Folks,
I lost my cooling system tonight. My 9 year old Kool Space through the wall unit just croaked. It was cooling a roughly 600 cu ft cellar and venting into a large home theater room in the basement. Looking for replacement suggestions. Given its location, QUIET is a big deal. Ideas? Would prefer to find a replacement with a similar size to avoid having to recut the install hole. Guessing the current cutout is roughly 10"x18". Would have to pull the dead unit to be sure.
WOW. I just looked up the Wispercool to help out but $1,600 + ???
Are you sure you can’t add some more insulation and go passive?
No, I need an active system. Looks like the closest replacement would be KoolR. Canadian company, but then so was Kool Space. Same cut out. About $600 + shipping. Would love to hear from anyone with this unit or anything similar. Main concerns are reliability and quiet functioning. Thanks for your thoughts Randy.
A tragedy would be cooking all your wine- sounds like you got off easy considering its snowing in CO right now!
Sorry no suggestions on units, I rely on passive cooling. Is it possible to locate the unit somewhere more remote (crawl space, attic, etc) and have it vent through ducts to minimize noise?
Tragedy? Hardly. On top of that, it gives you a reason to convert the home theater into a much larger cellar.
Rama,
You’re right that the current weather will keep me out of trouble over the next few days. Basement probably tops out in the mid 60’s if I keep the thermostat down. The stash will be OK, just whining a bit. Too much invested in the present set up to go another direction. I’m sure I’ll find a decent replacement. Thanks for the thoughts.
Chuck: any plan to enlarge the cellar would lead to legal proceedings in which my wife would doubtless become the sole owner/occupant.
KoolR is the rebranded KoolSpace btw
Funny!
Yeah, when I read this I expected to find out all your wines were cooked. Just losing the cooling unit is hardly the end of the world… ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Cooling units will not last forever. Some last longer than others. It can be a crapshoot. In my standup unit I had one of those units that were famous for failing earlier than one would consider reasonable. But mine lasted 14 years! I got lucky as for 8 of those years it had to work (flawlessly) in a garage where it could get very hot in the summer. I replaced it with a Cellarpro 1800XT. Top of the line for a non split system. But that’s my story. Not really helpful to your situation.
What people really need to keep in mind when designing a more elaborate built in cellar with a split system is, that the unit they install WILL fail. Maybe sooner, maybe later. And if it needs to be replaced, will they be able to buy a similar unit in the future? For that reason, if I was designing/building a built in/split arrangement, I’d make sure I bought a top of the line unit from a manufacturer that will hopefully be around in the future for service or replacement. Not a good place to go less expensive if the budget is tight.
I have a couple of friends with cancer. Can we stop calling minor normal life tragedies?
OK. I am getting ripped for using Tragedy in this post’s title. “Guilty”. This was not a tragedy or anything resembling one. Inappropriate hyperbole. Won’t happen again, though I would say, if you are looking for the “outrage of the week”, this would not be high on my list.
And where would the wine industry be without hyperbole?
To John: “Quote of the vintage!” For a day or so, anyway. 
I have a Koolr freestanding unit and the cooling unit is very quiet.
I had a similar event a couple of years ago, except it was summer in Las Vegas. I had a Wispercool and managed to get a new unit within two days. Insulation and thermal mass kept me OK. I got the newer version of the old model which had exactly the same dimensions so it was quick and easy to replace.
I have a KoolR unit on order. The supplier was nice enough to 2nd day air it to me for no extra cost. Should be here Wednesday and looks as though it will not require a new wall cut or carpentry. Stay tuned, but it looks like a painless solution. Thanks to all.