- Quiet & vibration free thermoelectric cooling system
- Digital temperature display
- Compact storage for 12 bottles of wine
- LED interior lighting
- 3 chrome plated pull out shelves
After a lot of research I decided on the New Air AW-121E 12 bottle wine cooler. There are a lot of coolers out on the market and most of them have reputations for poor performance. New Air seemed to have the highest ratings so I went with it. The third party seller Air & Water Inc is great. Free ground shipping was a nice touch, shipped very fast. Now for the cooler:
Installation was pretty simple, plug it in and screw on the door handle. The screws on the handle are fine, but the holes are not perfectly designed for them to be screwed in by hand (unless you're really strong) but they went in smoothly with an electric drill. I turned on the cooler and set it to my desired temperature 60 degrees F to keep red wine. Some bottles actually suggest what temperature to store the particular wine at. If you're not sure, just ask at you're local wine shop and they'll be happy to tell you.
It took about two hours for the cooler to get to the temperature I set and I confirmed it with a thermometer (impressive since it started at 85 degrees). The machine itself makes no real noise. If you listen really hard and there are no other sounds in the room you might hear a slight hiss of the fan, but you really have to try to hear it. This thing is quieter then my 20x more expensive regular fridge/freezer. I have yet to find a 750ml bottle of red that does not fit. Some of the fatter bottles stick in the shelf a bit and fit better on the bottom. Since I bought it for red wine its not really a concern, but it probably would not fit champagne both in girth and length of bottle. I haven't tried it, so I can't be sure. You might be able to fit one at the bottom at an angle. The stainless steel looks very nice and the blue LED is a cool feature. Overall if you are looking to store 12 regular sized bottles of red or white, you can't get a better product for the money. Not sure on the longevity, but New-Air seems to have a reputation for lasting a good long while.
Pros:
Excellent price
Easy Set Up
Silent Running
Attractive Look, LED for nice presentation
Great for a Small Wine Collection
Cons:
Will not accomodate super fat or long bottles
Three shelves so the last three bottles just sit on the bottom, I'm fine with this, but it might bother others.
*****
Update
I have had this cooler for about 4 months now and I absolutely love it. So much so that I bought a second one to store my growing collection of white wines. They look very nice next to each other. It took a little longer to get down to the temperature I wanted (51 degrees), about 8 hours which was still impressive as the room was around 80 degrees. Two of these is cheaper then one of those dual zone fridges, and they also work a lot better. They make a little noise (a faint fan sound) the first day when they're cooling down, after that they are still just as silent as before. Also, regular sized 750ml champagne bottles do fit, an added bonus.
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I've had this cooler running in a room with an ambient temperature of 68 72F for 24 hours now, and I'm just about to switch it off and return it because of its noise level.
Initially I set it to its lowest temperature setting of 50F, which it reached in about 8 hours with 10 room-temperature bottles in it. Its fan was running continuously for that period, but that wasn't unexpected. I left the cooler at that setting overnight to let it stabilize. In the morning the fan was still running continuously. No problem, as I intended to run the cooler at 54F anyway. When I reset the temperature to 54F the fan switched off for several minutes, but after that it kicked in and out every minute or so. Out of curiosity I reset the temperature to 60F and got the same result the fan switched off for several minutes and the temperature drifted up (quite quickly), but once it reached 60F it cycled on and off repeatedly. It's currently running for about a minute, switching off for about 30 seconds, then switching on again for a minute, in a 72F room with the cooler set to 60F.
Now, if the fan was silent or nearly so then that wouldn't be a problem, but sadly that it isn't the case. Maybe this cooler is faulty, but the fan makes a fairly loud and penetrating buzzing sound when it's running, with the speed spooling up and down as it switches on and off. The noise level is comparable to that from noisy fans on a PC, but because it's a buzz that rises and falls and switches on and off repeatedly it's hard to ignore or get used to, and it's audible from adjacent rooms.
Two other reviewers said that the noise level on their coolers was minimal while another said that the fan was quite noisy, so this might be something that varies from one cooler to the next. I don't think anyone would describe the buzz I'm getting from this one as minimal though.
Anyway, back it goes.
UPDATE
Within an hour or so of contacting Amazon to return this item I received a call from the vendor (Air & Water) to ask if I wanted a refund or a replacement. I talked it over with them for several minutes before deciding on a refund, and shortly after that I received an e-mail with a link to print out a FedEx return label at their cost. So, although the cooler didn't meet my needs I'm very happy with the service from Air & Water.
Read Best Reviews of 12 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler Here
runs quietly, compact fits on counter top, or on floor nice stainless matches other kitchen appliances. Keeps wine at a constant temp of you choosing.
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seems to be the best cooler for my needs. just the right size. the electronic temp readout display is most helpful.
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Been running for quite a few months now.Great wine cooler but to get 4 or 5 stars it will need the following:1.Better spacing of the racks. Some bottles are difficult to get in an out because the shelves are too close together.2. Figure out how to make it a bit quieter. Just a constant hum that is louder than I think a unit designed to be out on a counter should be.
