Sunpentown WC-1682 Thermoelectric 16-Bottle Wine Cooler

• 16-bottle wine cooler with quiet, non-vibrating thermoelectric technology
• Touch-sensitive control panel; LED display; adjustable thermostat
• 3 slide-out chrome shelves; soft interior lighting; double-pane glass door
• Recessed handle; freestanding; adjustable leveling legs for balance; ETL-approved
• Measures 19 by 17 by 20 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Purchased the WC-1682. Received the unit promptly and the unit itself was in good shape. Nice looking unit, everything fit well and plenty of space for the wine.

Pro's

-The unit is reasonably priced.

-It presents well.

-Runs quietly.

-Cooling system is efficient.

Con's

Like all of these thermoelectric systems, it runs continuously. No getting away from this particular design and my guess is all of the manufacturers use the same guts. Given that these are relatively inexpensive, they must save some money by not putting in a relay to actually shut down the unit when it reaches the proper temperature. There may be other reasons for not stopping the cooling and fan completely, but it is not obvious to this engineer why they wouldn't do so except costs for putting the fan on a separate circuit and to keep the fan running for air circulation. An extra few components would be required to separate the fan control from the thermoelectric cooler. The fan and cooling systems slow down significantly when they reach the proper temperature, but neither actually stops. Hence they are inefficient.

The unit itself is poorly calibrated. The unit I received runs 7 degrees hotter than indicated by the display. I set it initially at 65 degrees and it was actually running at 72 degrees. I didn't run a complete set of tests to see the variation. The temperature was calibrated against a Fluke 971. There is no method or adjustments on the board to adjust this calibration. You simply have to live with it. Also, this will limit the lower temperature range since it can't be set below it's rated temperature.

The unit cannot be kept in a cool room. Since the thermoelectric cooling unit runs continuously, if the room gets at or near the temperature set point, then the temperature in the unit will drift downward because the unit cannot shut off. For example, if the room temperature is 66 degrees, and the unit is set at 65 degrees, the temperature will actually drift down to around 59 degrees or so because the cooling system never shuts down.

So far, the unit has been reliable and quiet. Minimum of movable components (only two fans). I would recommend the unit, with the caveat that anyone purchasing this separately calibrate the unit. Also, if you need to run the unit at or near the lowest temperature settings, this would not be recommended due the significant difference between the settings and the actual temperature.

Bob M.

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Quit after 1 day. Temp was 6F higher than setting when was running. Avoid

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There are no controls for temperature calibration. Once powered, the unit only cools below ambient temperatures of the room. THe ambient temp in my house is 68F, the internal thermometer of the wine cooler registers at about 41F and does not deviate this despite re-setting to 55F. I would not recommend this to anyone

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Plenty of room for Pinot and tall napa cab bottles. In the month since I own the cooler it began by cycling between the set temperature and one degree lower then after about two weeks it cycles between one and two degrees below the set temp. I suspect thermometer is not that accurate. It is all in the correct range for red wine and probably not that critical. It's quiet and unobtrusive. Overall a good value. I would buy it again given my experience so far.

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We where looking forward to this wine cooler, we ordered with express shipping, 2-3 days, but the cooler never arrived. Amazon promptly refunded our money, but we never found out why we did not receive the cooler?

In the meantime I received a replacement part for our Vinotemp Cooler, their service dept. sucks, but the cooler works now, let's see for how long.

Sorry, can't tell you about the Sunpentown cooler.