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self contained wine storage - 5/5/2008 11:12:46 PM

jonpol

Posts: 13
Joined: 1/16/2008
From: Arizona
Status: offline

I'm looking at a Vintage Keeper 500 self contained wine cabinet complete with all the neccesities and fully functional. It holds 500 bottles and cost roughly 1400 dollars. Does anyone have anything to say about this cabinet ?

Post #: 1

RE: self contained wine storage - 5/6/2008 7:45:56 AM

rbazinet

Posts: 188
Joined: 4/13/2008
From: Toronto, Ontario
Status: offline

Jonpol,
A few friends and I each bought VK 110s. We have only had them for 6 months so I can’t really comment on their durability. Ours came with a 1 year warrantee, but that won’t be very helpful in 5 years. Apparently you can buy the cooling unit separately for a much more reasonable price (I haven’t checked into this), if it should fail. What can I say? In general these and other wine storage units are like cheaply made fridges (from an insulation and temperature range point of view) with a wood finish, tinted/UV proof glass window and significant markup. It maintains the temperature pretty constant (you can set it within your desired range) and it appears to be somewhat “vibration proof”. The cooling unit makes a bit of noise (fan) for about 5 min every hour or so. Something you might want to keep in mind when you pick a spot for it. It has a lock which is great if you have children (maybe even teenagers) around. There is a place on the bottom of the unit for odd sized bottles … if you start adding ports etc … you will quickly lose a space on each rack. My tone may seem a bit negative, but so far it has been great. I suspect the VK 500 would be more fun simply because you get to store more wine!

Enjoy,

Richard

(in reply to jonpol)

Post #: 2

RE: self contained wine storage - 5/7/2008 6:49:53 AM

scottr1968

Posts: 10
Joined: 11/1/2007
From: Virginia
Status: offline

I had a VK110 for about 6 years, and it did fine from a controlled environment. During that time I had to replace the cooling once. By the time I went to replace it the second time, they no longer supported the size I needed.

My father in law had the VK 220, and he went through two cooling units in about 3 years, and then ran into not being able to get a new unit. His cabinet still sits in his dining room with no cooling unit. He tried contacting customer service, and was never able to get help.

Due to the inability of VK to support us from a customer service level, I replaced my VK with a Le Cache, and the level of quality and customer support has been outstanding. But, it is definitely a premium $ over the VK series.

So long answer summarized - if you are looking for a short term, cost effective solution, VK worked for me (not so much for my father in law). If you are looking for a longer term solution, or are worried about customer support, you may want to expand your search.

(in reply to jonpol)

Post #: 3

RE: self contained wine storage - 5/7/2008 2:45:51 PM

GalvezGuy

Posts: 320
Joined: 5/10/2007
From: Galveston, TX
Status: offline

I have had a VK 220. Fro two years now, it runs perfectly, but it really has issues with bottles other than Bordeaux size. I have another stand alone unit that I use for the Burgs and Rhones and the long bottles.

_____________________________

If you're gonna be dumb you better be tough

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Post #: 4

RE: self contained wine storage - 5/16/2008 11:00:41 PM

jonpol

Posts: 13
Joined: 1/16/2008
From: Arizona
Status: offline

were you able to install the new compressor by yourself and if so is it an easy task ?

(in reply to scottr1968)

Post #: 5

RE: self contained wine storage - 6/5/2008 9:44:01 AM

fingers

Posts: 740
Joined: 8/26/2006
From: Santa Ana, CA
Status: online

Anyone have experience with these motor-less, Dometic units ?

http://www.silentcellar.com/

http://www.beveragefactory.com/wine/cellars/cs160d.shtml

Not the most attractive, but I like the efficiency stats and being vibration and noise free are a plus. Didn't find any customer reviews on their site, however.

< Message edited by fingers -- 6/5/2008 11:04:57 AM >

(in reply to jonpol)

Post #: 6

RE: self contained wine storage - 6/5/2008 9:57:45 AM

rjonas

Posts: 148
Joined: 11/5/2006
From: Newcastle, WA
Status: offline

I haven't personally but a friend of mine just went through a NIGHTMARE trying to get a cooling unit replaced in another type of economy wine cooler... Same issue as described by scottr1968; poor customer service, didn't have the original unit and the replacement was incompatible with his cellar...

I would second the suggestion of expanding your search and maybe looking at some of the "better" quality cellar makers like Le Cache... You'll spend a little more up front but over the long haul you'll likely be happier..

(in reply to jonpol)

Post #: 7

RE: self contained wine storage - 6/5/2008 10:33:31 AM

fingers

Posts: 740
Joined: 8/26/2006
From: Santa Ana, CA
Status: online

quote:

ORIGINAL: rjonas

I haven't personally but a friend of mine just went through a NIGHTMARE trying to get a cooling unit replaced in another type of economy wine cooler...
You'll spend a little more up front but over the long haul you'll likely be happier..

I didn't consider a $2500 cooler "economy" Are you talking about your friend replacing one of these coolng units? Please check the link. What I thought attractive about this was that there were no moving parts to wear out.

< Message edited by fingers -- 6/5/2008 10:34:51 AM >

(in reply to rjonas)

Post #: 8

RE: self contained wine storage - 6/5/2008 11:05:19 AM

scottr1968

Posts: 10
Joined: 11/1/2007
From: Virginia
Status: offline

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - busy month.

Replacing the compressor was very easy when they had the proper one. The problem (for both my father in law and myself) was that they changed the compressor size, and the new compressor no longer fit the cabinets we had.

(in reply to jonpol)

Post #: 9

RE: self contained wine storage - 6/5/2008 12:19:46 PM

rjonas

Posts: 148
Joined: 11/5/2006
From: Newcastle, WA
Status: offline

Sorry fingers, I was actually responding to an earlier post regarding some of the more economical (<$2K) units that are out there... My friend's unit was one of these not the Dometic units.

I did look at that Dometic unit and it looks pretty nice, if not a bit pricey... I wonder too about the capacity... I just poked around a little on their website and it looks like most of their products are <220 bottles.

(in reply to fingers)

Post #: 10