By Wine Princess from Warsaw, IN on 7/30/2008

My husband built a wine cellar/cooler in our kitchen. Over several years, we have had to replace two WhisperKool units (at twice the price), so we decided to try this unit. So far, so good!

The unit arrived from The Wine Enthusiast in what looked like a very sturdy, protective container with very good packaging. Unfortunately the back of the unit was slightly bent, which was not a tragedy but not very pleasing, either. I've also just found out, because my new cellar has just now been completed, that one of the digital readouts doesn't work.

The unit itself is just ok. It is NOT quiet, though, and I can hear it upstairs in my bedroom through layers of insulation, sheetrock and flooring. Despite the care with which the cellar was built, including the vapor barrier and all other important design elements, it is not terribly efficient and rather expensive to run so far, even in my moderately cool basement setting. It also seems to throw off more condensation than I expected for a northeast US location, which required me to run a long and rather unattractive drainage tube through the cellar wall and into my french drain, somewhat detracting from the look of the cellar.

This is no winner.

In retrospect I would happily pay more for a better unit that is quieter, less bulky and more energy-efficient. Depending on my longer-term experience I will likely upgrade and unhappily have to eat this investment.

By Woody the wino from Martinez, CA on 7/8/2008

I use this product in a small (140 cu. ft.) wine cellar. It does exactly as advertised and cppls the cellar to 55 degrees. I'm very well satisfied.