New house, new wine room, cooling questions!

Hi all, I appreciate in my last post you put at ease my concerns about locating my wine room next to my media room. Now, I have to make decisions on cooling.

Interior dimensions are 4’ deep, 8’ wide and 10’ tall, 264 cubic feet. I’ve researched until I’m blue in the face on if I want a self contained unit, a split system with the compressor outside, through the wall, etc etc and I’ve hit analysis-paralysis. We’re framing the house now, and I want to have my decision made soon.

I like the idea of the split system in that it would be quieter, and I’m not exhausting hot air into the house. However, my room is so small (264 cubic feet) that I think a self contained unit, like the Cellarpro 1800 series, wouldn’t have a problem with keeping a room that small cooled. Plus, I like the fact that I wouldn’t need a HVAC technician to install it, or replace it, if it ever goes out in the future. I live in a very rural area, where there are no wine room specialist, so I’m worried about running into issues with HVAC guys not wanting to work on those bigger split systems.

I know that noise can be an issue with these types of units, which does slightly concern me with it being next to my media room. Is it as loud as a window unit?

Anyone out there with a self contained unit that you are happy with, or conversely, wish you would’ve gone with a split system?

Thanks!!

I have always had split systems so am of no help on the single unit and noise. I would think where you mount a single unit and the proximity to the media room is key and if it can vent outside. I will say we have a cellar with a ductless mini split system which is super quiet. The old school split systems (liek in many walk in fridges) tend to have pretty noisy fans in the ceiling.

I also have a split system and highly recommend it over a self-contained unit.
Mine is a “commercial” system like what you would see for a walk-in cooler.
The evaporator fan is noisy, but only inside of the room as the wall insulation and door seals keep my adjacent rooms quiet.

As for servicing, if your nearest A/C guy can work on a house split system, he can work on your wine cellar unit.

I like the idea of using a mini-split, the evaporator is whisper quiet and looks a whole lot better than what i have. If you go that route, I recommend you up-size the evaporator, the higher air flow rate means less condensation and will keep your room at a higher relative humidity.

So are you both saying you have a regular (non wine specialized) ductless mini split? If so, I thought that was a no-no for wine cellars because it robs the room of humidity?

Yes, I have a ductless mini split. It needs a Coolbot to get the unit to cool to 55 degrees as they are setup for regular home A/C use. Here in NC my issue is I need to remove some humidity in the summer and use a de-humidifier. I’ve had active cellars in CO where I have needed to add humidity. Luckily managing humidity (for those that choose to do so) is pretty simple.

Thanks so much John! I actually was just reading through your post history on the Coolbot. Que another research rabbit hole!

Sounds like a Coolbot paired with something like a LG LA090HSV5 (charcoal colored 9000 BTU mini split) would be ideal, while saving $3,000. I’m in humid TX, so I may have to deal with some dehumidification for a couple of months.

Were you able to hide the coolbot wires and remote so it looks decent? Some of the pictures on their website/instagram show a wired jumbled mess that would throw off the aesthetics of a wine cellar.

Jeff, I am a function over form guy. I never use the remote as once it is set, no need. The temp probe wires etc are are visible. The coolbot and the blower assembly are over the entrance door on the inside so you only see it on the way out. But again I could not care less on those things but that is just me. I’m sure you can figure out the best locations to meet your needs on looks and function and make any tradeoff as needed. Big plus is a good HVAC firm can service the stuff as it just regular residential equipment with the coolbot added on. I’ve had this setup for 6 years and never had it serviced. It is pretty much as quiet as a ducted system I had in Boulder, CO.

Jeff,
Sorry if my post wasn’t clear, I have a “commercial” evaporator like what you would find in a walk-in cooler.
As for using a mini-split, if you increase airflow across the cooling coil (upsize the evaporator) the unit will not dehumidify the air as much.
Here’s a pic of my evaporator, it’s not pretty.
We built our house in 1992 and have replaced the system only once, and that was partially because my old system operated on R-12.
A4C72109-33F7-4F40-BC06-C54927DCAAD6.jpeg

Mike, My first split system looked a lot like that. It had a two fan tho. It was pretty noisy but again it was very easy to service by any professional cooler tech.

John,
Yes a bit noisy inside but you can’t really hear it outside the room. It’s also in a good location by my kitchen, laundry and garage but one side abuts my dining room. I also have the fan cycling with the outdoor condensing unit; a true walk-in would run the fan continuously.

What does make a pop You can hear outside the room is when the solenoid valve opens up. I use a pump down control scheme, a bit old school but it’s been very reliable.