Dark Helmet wrote:

> This new area though, leaves me with a real issue. Since I do not have
> a basement, as most CA houses do not, I now own a large Vinotemp, which
> fits nicely into a space in my dining room. I think it was a 550 unit,
> and has around 300 bottles in it currently. Bottles range from Bordeaux
> to Rhone to Down Under to CA mainly. Two things worry me about this
> set-up:
>
> 1. Power outages - The temperatures during the summer in Fresno hit
> around 100F daily. I know with the wine mass in there, I have some time
> during an extended outage, but I'm not sure how long.
>

You can get a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) which will provide
current for a fairly long time, depending on the size and price of the
unit. Aside from the fact these get expensive, they are quite noisy.

I don't know how long the power is likely to be our in your area, but
most good units have a pretty good autonomy anyway.

> 2. Cooling Unit malfunction - This worries me the most. If the cooling
> unit dies, I have no clue what to do. The whole cooler sits about 6
> inches from the wall, which leaves no room to service the unit and
> moving it would be impossible with 300+ bottles inside. Not to mention
> I have no idea if anyone could service it or if I would just have to
> replace the cooling unit - but I fear that is not a short process.
>

I have a large Liebherr chest freezer that keeps food for 52 hours in
case of a long blackout. I don't know what kind of autonomy you think
you'll need, but this would be long enough to get a repair or some
other solution in place. (Granted a wine cabinet is not the same thing,
but...)

Welcome back to afw,

-E