Those metal racks with the OWC’s are very nice.
Nice.
Keep fillin it up!
With the advent of hot weather, I hooked up my wine rack chilling units to the two lowboy racks that are outfitted with plastic tubing (continuous runs woven through each row of bottle hoops). Ambient in the basement outside the cellar reached 74F today. Inside the cellar is a cool 60-62F.
Pics shortly.
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In order to hook up my cooling systems I had to empty the racks into shipping boxes I’ve kept for the purpose. That gave me the opportunity to finish the baseboard trim.
Today I fitted the exterior door trim.
Here’s the two chillers outside the cellar.
One control unit - for the rack on the rear wall
Just 6 of these little guys are doing the hard work of moving energy outside the cellar. The only moving components are 2 mini water pumps and 2 muffin fans.
A few recent pictures
Looks great Chris. I’m sure you’ve thought of it already, but on top of the rack with the marble counter you can put up some shelves for both displaying bottles as well as storing stems. Beautiful cellar. Nice job ![[thumbs-up.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f84c5acc11486ee4baba6dee6cf61dbd133abb18.gif "[thumbs-up.gif]"){kind=small}
Thanks Rodrigo. I have a plan for that space above the counter. Some of my wine is still in a Danby refrigerator just outside the cellar, including champagne and magnums. Maybe this summer I’ll have reason for another update.
I’m no expert, but 158 degrees may be a bit warm for your collection. ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
Just joking - I’m envious. Looks fantastic Chris!
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No worries. It goes on at 159. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Those metal OWC racks are so cool!
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I made it thru summer but had to deal with a few minor issues along the way.
As soon as summer began, the cooling systems had to run 24/7. And overall cellar temp began to rise.
At peak in late Sept, the upper level reached 68F.
Humidity was a problem for the wood boxes. The little closet dehumidifier I put in the room ran constantly to keep the rh near 80%, and pushed the cellar temp up.
I also had a minor water leak early on which soaked the bottom of a box on the floor - initiating the first mold bloom.
I made a little cart to get all the boxes off the floor, and make it easier to move them out of the way.
Yesterday I installed my new Wall Rack, with space for another 116 bottles, including 16 magnums.
The magnum hoops work perfectly for fat Napa Cabernet bottles and champers too.
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Looks awesome Chris!
Those are cool, wish I could use them in my project but with the threat of earthquake, however slight it may be, I can’t take the chance.
Only a small piece of foam is needed to secure each regular bottle. Its not so easy for magnums on this rack, but a couple of stout rubber bands might hold them pretty well.
The regular bottle hoops support Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Riesling, & many champagne bottles.
Tye thought of it in a quake cares the bejeezes out of me.
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So what do most people do to securely store wine in earthquake prone areas?
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When I lived in CA, I secured the racking to the wall, then used heavy duty rubber bands, looped around the rack bar and the neck of the bottle. No idea if it would have been effective or not, never had it put to the test. The rubber does get dry and crackly after a few years, so probably not the best solution - but it was easy and cheap!
I have to look at which way the fault line runs and then place the racking so my bottles run perpendicular to the fault. Shaking will be side to side rather than front to back.
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Rubber bands would be ideal with my bottle supports, apart from the aging issue of the rubber.
The staggered design creates a space for individual foam filler pieces (EVA, Polyurethane, Styro) to firmly wedge each bottle into its support.
I’m on my way to Joann Etc. and Michaels to get some samples.
I also thought of this: