I just connect the sensor to my phone via Bluetooth and grab the data locally. If you wanted to remotely access data you would need the gateway.
Benefit to something like this would also be this individual would also bring the materials into your house and build it in place. Reading reviews of the BILD, it’s apparently more than a little bit of a pain to maneuver the pallet as it comes in, and then you have to move all the pieces to where you want it to “live.”
When I read the title and then opened it to see that the OP was looking for something to hold 300-500 bottles I LOL’d.
To be fair, 700-1000 bottles is very large in the context of “wine fridges” … which is really what the OP meant based on saying something like Eurocave.
I used to sell to a guy who had two prefab units in his garage. They were each the size of an Airstream trailer, built more or less like a walk in fridge, and held something like 2000 bottles each.
But yeah, there is a difference between a wine fridge or storage unit and a ‘wine cellar.’ We have had some good threads on cellar buildouts and that was what I was expecting to be reading about here based on the thread title.
Reasons to buy a LeCache…
- individual racking
- self contained cooling unit, this is a biggie, if and when your cooling breaks you can easily switch out the unit with just a few screws
- the company is responsive to any issues and has excellent customer support
Reasons NOT to but Eurocave (I own one, a hand me down)
- bulk racking SUCKS
- integral cooling system, when it does has issues the cabinet becomes garbage, I’ve hauled many to the dump.
- exclusive to TWE, technical support and knowledge are weak at best, parts are expensive.
The BILD 800 is a great value, you will need a helper to assemble it, expect it to take the better part of a full day. Shipping is $500.
Not going to happen a cooling unit and kit racking will exceed $4k w/o labor.
Thanks for the replies Chris! Definitely need to factor in that shipping + assembly
But a better and more expensive cooling unit (esp. a two part system) will do better and last longer than the smaller cooling units in the manufactured units that have to be replaced every few years. The hidden cost in many of the manufactured units is the constant need to replace cooling units.
Are you a wood worker?
A small “through the wall” cooling unit can be bought for less than $1000. I machined the wood for my cellar racks and assembled them. All alder. Two days work, and less than $100 in wood. The wall / floor / lid will be a sandwiched 2" HD foam board, between 1/4" ply and edged / trim with 3/4 hard wood. Maybe $500 in materials. Couple more days to machine and assemble… Like I said, it’s worth asking.
Michael - do you have any pictures of what you built? Curious to see.
Michael,
You might want to take a look at Chris’s signature line. He builds cellars for a living. Honestly I came to the thread to see if he’d replied yet as I was going to recommend him for a ‘large wine cellar’ buildout as the thread title suggested.
I’ll try… I’m new to this site. I build things when I’m not working for a paycheck - homes and buildings, furniture, whatever… I built the house I live in now. I had intended to have a small, second kitchen in the lowest level of the house, but got the wine bug and converted this space into the cellar. It holds around 1200 bottles now. I have a few stand alone coolers as well, so I’m definitely learning what not to do as I figure this out. My next house will have a 3000 bottle cellar. I’ll be seeking professional advise for the next cellar. I’m actually drafting the next house now (my semi-retirement home). I want the next cellar to be walk in, with a nice table / sitting area for wine tastings with friends.
Original space:
I started out with S3S alder boards, then machined them to the sizes I needed. Then I just built jigs for mass assembly.
The room walls, floor, ceiling, all had to be insulated and sealed. Walls on walls and a second floor. Then I used clear T&G cedar for wall covering. Same stuff I used for my sauna. Then it was just a matter of placing the racks. Not a great cellar, but it was the best I could do with the space I had available to use.
Nicely done! Whats the footprint?
you are talented. Might want LED lights that don’t give off heat. Otherwise perfect. What’s the R value in the cellar?
I realize this is getting off-topic from what the OP asked, but … I know a couple of people who have built cellars thinking they would host tastings inside them. That turned out to be impractical, though, as it was too cool to be comfortable unless one was bundled up in jackets and the like. A table is definitely useful for unboxing shipments, standing up bottles before decanting, etc. but a sitting area is likely to be wasted space. I have seen photos of cellars that are actually 2 (or more) rooms - one actively cooled for wine storage and another separate room (at normal household temp) with table & chairs for tasting and dining. Is that what you are considering ?
Hi, thanks. It’s roughly 7’ deep, 6’ wide. That’s after loosing about 6’ in all directions after adding insulation and the cedar. The bins on the right side are double deep. That’s something else I want to avoid when I make the next cellar. Convenient to store two of the same, but not convenient when I have an odd number.
Not sure… probably around R20. 2X4 interior walls with R13, and an additional 2" of blue board high density foam insulation. I had to use 4.5" of blue board on the floor, because I have radiant floor heat…
Definitely the later. I know what you are saying. We had a wine cave dinner once. Super cool and fun experience - for about twenty minutes. A small’ish room with a glass wall/door looking into the cellar is what I’m envisioning.
I am constantly running out of space. I guess I’m more of a hunter than drinker… I recently added a rolling cabinet that gave me space for about 120 more bottles. PITA, but it works… So to anyone thinking about a cellar, go 3 times larger than you think you need.
I used allpliance rollers under the cabinet, then braced the top with some rails lined with HD Polly material to help them slide (I live in a high seismic area, and need to build everything with that in mind).
That looks very nice Michael! I hope I could do something like that in the future.
I’ve been having success with my Costco purchase of the vinotemp garage unit, since I have limited space. It holds around 300 bottles and has great insulation for keeping my bottles at the correct temperatures with it being stored in my garage environment which changes quite frequently. Also, shipping was a breeze which I was very nervous about initially.
Michael that’s a sweet cellar, envy inspiring for sure. Don’t sell yourself short, building that requires some skills!