For those who own Euro Cave’s does anyone have them running in a garage? If so what kind of concerns have you seen with the units.
Second question, I’m debating one off the secondary market the person has said it’s about 8-9 years old. The price is decent for an aging unit and the unit looks to be in good shape, just curious to know what problems others have ran into with an aging unit under the age of 10 years. Thanks!
My EuroCave is at least 20 years old. It was a hand-me-down from my dad, so I’m not exactly sure of its age. It’s been moved at least 7 times. I keep mine in my garage in Tarzana, where the temps regularly get over 100 in the summer. I did put in insulation in my garage to help reduce the temperature. No problems.
A good friend has two in his garage here in the coastal south.
No problems for 15+ years.
I have a friend in Southwest Harbor that was given a Eurocave from the 1970’s that is still 100% original and he swears is working…I haven’t been down to see it. However, he’s not one to exaggerate. I’d ask how often they replace the filters on the unit, If there have ever been any compressor problems, and how consistent the humidity is…just as things I’d want to know from the owner.
On another note…totally hijacking the thread. How do folks with Eurocaves handle German Riesling magnums in their Eurocaves?
I have had mine for almost 20 years now.
I used to keep a cooler in my garage, but after a few years it started to labor, sometimes building up ice. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth the risk. If it fails and I don’t notice it for a day or two (or am away on vacation), it won’t take long for the wine to heat up to garage temps. In my case that can be over 100 degrees on warmer summer days.
I’ve had a Vinotemp in my garage for the last 10 years or so. It’s been fine, except (a) it has to work pretty hard in the heat of my garage and (b) I worry what will happen if it breaks down in the heat and I don’t notice quickly enough.
I’m about to install a vent and a vent fan on my garage to moderate the heat there, the power used, and the extra wear on the unit. Plus, my bedroom is above the garage and I think cooling the garage will help keep our room from getting as warm.
Have one of the small ~100 bottle Primere ones in my garage for past 2 years (LA area) and it’s been steady as can be. One thing I do all times of year though is to leave the garage door open for at least an hour if I park the car in it as the residual heat from the car will warm the garage up pretty quick to around 75-80 degrees or even higher in the summer. If it’s crazy hot out I don’t open the garage if possible or very quickly. FYI I also have a normal sized fridge in there as well (about 10 feet away) and it hasn’t been an issue either.
I have one that has been in my garage for 11 years and it gets well over 100 in the summer here routinely and warm much of the other time. Supposedly, it was a special high temp model with extra insulation just for garage like locations. It looks just like my other two “regular” ones I have inside.
So far, no issues. I still keep my more pedestrian/daily drinkers out there just in case though.
The wine fridge I had in my garage failed (not a Euro Cave). I think a major contributor to my problem was that I also parked two cars in the garage so the engine heat plus the summer heat was too much to overcome. Fortunately my best bottles were stored elsewhere…fridge is now located in the house.
Thanks everyone for the input, I unfortunately missed the window on what looked like a pretty good deal but this will be handy for the future. I have a 166 btl Vinotemp in the house now, I don’t necessarily want to to keep buying as much as I did in the past for various reasons not to bore anyone with but the wines I do have I want to age and hope they are good in the years to come. It can get up to high 90’s often in Santa Rosa so was leery of having one in the garage already. Trying to find room for it inside still. Cheers!