 Lasted about a year...OR SO I THOUGHT! |
| Date Of Review: March 3, 2010 |
| Reviewed by: ben smith, Seattle, WA United States |
I'd like to amend my previous review, which gave this unit one star for dying so quickly. Well, I just bought Cuisinart 16 bottle wine cellar to replace Haier (which I've had for 3 years, and it has actually stopped going below 65 degrees 2 years ago)) and when I took the unit to throw it out I noticed the back vent was completely plugged up with your standard kitchen dust bunny/oil gunk. I cleaned it off and plugged it into the outlet 12 hours after the Cuisinart. It has chilled the wine to 55 degrees for the first time in 2 years, and it did it in about 3 hours! It won't go any lower, and the ambient temperature is 67 degrees... but I thought it was completely dead and it isn't! Now I'm wondering if my Cuisinart will live up to it's promise as it's been 20 hours and the inside temperature is 62 degrees (I have it set on 55).
Update. Turns out that my digital temp/hygrometer is ALSO off by about 8-9 degrees. So the inside of the Haier was probably 48 at its lowest setting! So basically... it still works after 3 years and I didn't have to buy the Cuisinart!
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The perfect size
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| Date Of Review: May 12, 2007 |
| Reviewed by: Marcella G. Holloway, Renton, Wa. USA |
This wine cellar fits perfectly next to our refrigerator in the new home we built!!
Because it is black and silver, it looks like it was made to go with our black and stainless steel appliances!!
It works like a charm and is so quiet that you don't know it is there! |
Great solution
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| Date Of Review: May 9, 2006 |
| Reviewed by: Wine and Lit Lover, San Francisco, CA |
We received this unit as a wedding gift last November and have had no problems with it at all. We live in an apartment, and have very little storage space and not the largest kitchen you've ever seen, however, the fridge fits on the counter, and is amazingly quiet. Overall, the size of it is basically as we expected. It's a small refrigerator, and the idea that it would be as small as a microwave, or toaster oven is just unrealistic.
I was really worried about plugging the thing in and having it not work, but found the entire "installation" process simple, and when I heard the unit come to life after I plugged it in, I loaded it up with wine and haven't looked back. No problems, no worries, and wine at the perfect temp--every time we pop open a bottle.
Just to prove how much faith we have in this little guy--we recently took a weekend trip out to Sonoma, and bought some really decent wines, and wines that we have no intention on drinking for at least a year--and we trust this item with them.
I understand there are more expensive units out there, and that there are probably better units available with more bells and whistles--however, for $89 you just can't go wrong. Plus, it looks cool. It's a great option for people like us, who have an apartment, or small house, with no options for a wine cellar, or an installed unit.
Here are a few suggestions I've stumbled upon along the way, that could help you out....
Make sure the fridge is kept in it's upright position and that it's not turned onto it's side or upside down.
Allow it the luxury of having a designated outlet.
Afford it plenty of room to "breath".
Make sure you keep the fan, and underneath the unit clean and free from dust buildup.
So, get the wine out of the closet, and onto the counter.
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Unit lasted 6 months
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| Date Of Review: November 25, 2006 |
| Reviewed by: Bob C., Pittsburgh Area |
| Unit lasted 6 months. Will send another for $14.95. MUST have sales receipt! |
Too Big on the Outside, yet Too Small on the Inside
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| Date Of Review: January 10, 2006 |
| Reviewed by: D. R. Jeanclerc, Brunswick, OH USA |
First, let me start by addressing the other reviews that have been critical of the quality of the Haier Tabletop Wine Cellar. I've used mine for over a month with no issues, and I believe I may have an explanation for others' perceived problems. The unit works by cycling a cooling fan on and off as needed, so it doesn't continuously run like most refrigerators do. Also, its thermostat is extremely particular, i.e. if it senses that it's cold enough, you can't turn it down low enough to force the fan to kick on. Finally, remember that this is a wine cooler, not a mini-fridge, and that wine isn't meant to be kept as cold as other beverages. We have our unit stored in a pantry on the coldest corner of our house and it keeps the wine right while barely running the fan. These circumstances could lead to a misperception that the unit has completely stopped working when in fact, it's just accurately having an "off" cycle. If my Wine Cellar ever does truly stop working, I'll certainly update this review.
Potential dependability issues aside, there are still critical problems with the Tabletop Wine Cellar that keep it from being a realistic solution for most people. The most immediate one is size - when you pull it out of the box, you'll scratch your head wondering whether or not you really picked up the model for "Tabletop" use. Somewhere in the world, counters must be much deeper than where I live! I can't verify the dimensions that are quoted above, but the depth seems suspiciously small. Plus, the instructions for the unit specify that it needs several inches of clearance on the back and sides for ventilation. Taking this additional space into consideration, the Cellar is about the size of a microwave oven but much deeper. Our solution was to put it sideways on a microwave cart in a separate room; however, having to do so is a pretty big deviation from the way that it's advertised. In case you're planning on building it into a cabinet or bar as a workaround, the instructions prohibit that as well (again for ventilation concerns).
The second issue is that even as big as the Wine Cellar is on the outside, it's ironically cramped on the inside. Any bottle bigger than 750 mL will not fit unless you remove one of the wire racks, thus reducing it to an eight-bottle capacity (four 750 and four larger ones). Even if you stick with the standard bottle volume, some unusually-shaped bottles will still not fit. For instance, we found that the extra tall, skinny bottles of Chateau Ste. Michel have to be put in diagonally so that basically only one bottle fits per shelf and then you've got to be careful that it doesn't roll out when you open the door.
On the positive side, the unit is very quiet - even when the fan is running, it's no louder than the fan on a new PC. It's also attractively styled in black with the appearance of a brushed pewter frame for the glass door. The door seal and hinge both feel solid and sturdy. The thermostat actually does result in a range of temperatures, but this of course precludes storing white and red together.
To sum up, the Haier Wine Cellar attempts to do the impossible - providing a chiller spacious enough for a case of wine yet compact enough to fit neatly on a kitchen countertop - but ultimately can't quite do it. I haven't experienced any of the motor failure problems that others have described (yet); mine has been a reliable performer. Unfortunately, the additional workaround of where to keep the unit and what to do about the bottles that won't fit in it reduce the Wine Cellar to much less than a hassle-free solution.
PROS
* Cooling fan is very quiet when running
* Accurate thermostat provides a range of temperatures for whites vs. reds
CONS
* Way too large to realistically sit on any countertop
* Can't accommodate large or unusually-shaped wine bottles
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When it works it is great
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| Date Of Review: April 26, 2008 |
| Reviewed by: Julia Hatcher, United States |
I also got their product and it died after a few months.
I did get a replacement which took a while and they needed all the information you can think of before they would send the replacement.
But after another couple of months the new one died too. I will not bother wasting my time trying to replace it again.
But when it works it is a perfect size and it is very quiet. |
Died after one week!!
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| Date Of Review: October 13, 2005 |
| Reviewed by: el, |
| I received this as a gift in September filled with my favorite wines. The were all chilled the next day, enjoyed one bottle, and then the thing DIED. It doesn't turn on, run, nothing. Now I'm in the middle of trying to get ahold of a Baier "service center" ... :( |
Big Disappointment
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| Date Of Review: July 7, 2006 |
| Reviewed by: V. E. Salgado, San Diego, CA United States |
My wife and I received this Haier as a wedding gift. At first we loved it. After 6 months, it completely died. I spoke to Haier and they were willing to replace it, but with a purchase receipt, even after having told them it was a wedding gift. LUCKILY, we found out, around the way it was purchased through Costco; and Costco has the ULTIMATE customer service. So we returned it with no questions and received credit towards it's value; $96.00.
Don't buy this, it will set you up with a big disappointment. |
Big fizzle
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| Date Of Review: December 13, 2006 |
| Reviewed by: G. Neil Yates, Elizabethtown, KY USA |
| Mine worked fine for 3 months, then died a sudden death. It stopped cooling, but the fan still ran. It is not a deceptive on/off cycling as has been alluded to by one happy customer. It just plain croaked, suddenly. Ventilation was adequate. There was no recourse but to trash it. |
wish i had read the review
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| Date Of Review: November 7, 2005 |
| Reviewed by: C. Leahman, Richmond, VA United States |
| Please do not buy this item. If you want it for free, it is next to my garbage can in the alley. |
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