Has anyone attempted to replace a wine cabinet (winemate 1500 size) cooler with a small window unit and a coolbot? I’m wondering whether the back condenser marginally protruding, and closing passive side vents off to ensure the unit can be contained fully inside the cabinet is sufficient? Most have drain holes that can be directed to a suitable place.
I know it’ll require a bit of hacking around to get it tightly ducted alongside crafting suitable mounts…but assuming those side vents being blocked off don’t upset them too much (and having looked inside these things, I don’t see why it would) - it seems feasible?
Adding a report here: after 3 months of usage, I say Coolbot rocks. These would cost $25 if mass produced (it’s just some wires, plastics, a thermometer and a microchip), but it is still deal. It has worked exactly as advertised.
I had been using a kenmore with the thermometer pulled away from the fins so it would cool below 60F, but this only worked well (ie getting the cellar to 55-57F) when it was quite hot outside and the AC’s fan ran a lot without the compressor kicking on. The Coolbot has addressed both of these issues.
I went with this method instead of a $2000-$2500 wine chiller after reading too many stories about the chiller dying 2 months after the warranty ended. If my AC unit dies, I’m out $300 only. The only downside I can see to my setup is the noise — window AC units are pretty loud (though mine only runs for about 25 mins a day so far); dedicated wine chillers are much quieter. Some would also think about the humidity, but at least in Colorado I’m told even dedicated wine chillers don’t add enough moisture alone (meaning supplemental humidity is needed for both methods).
I ran one in the basement. The basement was huge and there was nothing else in it except the wine cellar and a bunch of tools and the washer/dryer. I ran it that way for years with no problem. Paid something like $100 for the unit at Home Depot and a few years in bought a second one as a back up just in case, which in retrospect was dumb because I could have always run down and picked one up.
There was very little condensation to worry about. I just ran a polyester cord from the drainage hole to a bucket below so water could just flow down that but even in humid NYC, there was never more than a spoonful on the worst days and most of the year it was dry.
Noise wasn’t too bad actually, because the fan blows to the inside of the cellar. I didn’t use a Coolbot but had looked at those before setting things up. The AC was pretty good - it actually took things down to 59-60 so I just left it like that.
OP here with same basic setup and there’s no issue with venting to inside space so long as there’s some amount of air circulation (e.g., a larger basement). Wouldn’t vent into a small closet, but as long as the area is larger than cellar there shouldn’t be a meaningful heat problem.
Very happy with Coolbot. Not quite as happy with GE AC that gave up after 4.5 years. But, still, replacement relatively cheap (although less cheap with tariffs).
Related to my other thread, are any of you using this in a really humid environment? I’m curious if I’d be having the same condensation challenges with a standard window unit, venting into my unconditioned crawlspace in Tennessee. I’d love to hear from anyone who is using Coolbot in that kind of setup.
The other issue I have is that most (all?) window AC units I’ve seen are much larger than the cooling unit I have right now, and for most of them, fitting it into the space I have for it will be difficult or impossible. But if I know it will at least work, then i can devote more time to trying to find a compact unit that would fit. But if anyone happens to know of a small (width and height; depth is less of an issue) unit that works well with Coolbot, let me know.
Setting up a CoolBot with Mini-Split setup. For those using this, how often have you had to address humidity and what method did you use to do so ? Early signs are that it could be on the low side for me.
I actually just purchased a Coolbot and am waiting on the installation on a 6K BTU Mitsubishi Mini Split. I am in a high humidity area ( SE TX) so my biggest thing is keeping the humidity down which I currently do with a small dehumidifier. As soon as I have some new updates from the Coolbot install I’ll be sure to post back here
Any recommendations from the Coolbot users on the best / most dependable window AC unit? I have been running a small Haier window AC unit for my cellar, but it died in less than 3 years. I got it because it was supposed to be super quiet, and it was decent in that respect, but I’m hoping to find something that will last a little longer!