Gadget grump

[dr_kromm]

I'm sure that at least 1% of you will give a damn . . . but as it has put me in a hacked-off mood, I'll rant here in public. That's what blogs are for, right?

<rant>

As our Real Life™ associates know, Bonnie and I are fans of wine (in the sense of "oenophile," not "wino"). Since we don't belong to the Moneyed Classes and can't afford a house with a wine cellar, we saved up our pennies and bought a climate-controlled wine cabinet in November 2001. This was modest – a mere 110 bottles in capacity – but well-built, and worked perfectly until May 2007, when the cooling unit abruptly expired. As anybody who has ever owned a display fridge knows, 5.5 years is neither great nor lousy mileage for the cooler in a box that sacrifices a thick insulated door for a thin glass pane. We ordered a replacement cooling unit and were back in business the same week.

This week, though, the new cooling unit is reading 20°C when it's supposed to be at 14°C. That's not good. Fortunately, the cabinet has very good seals, and the internal temperature is still in the safe zone. Unfortunately, it means that our replacement cooling unit has expired after a piddly 1.5 years. That's crummy whatever way you slice it. Naturally, we had a one-year warranty . . . so I guess another full-price replacement is in order.

Anyway, for those in the market for such things, be aware that the original Vintage Keeper-branded cooling unit is a workhorse, but that the Drobot-brand "Nuvo" units sold to replace these aren't so hot. Actually, they aren't so cool, which is the problem. I'd ask for alternatives, but the warranty on the cabinet itself requires us to use this lousy cooling unit. So take it as a friendly product alert.

</rant>

Comments

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

In summer 2007 our refrigerator, which had been working a bit less efficiently, started working a LOT less efficiently. As it, we turned the temperature control all the way up (or, really, down), and instead of freezing everything solid, it just barely kept in cool. Refrigerated food spoiled a bit more slowly than if it was out in the southern California climate. Fortunately, when I e-mailed our property managers (they require submission of maintenance requests by e-mail rather than phone, except in emergencies), and asked if they could do maintenance before it failed entirely and had to be replaced, the maintenance guy took a short look at it—and a couple of days later we had a new refrigerator. That's pretty decent service. I haven't always been happy with them, because they get tangled up in administrative issues, but they seem to resolve major habitability issues right away. But I suspect this was technologically very similar to the problem you describe, only with food instead of wine. . . .

[dr-kromm.livejournal.com]

Refrigerated food spoiled a bit more slowly than if it was out in the southern California climate.

Well, one good thing about Montréal in November is that if any of our cooling devices fails, we just have to put on a sweater and open a window . . .

Just-so Warranties

[trada1.livejournal.com]

I assume you are aware that if you take these folks to small claims court, you're likely to win a free replacement unit. A year and a half is *not* a reasonable lifetiime for a cooling unit and a judge wold probably recognize that. Now whether or not you have the time to bother with that, I don't know.

You might want to read this and watch the actual shows (it'll make you practice your French): <http://www.radio-canada.ca/actualite/v2/lafacture/niveau2_17085.shtml>

Re: Just-so Warranties

[dr-kromm.livejournal.com]

Now whether or not you have the time to bother with that, I don't know.

Ah, c'mon – you do know. ;) I live deadline-to-deadline and get paid by the hour. If I had to spend even two afternoons dealing with it, the lost income would outstrip the price tag. Not the full price tag, to be sure, but we get some kind of abated price for this being only the second year after purchase. We're out of full warranty but still get some freaky Nth-year replacement price partial.

[morningapproach.livejournal.com]

ouch, that is painful :( Hopefully you don't have to sink too much money into it to fix it up!

[dr-kromm.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's ultimately a luxury that nobody needs, but it's often painful when one's hobbies and luxuries take a hit, since you only get a few years on this rock. The cost . . . we'll see.

[spectre-eric.livejournal.com]

Would it be feasible to add some insulation around the front adn sides of the device, perhaps a water heater insulation wrap? That would reduce the workload of the device.


(In a min/max way, you could set it in a place where it is more likely to fail in 10-11 months, but that might void the warranty...)

[dr-kromm.livejournal.com]

Would it be feasible to add some insulation around the front adn sides of the device, perhaps a water heater insulation wrap? That would reduce the workload of the device.

The cooling unit is inserted through the back wall of the cabinet and cantilevered in place. Bottom, top, front, and sides project completely into the cabinet interior and cannot be insulated without reducing the cooling capacity (the manual very specifically warns against this). The back of the device is outside the cooled space and cannot be insulated because that's where the heat is pumped out. There's a seal around the unit's back edges, where it's flush with the exterior rear wall of the cabinet, but that's already very well insulated.

It doesn't appear to be the insulation. We tested for leaks and found none. Likewise, the compressor still runs and the thermostat is fine. The technician we spoke to is just about certain that we've lost coolant. Unfortunately, anybody but them recharging the unit voids the warranty completely, and they aren't local. Even if we didn't care about that, the cooler is a specialty unit designed for wine fridges, and its nonstandard configuration forces the HVAC technician to unmount and fully disassemble it first, which is several expensive hours of work. So perversely, it's cheaper to replace than to recharge.

[spectre-eric.livejournal.com]

Actually, I meant improving the insulation of the volume that the unit is trying to cool (the "cabinet?").

(I assumed that the back would have radiator fins of some sort)

[dr-kromm.livejournal.com]

Actually, I meant improving the insulation of the volume that the unit is trying to cool (the "cabinet?").

This cooling unit is futzed, but its replacement would live longer if we wrapped the cabinet, yeah. However, it's meant as an attractive showcase first and a fridge second; you can even get display lamps for the interior. The included insulation is unobtrusive by design, limiting how good it can be. We wouldn't want to change that – an ugly-but-efficient wine fridge for the closet or cellar is much cheaper, but we paid extra for a good-looking one for the dining room. That said, a selling point of these cooling units is that they're supposed to have the sort of duty cycle that lets them suck it up. The first one did. This one didn't, and that's because it vented its coolant . . . which is likely due to a mechanical flaw, not due to overwork. That's what has me pissed off.