Customer Reviews

Avanti 12-Bottle Wine Refrigerator

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I think I have the previous model of this cooler. At the time I bought it, I read a few reviews where someone was mad that theirs was DOA, and a couple others who expected refigerator-quality cooling from it: they plugged it in and watched how long it took it to get down to 35 degrees. Guess what - it won't. The best the thermoelectric cooling unit can do is about 20 below ambient room temperature... Which is a lot better than room temperature for wine. Plus, since it doesn't draw major amps like a compressor would, I put mine on a small battery backup that I had left over from upgrading my computer's UPS, and the cooler would run for a couple hours when our electric service would be off for a while during storms, etc.

I've had it at least 3 years now and it's going great. One thought is that since the whole thing is electronics-based, maybe it really ought to be plugged into a UPS (or any kind of surge protector) to get the maximum life out of it.

I've had this wine chiller for a little over a year. It all of a sudden stopped getting cold. I called Avanti; I was told that they don't know how to troubleshoot. So I asked if this is now garbage because they don't know how to fix it and the service rep said yes. From what I have read many people have had this same problem. I will not buy another Avanti product.

This is not a high end product... but it is also not a high end price! It does the trick and it doesn't cost a fortune. A wine chiller is meant to chill wine - this does it's job and it is slim and attractive. It does NOT look like something from House Beautiful so you may want to think before buying it to display in a brand new kitchen - but for your basement bar - it's a home run!

Too small for different tpyes of wine bottles. When I called Customer Sevice they said it fits only standard sizes bottles. No where does it say it only fits standard size bottles. There is no such thing anymore as standard size bottles. If you buy wine almost every bottle is shaped differently. It is also is too small for a Champagne bottle. There is not enough room between the shelves to fit the bottles so I had to take out two shelves which now makes it a 6-8 bottle capacity.

There is a basic problem with Avanti's products. They are made cheaply, which is why the prices are "good". They will work for a while and seem a good deal at the start. If you have problems though, look out! And there is a good chance you'll have problems. The worst is that the refrigerant lines leak. This is why a unit that seems functional won't cool. It is not a repairable problem, and Avanti will not help you out. Your unit will be junk and then how good a deal will it seem? Look elsewhere!

When I first purchased the chiller it worked fine. But after 10 months I turned the temp down a few degrees and it stopped chilling. All attempts to get it working again failed. Unlike other buyers who have had the same experience (see Target reviews) I did not call Avanti, as they all were told they couldn't be fixed, refunded or exchanged. Now, not only do I have a non-working appliance but also it will cost me to get rid of it at the recycle center. Never again Avanti

While this is a no frills wine cooler, I think it is an excellent choice for the casual wine drinker. Its compact size allows it to fit in the corner of a room. It is built sturdy and the door keeps a good seal. One thing that many people will not notice when reading the manual is that you should keep the back about 6 inches from a wall so the motor won't overheat. I think this caused the death of mine. Also, I believe that white wine bottles go in the center portion of each rack which then would not allow any others on that particular rack. Not a good thing, but to me that was not a big issue since I don't drink white wine. Other than that, I highly recommend the Avanti 12 bottle wine cooler.

I am pleased with the Avanti wine chiller at this point. Even though it was damaged a bit during delivery, cabinet bent and dented, the unit is operating as it is suppose to. I received the unit in a very timely manner and was offeered a chance to return the unit when I reported the damage. I chose to keep the unit because of its operation and the fact that I ordered it to be built into our new kichen, which it was. Although one might want your wines a bit more cold at times, this wine chiller does just that very well, chill.

This is a piece of junk. If you like having a wine rack that uses electricity and dosen't keep the wine cool then buy this cooler!! The cooler is always on high and the temp. is always in the mid-seventies. DON'T WASTE YOUR $$$

A great design: small footprint 2wide x 6bottles
high. (Model EWC-120B) ***BUT*** I got mine for Christmas 2006
and it stopped cooling summer 2008 (18mos). Repair
shop said new "thermoelectric module" costs $175.
Avanti Service Supervisor wrote me "regrets". My son's compressor-coolant Chinese dorm refrigerator is still working 11 yrs in our basement.