Wine Fridge Fans

[PatC]

I am currently using a 16 bottle thermo wine cooler for my boxes. The temperature is steady at 66 and the humidity at 64(I love this combination). The only issue is that the fan inside the wine cooler is constantly starting and stopping and i am worried that it is going to quit working. Any thoughts on why the cooler may be doing this? Thanks

[brazoseagle]

Because it 's thermoelectric and they are built to break and they are built for a quick shelf life. The inherent flaws of thermoelectric are the complete opposite of efficient and reliable.

There you go Piggy (Ray) I've set it up on a tee for you, swing away.............

[PatC]

Possibly the worst reply I have ever seen. Thanks for trying

[Orion21]

Anything can break anytime.

I personally have a number of thermo units that have been running for years with no issues. One unit is a 50 bottle Vinotemp that I keep wine that is ready to drink. I keep the temp at 60 degrees and have for over 5 years. For two straight years it was located in a sun room that was neither heated or cooled. Our summers get HOT and the unit was constantly stressed during the summer with room temps in excess of 85-90F. If you get a good unit it should function without issues for years.

It's always good to do research before buying a wine cooler. When I bought the unit for my cigars I almost bought one with horrible reviews. Luckily buying on Amazon makes it easy to see if people have lots of issues with one unit or another. If you are worried make sure wherever you keep your fridge is easily viewed so you can check in on it whenever you want. Finally, I keep three hydrometers in my wineador to make sure what the unit says on it's temp readout is accurate. Good luck!

[brazoseagle]

Possibly the worst reply I have ever seen. Thanks for trying

You expressed a worry about the fans not lasting long due to overuse, and I merely pointed out the commonly known facts about the inherent shortcomings in thermalelectric technology. You posed a concern :: I provided facts that supports your concerns.

If the question posed was something other than "should I worry about the fans lasting and the fans constantly running ", then I grossly misunderstood your original post.

I've researched this topic in depth and have built several temperature controlled humidors ranging from wine cooler size to 21 cu.ft. upright deep freezers. Ray (Pigfish), has forgotten more about this subject than I know, you should search his 100's of posts about this exact topic or Pick his brain with your questions.

[PigFish]

While my friend David's reply appears somewhat boorish, I have to say that he speaks the truth on the matter (IMHO).

Disregarding any language that might offend one's work, there are facts about the differences between compressor type coolers and the Peltier type. David appears to prefer the compressor type, as do I. This does not mean that your project is somehow inferior to the work of others, nor does it imply that it can't or won't work. But it does reflect the knowledge and experience of many of us that have experimented with such devices in parts of the world that have high ambient temperatures that need to be overcome.

Speaking directly to your concerns, don't worry about it!!! There is nothing you can do except put the cooler in an air-conditioned room, thus bringing down the ambient, or turning down the desired cooling on your project and raising the internal temperature to the point where the delta on it and the ambient is less.

TE coolers are just not that efficient. While many will argue that they work for their projects, few will data log the results and demonstrate them. For the record, I will pull a data logger out of one of my systems currently testing changes and show you what I get and what I expect. I am always looking for a better humidor and always making a new one, or adjusting an old one.

The fact is, that a short cycle period should not really bother you. You have two choices. You either cool deeper off your set point, which will likely cause 20+ rH interior changes that will require a long time to recover from, or you short cycle the system and increase the frequency of the cycles keeping them closer to the set point. I have tried many ways and many systems and I prefer a short refrigeration cycle with shallower drops in rH. It is because I use a compressor type refrigerator and accurate controls that I can make these choices. With lesser efficient equipment, and lesser control programming, you are left with dealing with what "happens" verses what "you desire." That is, unless the two meet your expectations.

High cycle rates means that you will wear out parts! I just replaced a SSR in the system that I will be showing the data logs on. But I have yet to break a compressor... They are very robust. I have done it all to them! Short cycle them and shut them off based on evaporator temperature, try to restart them when they are under pressure, overload them, endlessly tripping their thermal breaker... and so on. You name the torture, I have put a crappy little compressor cooler through it.

While my controls use magnetic relays, I currently use SSR's to distribute power to various components and prefer using relays for line voltage outside my humidor and reducing the risk of being shocked by line voltage inside. I have burnt up relays! This is life! I have also killed power supplies and prefer to use models designed for low voltage controls now to the cheap AC/DC converters. But the cost of the cheap converters is a draw... I still use them. My systems are almost always running something. The set points decide what need to be done from minor corrections, where the desiccant silo and fans will run, to the deeper cycles where the whole damn thing comes alive.

As always.... if you are happy with what comes out of your humidor when you light one up and smoke it, that is all that matters. Many people, well most people are defeated by home humidor projects. Ultimately they simply unplug them and put them in an air conditioned room! If you are still using yours, paste on a happy face and know that you have a stronger constitution than many of your peers.

I am sure that I have read the words, "I just leave mine unplugged," at least 150 times now!!! Oh... and for the record, I have come close to writing those words myself a few times...

Cheers. -the Pig

Now for images:

... a 10 second sample data log for 1 hour period.

... same data with detail to 12 hour period

... same data 3 hour period.

... same data overall view.

If you have questions about what is going on and why, just post them. -Piggy

[PatC]

That is incredible information. Thanks for taking the time to explain all of that.

[Pilgrims]

and the "best use of a graph in a post of FOH" award goes to......PIGGY