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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 7 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Good value for the price May 27, 2011
By AVX
I've owned this unit for roughly 1 month now and have been relatively satisfied. Before I purchased the unit, I had read a number of reviews of this unit and several other units from other manufacturers and had decided that this one would be best suited to meet my needs within my price range.
With respect to initial research, I obtained most of my information either from other customer reviews or by calling customer service directly. Customer service was extremely helpful in detailing the unit's internal dimensions and technical characteristics, as well as explaining the Repair Master warranty in more detail. They were also kind enough to send me a PDF version of the user manual so that I could review it before purchase (since the link on the website was broken).
As previous reviewers have noted, the shelves are closely spaced, so larger bottles with wider diameters or that are taller (internal depth of roughly 13") may not fit. I purchased the unit expressly to house champagne. What I ended up doing was removing the bottom 3 shelves so that I could store the champagne upright without damaging the labeling. In doing so, I can store 8 or 9 champagne bottles in the bottom with ease, with the upper racks still available to store red wine or beer as the mood strikes me.
Temperature regulation seems fairly constant. I have not done an independent check of the temperature sensor. As the manual notes, the unit should be allowed to stand for 2 hrs after shipment/moving to reduce the possibility of a malfunction of the cooling system. I have already moved once and was surprised to discover just how true this statement was. Prior to the move, I had set the cooler to 54. I then unplugged the unit and moved it to my new place (which took me 30 minutes to an hr). I immediately plugged it back in to make sure the bottles didn't heat dramatically. The unit then settled to 56. I'm assuming the reason is exactly what was described in the manual. After a period of 2 days, it then returned to 54 (without me ever touching the temperature controls). The manual does tell you to transport the unit upright when moving (I had it on its side since that was the only way it was fitting in my car). Just something to keep in mind.
In terms of the time it takes to get down to the desired temperature, it will definitely take a while initially. When I first received the unit, I set it to 54 with the cooler empty just to make sure it would work. That took a matter of a few hours. I then filled it with 8 bottles of champagne and red wine. With an ambient temperature (and presumably bottle temperature) of about 78, it took somewhere around a day and a half to get back down to 54.
Once the unit gets down to 54, opening the door to remove a bottle seems to cause it to shoot up to as high as 60, before it cools itself back down.
The door handle does have to be attached by you, the user. This isn't stated in the manual. However, I was prepared for this from reading other reviews. I did receive both screws and had a good idea of where to look beneath the magnetic strip for the screwholes.
The wire racks are metal and removable. Plastic clips on the interior of the unit prevent them from sliding out too far. It may take a little force to bend the clips slightly to create enough clearance to remove the metal racks from the unit. Not something I would advise doing often, considering they are plastic, but they seem durable enough to withstand such action every now and then.
There is a little blue light on the interior at the top of the unit which can be controlled by a light switch on the front of the unit. The manual states turning it on can cause temperature variations within the unit. I just leave mine off and have never verified just how much it causes the temperature to vary.
There is a filter in the back of the unit that fits loosely in a slot. I don't believe I ever saw any mention of it in the manual. The only reason I bring it up is because it can fall out rather easily if the unit is flipped on its side (which I did during moving).
With regards to noise, the unit is not silent, but it is not loud either. When I first turned it on, the hum surprised me, but I quickly got used to it and don't even notice it now.
As for maintenance, I have yet to clean the water reservoir. From reading the manual, it doesn't sound hard. Additionally, the troubleshooting section of the manual does detail a list of common problems the unit may experience. I had to call customer service to get some clarification as to which of those problems were covered by warranty and what the most common issues were, as well as how they could be addressed. They were very up front and I was very comfortable with the apparent relative ease of maintenance prior to making my purchase.
All in all, even though it has only been a month, I have been quite satisfied with my purchase. I knew exactly what I was getting into and the unit has most definitely delivered. Everything still works just fine and I have no complaints.
7 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Cool fridge... get it? Feb 18, 2011
By Alex Engemann
This fridge is great for keeping your collection nice and COOL. If you're looking for a fridge that keeps your wine COLD, this isn't it unfortunately. I'd say this keeps the wine in the 60 degree range, even though it says its 56 degrees. This isn't really a problem unless you're storing very old Bordeauxs or like your Champagne to be frosty. On that note, any bottles that are bigger than normal will not fit in the normal set up of shelves. What we did was put any magnums and Champagne bottles on the bottom shelf then put the rest of the shelves one slot higher. Overall its a very nice looking and effective wine cooler.
 Better than expected! May 04, 2012
By Texas Surfer
I had concerns about purchasing the AW281E because it seemed to be a no-name brand only sold at a few stores, but the reviews were better than the well known brands so I pulled the trigger and purchased. I'm glad I did. The construction seems to be very good and I love the look. Even with the light off, the digital blue LED temp indicator (haven't checked accuracy yet, but others have commented on this) has a strong glow, which I like. With the light on, it's very nice looking, but I leave it off so as not to adversely effect temperature.
The shelves are adjustable, so despite what others have said, larger bottles, girth wise, will fit. There will be a loss of capacity if you store larger bottles, so get a larger unit if that's an issue. Longer than standard bottles (more than an inch) will have to be put in sideways, or if too long, won't fit. An example of the storage versatility: I put in six boxes of Black Box wine, my daily drink (obviously not an oenophile!), plus another ten bottles, four on the top rack and two stacked on top of each other on each of the three other shelves next to the boxes (I leave out three shelves to fit the boxes). That's 34 bottles worth of wine--some nice bottles and the daily cheap stuff!
As for noise, there is a fan that has run continuously since I've had the unit (three days). If everything in the house is turned off, the fan is easily audible within thirty feet, but it isn't annoying because it's white noise--a constant sound. As soon as you start talking or turn on a TV you will not hear the fan unless you get within a few feet of the unit. If you have a reasonably powerful desktop computer, you have a fan that is going constantly, too. It's noticeable if you listen for it, but does it really bother you? While not constant, your refrigerator probably makes a similar amount of noise. Does it bother you? If they do, then this unit isn't for you, but this would probably apply to any thermoelectric wine cooler, not just this one. While there is noise, and this was a concern while considering this purchase, my wife and I have absolutely no complaints regarding this issue. FYI, I keep the unit in my pantry, with the door almost always open.
I haven't looked into it, but from what little I've read, I believe the only moving part is the fan. If true, this means that the fan is the only thing that would ever wear out and should be easy to replace, when necessary. The front control panel could possibly break and need replacement, but it shouldn't wear out unless you're pushing the buttons every day. There is a drip tray at the bottom back of the unit that is supposed to be emptied and cleaned periodically.
3 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Solid, Quiet, Dependable Oct 31, 2011
By Brian J. Saller
"ChunkyLover79"
I've had this fridge for 18 months now and it's as quiet and reliable now as when I bought it. I keep all my good cabs in it at 55 degrees and using a probe thermometer I can verify that it's dead nuts on temperature. It doesn't have a compressor so it's very quiet.
Only complaints are that the bottom row doesn't fit four bottles so it's really a 27-bottle fridge, and the stainless steel drawer slides are a bit rough when fully loaded. It takes a bit of jostling and sometimes you tear the label on the bottle when you pull a drawer out.
Otherwise it's a great product and worth the small investment to keep your good wine safe for years to come.
6 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Nice Nov 01, 2010
By Chris S.
Looks great, runs great. Fairly quiet, and reaches temperature quickly. Only downside is it will only hold standard 750ml bottles. I put four bottles in last night and one had to lay sideways across the bottom shelf. It was about one inch too long. However if you know what it will hold when you buy it that shouldn't be a concern. I would recommend this product to others.
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