May 17 2010
18 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler Digital Control
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 | Brand EdgeStar Model TWR181ES Price $164.00 List Price $. Buy Button  |
Store up to 18 bottles of your best wine under optimum conditions in this EdgeStar Dual Zone Thermoelectric Wine Cooler. While your wine enjoys the optimal temperature and humidity conditions within this wine cooler, you get a wine cooler in one of the most stylish finishes available with fully digital temperature controls. This thermoelectric wine cooler features a premium metallic silver finish door trim with double paned tempered glass. The tinted glass door protects your wine from harmful light. The interior of the wine cooler features insulated dual temperature zones with scalloped chrome shelves to cradle and display your wine. As if the above features weren't enough, this wine cooler also boasts ample room for 18 bottles (even fitting many longer and wider wine bottles that won't fit in similar wine coolers), auto defrost, two temperature zones for different wine varietals, and more! For a great way to store up to 18 bottles of your best wine, the EdgeStar Thermoelectric Wine Cooler is the perfect choice. ....read more
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 | EdgeStar 18 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler - Digital Control End Time: 2012-02-10 01:42:16. Time Left:2 Days 2 Hours 45 Minutes 45 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 229.00 #Bids: 0 Bid Now |
 | EdgeStar 18 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler - Digital Control End Time: 2012-02-10 16:49:08. Time Left:2 Days 17 Hours 52 Minutes 37 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 200.95 #Bids: 0 Bid Now |
 | New EdgeStar 18 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Fridge/Cooler - Silver/Black End Time: 2012-02-10 17:48:20. Time Left:2 Days 18 Hours 51 Minutes 49 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 185.00 #Bids: 0 Bid Now |
 | HAIER 18 BOTTLE DUAL ZONE FREESTANDING SLIM TOWER WINE COOLER CELLAR HVTSM18DABB End Time: 2012-02-10 18:39:51. Time Left:2 Days 19 Hours 43 Minutes 20 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 178.49 #Bids: 2 Bid Now |
 | Haier HVTB18DABB 18 bottle Dual Storage Wine Cellar End Time: 2012-02-12 15:10:16. Time Left:4 Days 16 Hours 13 Minutes 45 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 80.00 #Bids: 0 Bid Now |
 | Kalorik Dual Zone 18-Bottle Wine Cooler. BRAND NEW! End Time: 2012-02-12 20:44:58. Time Left:4 Days 21 Hours 48 Minutes 27 Seconds | Current Bid: $ 150.00 #Bids: 0 Bid Now |
Buying this product is a crap shoot
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I had my cooler for just over a year before it stopped working properly. Before that, I liked it a lot. It was about the right size for my needs, had a decent ratio of white wine space to red wine space for my liking and although the fan does run constantly as noted by some of the other reviewers, the unit is in the garage, so that was not a big deal.
Then, about a month or so after the first anniversary of the purchase date, the fan began making a lot of noise. I moved the unit to reposition it and the fan stopped making noise but also stopped keeping the wine at the set temperatures. At that point, I called customer service and the representative informed me that I had what they call a “replacement” model. In other words, it can’t be fixed, it can only be replaced.
At that point, I decided to write a letter to the company, just to see if I got any response, attention, or any acknowledgment at all. Nothing.
So, I am now searching for a new cooler and the next one purchased will definitely not be a Haier product. This is unfortunate because at first I was a staunch supporter. But it seems that this is a product that works on the crap-shoot theory; it might work well for a long time, then again, it might not. If you’re willing to waste a couple of hundred dollars, go ahead and buy this unit. Otherwise, my advice is to hold onto your money and do more research until you come across a more dependable, longer lasting unit.
They refuse to provide service for their product
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
My 18 bottle wine cooler failed after 17 months. It would not cool. I called wine enthusiast and they thought the problem could be fixed by installing a new circuit board. They sent me a new circuit board (at no cost) which I installed. This did not fix the problem. I called them again and they told me they could not help me. I called/emailed them several times to try to get service for this product. Wine Enthusiast has never responded to these requests for service or information. So I am now stuck with a Wine Enthusiast wine cooler that does not cool.
Do Not Buy This Piece of Junk!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’ve had my wine cooler for a year and a half; however, after 1 year it began to slowly die. Of course when I called the service center it was 1 month after the warranty expired and I had to pay $25 per fan, two of which have already needed to be replaced and the unit still isn’t working. The service center consists of 1 guy who isn’t very accommodating, understanding or very knowledgeable out side of the “well, these things aren’t made to last, you have to replace parts” attitude. As of now I can’t store reds in the unit at all because the average temperature level is around 68-72! The white section won’t spoil my wine yet, but its not the 43-45 that it should be. At this point I’m just waiting for the unit to die completely so I can call the junk man to come haul it away!
Something this expensive should last A LOT longer than 1 1/2 years!
Great product for the money.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A couple of things I want to get out of the way first thing. This appliance cost me $189.00 with shipping. It is not an expensive appliance so if you are expecting 100% humidity, the ability to stay cold in your garage, or completely silent operation you may be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you keep your house or apartment fairly cool then you will have the ability to keep your wines at whatever temperature you most enjoy them along with fairly quiet operation.
-Cooling Ability
In regards to the unit’s cooling ability I was initially concerned that any thermoelectric cooler wouldn’t be able to stay cool in my apartment. From about 9:00PM to Noon the next day my apartment stays a relatively comfortable 76-77 degrees. However, starting at around 1:00PM the sun begins to hit the west side of my apartment and by late afternoon my AC cannot keep it cooler than 81 degrees. On occasion the temperature inside my apartment will hit 83 degrees in the afternoon even with the AC on. The good news is that this cooler can hold its own in these conditions. Because it has plenty of time during the night and morning to get down to its 50 degree setting it only drifts up slightly during the few hours of heat inside my apartment. In fact, I have not seen it get above 52 and usually it stays at 51. If you keep your place below 77 degrees you will not have difficulty getting the upper part of the cooler into the 40s from my experience (the lowest setting is 45). The bottom section stays at a rock solid 55 degrees in my apartment.
-Noise
It sounds like some people are buying this with the expectation of silent operation. I read the reviews so I knew it was going to be noisy, but from the reviews I read you would think it sounds like an aircraft trying to take off. It does make noise, but I have it on the other side of the wall from my living room and it is very difficult to hear. As long as it is one room removed from where you like to read, surf the web or whatever it should be fine. The TV easily drowns it out even in the same room.
-Other Thoughts
It looks nice, has a blue digital read-out on the front and a nice interior light. Overall, I am pleased with how it looks next to my bar. Mine arrived well packaged and with no damage which was a concern for me as I had read a lot of reviews reporting damage during shipping. In a year I will follow up to let you know how reliable it is. A couple of my taller wine bottles don’t fit and champagne is a tight squeeze.
-Conclusion
I love it thus far. As long as it continues to perform the way it has it will be $189.00 well spent.
Fun toy with a couple drawbacks
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Initially had this cooler “built in” in a counter vacancy which left about 2″ of space on each side and above, but it didn’t cool at all. It’s not a front-venting unit and needs a lot of space around it. Now that I pulled it out and have it free standing, it cools excessively. I’ve set the “red” lower compartment is set to 65 degrees (the highest allowable temp), but is always at 48. I set the upper “white” compartment to 55, again the highest setting, and usually is 55. So the White area is actually warmer than the red, but it is a constant temp.
Also, many white or champagne bottles with the larger diameter don’t fit, which is unfortunate if you want to chill champagne or white wine.
It’s been quiet and convenient, though. It’s much nicer than having a case of wine floating around in your fridge! And it impresses your friends and looks nice with the light.
Not a reliable product
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I have tried 2 of these in the past 3 months. The first one started to heat my wine after 2 months use. The second one started to heat the wine after 33 days. It is very noisy and it has a lousy warranty. I don’t recommend this product.
good value
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Dual zone temp is nice and the unit looks good. I also didn’t like the constant fan noise but, as someone else mentioned, I uscrewed the backplate and cut out the punch outs behind the two fans with a sabre saw. That cut the noise level by roughly about half. Also put a wattmeter on the unit. It draws 130 watts but after it reaches the specified temps it drops back to a 70 watt draw. So even though it runs constantly, the power consumption is not too bad. Considering the low price, it is a nice unit.
adequate – not great
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I don’t have a whole lot of good things to say about this fridge, because the good things are all too general. The bad things are specific and easy to write about.
This one seems to be well made. It doesn’t feel cheap, and the door seals well. I keep it in my basement where I haven’t had any trouble with temperature or noise.
The bad things: Tall wine bottles do not fit, nor do some bottles when you put a vacuum stopper in. The light switch is inside (not a big deal). The fan runs all the freaking time (the cooling unit does not), so it draws a lot of power.
It has room for six bottles in the top compartment, and nine bottles below. The temperature in the top can only be set for white whine, and the bottom for red. This is strange, because you’re more likely to run out of room for white, yet it’s reds that can be stored at room temperature. We often have a bottle or two of white sitting on top of it, waiting to be chilled.
I would have rated this three stars if the fan ever kicked off.
uncool cooler
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Bought a 24 bottle cooler from this manufacturer exactly 12 and one half months ago. It has stopped operating efficiently. Will call to see what kind of customer service one gets and report back to all. Anubis
Decent dual zone cooler for the casual wine drinker
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Serious drinkers/collectors should spend the money for a better product.
However, if you are a casual drinker on a budget, this is a decent dual
zone wine cooler for the price.
There are two zones with independent cooling and temperature control.
The top zone is rated as 44-55F but the lowest I’ve gotten it with 70F
ambient is 51F. It can maintain a fairly constant 55F in 80-85F ambient.
The bottom zone is rated as 54-64F but the lowest I’ve gotten it with 70F
ambient is 57F. It can maintain a fairly constant 64F in 80-85F ambient.
It uses a basic automatic on/off control system. If the internal
temperature goes above the target temperature, cooling turns on. If the
internal temperature is at or below the target temperature, cooling turns
off. If you set the target temperature to the lowest it can actually
maintain based on your ambient (55F/64F in my case), you should expect 1-
2F fluctuations. If you set the target temperature to 1-2F below the
lowest it can maintain (54F/63F in my case), you should expect 0-1F
fluctuations.
Each zone has an internal fan that constantly runs to provide air
circulation. The two external fans in the back constantly run as well
and give off a low humming noise. It’s noticeable in a quiet room but
easily drowned out by daily life.
The blue backlit LCD display is easy to read and the temperatures are
easy to set. However, they decided to put the light switch on the inside
for some reason. One light switch in the top zone turns on two LED
lights, one in each zone.
Internal dimensions (WxDxH) are roughly 10″x11″x6.5″ for the top zone and
10″x11″x13″ for the bottom zone.
Great value for dual zone, but noisy
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I found this to be a great value and exactly what I wanted, although it is pretty noisy. I think it is just noisy enough (constant fan noise) that I will keep this in the garage (this is my first wine cooler so I don’t have others to compare to in terms of noise). So far this does a great job of keeping my wine cool.
An adequate piece of equipment
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This wine cooler is alright when one considers the price (under 250 bucks) and the ability to have two different zones for whites and reds. That said, I echo other comments about the excessive fan noise and operation. I ended up sticking it in a back room where the noise could only be heard when one enters the room.
It appears to have difficulty maintaining a constant temperature and often goes +/- 2-3 degrees. I can’t imagine this is a huge problem for a bottle of wine, but I certainly wouldn’t recommending sticking any high-dollar vintages into this “starter” cooler. It, however, does the job for a guy like me who is just beginning to appreciate and collect wines.
Don’t even try to get constant temperatures if your ambient room temperatures are going to be above 80 degrees (like in Florida). In other words, you better keep the room where this thing is kept in the mid 70s. Otherwise, temperatures for both the upper and lower zones will be in the mid to upper 60s no matter what.
Constant fan noise
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Fan runs constantly! Enclosed documentation says “this is normal”. Since the fan is always on and is not a particularly quiet fan, this cooler actually makes more noise, on average, than my standard refrigerator.
1 yr update:
I have found that it isn’t really the fan that is noisy per se, but the design of the sheet metal backing – the area over the fans block enough of the air that significant noise ensues. A much quieter cooler can be had by removing the backplate or Dremel/jigsaw/hacksaw modification to remove the area over the fans.
Another unfortunate issue – there is actually a third fan inside case, whose heat sink has a bad tendency to ice over; the ice actually gets large enough to touch the fan, and then this cooler gets REALLY loud. Taking the back and first two fans off to reach the third fan is not too much work, and has to be done (for my system) every 6 months or so to defrost this fan – YMMV, based on your local indoor humidity, I’d guess. Overall, I’m happy enough with this cooler now to upgrade to 4 stars.
Great price for a dual zone
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this cooler for my dad’s birthday and he loves it. Shopping around I couldn’t find another 2 zone wine cooler under $300. This model is not only cheap, but it comes with digital gauge so we can see the temperature for each of the zones. I went out to the seller website and was able to find wood shelves to make it look even better.