Koolatron 6 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler

First wine cooler I’ve ever purchased so wanted to start with something mid-price like this. The design is very sleek and it’s not overly bright, the interior light can be turned off. Although the marketing describes it as quiet it is not so – by my standards anyway. I had to move it from the dining room to the basement rec room because of the humming noise. Otherwise, I’d recommend it as first time wine cooler.

This is our second Koolatron wine cooler. With limited counter space it fits nicely into a corner, wine is chilled to the perfect temperature. We’d highly recommend this product over any other brand.

Compact and works great !

So far (two weeks) performing well at desired temperatures. Relatively quiet.

The height listed is incorrect, it is listed as 14.25 and it is actually 14.3125. Immediately they started with what space requirements are needed. Where the unit is to be located it has a height clearance that accommodates 14.25 for .75 of an inch. All other clearances are appropriate. This may seem insignificant, but due to the structure of our cabinets the measurement needs to be exact.
The first thing the manufacturer said was insulating, that I needed to screw the legs in. I did ask if they had other legs that were shorter, with a no response.
This wine cooler is replacing one that we had for more than 12 years.

I had two other 6 bottles units brands before that were noisy, generated condensation around the glass door and generated too much heat at the AC/DC adapter at the electric receptacle. This unit runs remarkably quiet, zero heat and no condensation at all (and I live in the tropics). The fit and appearance are great. I’ve owned it for a short time but so far so good !! If something goes bad, I’ll update my review.

Seems to be lots of confusion in the reviews about the cooling and noise level of this cooler. I can only guess that those reviews may be from folks who don’t fully understand how Thermoelectric coolers work. I’ve had Thermoelectric coolers in the past and they always work the same, this wine cooler is no different. For those not familiar, in no way can you compare Thermoelectric to your typical refrigerator operation. This type of wine cooler will greatly be affected by your ambient room temperature. If you live in a hot climate (or Summer time) and you don’t often use air-conditioning then this unit will struggle (big time) to reach your desired temperature. Anything hotter in the room than 77 or 78 degrees (F) will slow the cooling dramatically. Because there is no liquid cooling (like Freon) being used even in a properly cooled room it will often take a long time to reach your temp setting (sometime overnight). If I use a Thermoelectric cooler in a hot room (over 77 F) it’s not unusual for it to take hours to reach my desired setting. This cooler is fully dependent on airflow through the cooling fins (heat sink) which only has a basic PC fan pushing air through it. The cooler the room, the easier it will transfer heat form the inside to outside and be blown off by that fan. There is only one heat sink the unit uses. If you tear this cooler open you will see that the same heat sink goes from the inside to the outside with insulation surrounding it in order to keep ambient temperatures out. So if that heat sink is not cooled off properly on the outside then it will struggle to do the job intended. If you research how Thermoelectric coolers work you may realize why there are so many negative comments about the unit not cooling properly. These coolers are intended to keep wine at optimal temps (not very cold), and is subjective to the user so you can not compare them to a regular frig. A thermal electric cooler of this size will never reach frig temps nor cool as fast. As far as noise is concerned, the fan will fluctuate in speed but should never be as loud as a normal PC fan at high speed. Even when the fan is off, after reaching set temps, you will still be able to hear a slight hum (when you put your ear up against unit) due to the constant operation of the heat sink transferring heat. Perfectly normal. Note: sometimes even when your unit reaches set temps the fan will still run (at low speed) and again this will be due to the ambient temp in your room. So I wouldn’t be alarmed if you notice the fan still running when your temp indicator has reached your setting. Experiment with changing your room temp while using this cooler before giving it a thumbs down. Or purchase a much more expensive wine cooler that operates with liquid cooling. Hope this long review helps clear up some confusions