N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim)

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

We installed this unit a couple months ago under a counter in our kitchen, in place of a trash compactor. In our experience, the cooler is good value for the money. What we've learned:

Summary: The refrigerator operates basically as promised and is sufficient to cool the wines I want to store at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It also installed easily in the same space as the old trash compactor it was bought to replace. Following are more detailed notes on what we've learned about operation and installation....

Operation: The cooler operates consistently to maintain 49~ish degrees (or warmer) internal temp. I have not found a way to hold consistent internal temperature below 49~ish degrees (though to be fair, I also haven't tried very hard). The bottom section generally will not go below 49. If the top section is set to a lower temp, it will cool and then rise again to nearly 50 before cooling off again; this is an endless loop that does not stabilize over time. If both are set to 49, both sections will stabilize and hold at about 50 (varying by a degree or so, no big deal). This is fine for us since we are using the cooler only for one type of wine and generally want it set about 50 degrees, but could be a disappointment if one was hoping to cool different zones at, say, ten degrees different temperatures or cooler than 50.

Placement: The directions will tell you not to install the cooler next to any heat-generating appliance (oven, refrigerator, dishwasher). It's worth knowing since the unit is marketed as a drop-in replacement for a trash compactor -- trash compactors do not have that same issue with heat and are often positioned next to other kitchen appliances, all of which generate heat. Per the directions, the cooler will function if installed in a warm place, but it will not be as efficient and will run more than if installed away from heat sources.

Conclusion: Our cooler has worked reliably (as described above) since we got it. The wines are maintained reliably. This cooler is good value for the (relatively small) price. The above notes would not change my decision to buy this cooler, but I do wish I'd known the above when buying and installing the first time around.

Service and delivery comments:

The delivery service works well as promised and met all promises in terms of timeliness and courtesy. It is worth noting that delivery will be scheduled for a block of time and requires that an adult be present to inspect and sign for the shipment. Since an independent shipper is used, this is slightly less convenient than normal drop shipment: You do not have control of this schedule -- You do have to wait for their dispatcher/scheduler to call to arrange a delivery window. However, in our case the delivery folks did go a little beyond the stated call; they did bring the box into the house (didn't just drop it at point of entry as the delivery commitment on this site might imply). Everyone with whom we dealt was kind, considerate, and helpful.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

It holds a lot of bottles of wine and pretty easy to get setup. Just make sure you get the dimensions correct when installing into a cabinet. My problem is how loud this thing is. Our refrigerator and dishwasher is so quiet and then you hear this beast. I would gladly pay another few hundred dollars for a quieter version.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

Doesn't take up a lot of space & holds the perfect amount of wine. Very attractive design makes a nice conversation piece.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

[...].It takes a while to get to the temp is says it is, and I don't think the thermostat is quite accurate. The fridge is very sleek and stylish and looks way better in our new house in the spot where a trash compactor used to be. I would say overall I am statisfied with this product but not overly thrilled.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

Whenever the refrigerator kicks on there is a high pitched whine that is very distracting and annoying. Everything else about the unit is great and it fits perfectly in the spot where our trash compactor was but I don't know if I can stand the noise.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

CAVEAT EMPTOR... You get what you pay for. While the look of this cooler is fine, and the price was attractive when we decided to purchase it, there are a few issues with this Nfinity 23 model. First, it is annoyingly noisey - it WILL drive you crazy. Second, the temperature yoyos quite a bit, so I am not sure what it is doing to my wines. If you are thinking of using this cooler as a long storage of your vintage wines, think again.

Also, during installation, pay close attention to the space you have on either side of the cooler. It has a strange door hinge mechanism that requires a little bit of free play, otherwise you will have difficulty installing flush with your cabinets and counter-top.

In a nutshell - I would not recommend this to those who want long term storage, don't want to deal with compressor noise, and have limited installation space. On the other hand, it has a nice contemporary look, which I like.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

Having issues with the unit maintaining proper temp. Maybe someone can give suggestions.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

It doesn't seem to hold the set lower temperature, and I can never get more than a 10 degree spread between the lower and upper temperature. I've chosen to keep the whites at their targeted temperature and accept that the reds are a little colder than the selected temperature.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

As mentioned, this product looks great and it was very easy to install into my cabinets when I remodeled my kitchen. I opted for this small dual-zone unit to have several "every day" bottles handy in my kitchen rather than having to go to another room to retrieve them from my larger wine storage unit. To that end, it's worked out very well.

One note, though: the compressor on this unit does seem to cycle frequently and it is considerably louder than most everything else in my kitchen. It is definitely louder than my full-size refridgerator, louder than my dishwasher, and, even, louder than the range hood on it's mid-speed setting. We can live with this as it's in our kitchen but I wouldn't recommend placing this unit anywhere you value peace & quiet.

Comments about N'FINITY 23 Compact Dual Zone Wine Cellar (Right Hinged Glass Door with Stainless Steel Trim):

The unit is attractive as a built-in. However, it is noisy - much more so than I thought possible. Temperature fluctuates more than it seems it should - could be due to a less than perfect dual-zone design. It looks so good that I'm trying to get past the noise!