughout the site.
As far as the cooling unit, I think I will try to A/C unit to start. The room is pretty well insulated and I installed a vapor barrier on the walls and ceiling. I can always add another layer of rigid foam insulation over the drywall if I need to as well. I talked to a local builder of wine rooms and they convinced my not to use a unit the vents into the kitchen as there will be a dicernable noise from it and it will vent warm air into the kitchen. He said the Wisperkool units work well as they can be vented to the exterior and the bottle proble feature sounds nice. However, he said they usually only last about five years before it comes time to buy a new unit and at over $1000 that could add up over time. I could probably swallow that but I doubt my wife could. He said a split system would be the best solution and I agree but once again, at $3500+ I don't think I could get my wife to go along with that. So, at least for the time being that leaves me with the A/C unit solution which sounds like it has worked for many of you anyway.
I think what I will do is make the outlet that the unit plugs into a switched outlet and somehow rig a temperature sensor that will turn the switch on and off as needed so that I do not have to let the unit run continuously. I have a pretty comprhensive home automation system at home so I don't think it will be too tough to find a solution. I would also love to determine a way to convert both the above-mentioned sensor as well as the A/C unit so that they measure bottle temp rather that room temps. Anyone have any ideas on that? I will also use the temp sensor to moitor the wine room and send alerts to me if it goes above a specific temperature.
Alright, so I have my plan and now I need to put it into action. Thanks again for all the advice and if anyone has anything else to add feel free.
Matt | | | |
|
| | You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
| |
ActiveForums 3.7 |
| |
| |
|
| | Proposed Change to American Viticultural Appellation Naming Standards Monday, March 10, 2008
| Wine Primers - Links to Your Wine Education Tuesday, February 12, 2008
| Wine Country Report: Day trip to the Willamette Valley Monday, February 11, 2008
| VinoCellar's Favorite Wine Links Saturday, February 09, 2008
| Wine Retailer Reports - Thanks Winetex! Monday, February 04, 2008
|
|
| |
| |
| |  | Membership: |  | Latest:richard09 |  | New Today:1 |  | New Yesterday:0 |  | Overall:1962 |
 | People Online: |  | Visitors:98 |  | Members:5 |  | Total:103 |
|
|
| |
| |
|