Aldi 47 Bottle Wine Cooler

[crozdog]

Aldi currently have a 47 bottle wine cooler fridge on sale for $249.

Its Specs are:
- Digital temperature control 4 degrees C - 16 degrees C
- Orange indicator lamp 4 degrees C - 6 degrees C, white wine
- Green indicator lamp 7degrees C - 11 degrees C, sparkling wine
- Red indicator lamp 12 degrees C - 16 degrees C, red wine
- 6 flat chrome plated wire shelves plus 1 dual base shelf
- Reversible dark glass door
- Black interior and exterior cabinet
- Auto cycle defrost
- Box dimension: 590mm (W) x 880mm (H) x 570mm (D)

I've seen a couple of posts re using similar units for fermenting / largering in. Would this unit be suitable for fermenting / largering?
Or would another brand or a converted fridge be a better option?

Cheers
Crozdog

 

[tangent]

massive 2nd hand fridge is cheaper and holds more beer
depends on a heap of variables
a nice new shiny toy is great but are you willing to drink slowly as your lager brews for 4 weeks, then lagers for another 4 weeks?
say 9-10 weeks per brew, that's only 300mls of beer per day.
if you're not such a big drinker, then i say go for it!

 

[jimmyjack]

In all honesty, I have a 27 bottle wine chiller made by misteral and it works Ok for fermenting. Ok meaning that I was willing to blow 150 bucks to give it a go and it works fine but not the best option. The problem with these type of chillers is that there internal temperature fluctuates according to the ambient temp outside. For instance it is 35 degrees in my garage today and my internal temp is around 15 degrees this temp will lower or rise based on the external temps. I have increased the effeciency of my chiller by buying a thick yoga mat from clark rubber, cutting it to size and covering the glass door. If you want a cool little fridge for fermenting it will work, but if you dont want the hassle and want the right soloution get a normal fridge with temp control.

cheers

jj

 

[Wortgames]

I think it's probably most suited as a fermentation fridge, assuming it holds a fermenter. Any old fridge can lager, but the temperature control is very handy for fermentation.

It's not clear whether it is a compressor or thermoelectric device. Cheap thermoelectrics can struggle depending on ambient temperatures.

If you are pushed for space and like shiney things, it looks like a neat option. You can switch between slow lagers, fast lagers and ales.

Otherwise you can get a large fridge for next to nothing and a temp controller for about a hundred bucks.

 

[T.D.]

In all honesty, I have a 27 bottle wine chiller made by misteral and it works Ok for fermenting. Ok meaning that I was willing to blow 150 bucks to give it a go and it works fine but not the best option. The problem with these type of chillers is that there internal temperature fluctuates according to the ambient temp outside. For instance it is 35 degrees in my garage today and my internal temp is around 15 degrees this temp will lower or rise based on the external temps. I have increased the effeciency of my chiller by buying a thick yoga mat from clark rubber, cutting it to size and covering the glass door. If you want a cool little fridge for fermenting it will work, but if you dont want the hassle and want the right soloution get a normal fridge with temp control.

cheers

jj

[post="96645"][/post]​

I have the exact same fridge and I totally agree. Its great for fermenting, but you can pretty much rule out any real effective lagering. In winter I got mine down to 6 degrees, but I've never gone below that. On average in the current climate it sits at 13 degrees on the lowest setting. It also gets struggles combatting the heat given off in the vigorous primary stage of fermentation. Of course, this discussion of fluctuating temps etc probably makes it sound worse than it really is - the fact is it beats fermenting in ambient temperatures hands down!