Customer Reviews

Haier HVTB18DABB18-Bottle Dual-zone Wine Cooler with Touch Screen Controls

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1 star:		(22)

 

 

I purchased this unit and was very excited because of its appearance and price and size. It worked for about one month then it started overheating. I called Haier and they sent me out a new fridge for $14.94 shipping and handeling. Great. Well the second one started doing the SAME thing about 1 and a half months later. Don't waste your money!

As soon as I first plugged in the cooler there was a strong smell similar to an overheated circuit board but the cooler worked normally - for about a month. Then the top zone stopped cooling and its outside fan ran continuously. Other reviews suggested a failed TEC module, so I bought a US made replacement with the same dimensions but a higher wattage rating. When I removed the old TEC module and tested it, sure enough it wasn't working. When I put in the new module and reassembled the upper cooling unit the problem was fixed. For better thermal transfer I used a high quality silver thermal paste between the TEC module and heat sinks - expensive but may improve the efficiency a little and save electricity. The whole operation wasn't particularly difficult and I preferred doing it myself instead of dealing with customer service. Otherwise the cooler looks well designed and built and is attractive. Hopefully Haier will address the TEC unit failure problem and have happier customers.

I bought a used Haier 18 bottle dual zone very similar looking to this one although the model number is completely different. The problem with these units and similar products is that they don't use conventional refrigerant style cooling rather they use Peltier or TEC modules to transfer heat from a heatsink on the inside to one on the outside. Mine only had one zone working when I got it and I isolated the problem to a faulty TEC module.

Typically TEC modules are rated for 200,000 hours of continuous operation, so I don't know if Haier is using junk ones or something is faulty in their electronics or this is simply a bad application for them but when they break down, they stop transferring heat from one side to the other and pretty much turn into a big resistor that only generates heat. If you know how to use a soldering iron it's a $15-$20 fix to buy a replacement TEC module from an electronics supply place online and you're good to go. These units are nothing more than a couple of these modules sandwiched between some heatsinks and fans all hooked up to a simple control board and mounted to a pretty looking box with a fancy display.

Let me start by saying that I NEVER write reviews, much less really take them into account of many purchases...HOWEVER...If I could, I would rate this product a zero..I received this item as a gift for my birthday and was super excited. About 3 months after, the top (technically the white wine) section stopped cooling and was getting close to 65- 70 degrees...not only bad for the wine, but warmer than the inside of my house most of the time... I called Haier to get a refund or replacement but I needed the credit card proof of purchase. Well, as I said it was a gift and my parents can't remember where they bought it from. I ended up unplugging it for a bit and it seemed to reset its self, though the fan blows awfully loud for a period of time every once and a while but unfortunately it has stopped cooling again. It's been about 3 months since the major unplugging happened. I am incredibly disappointed with the product and the fact that a serial number alone won't get me a refund or new product makes me not want to buy Haier products again. When I can, I will replace the product and will definitely replace it with another brand. It looks great but does not work well at all...don't buy this product.

I bought my unit 2 years ago and within a couple of months the upper zone became intermittent. I got on the phone with Haier and without much hassle was given a refund (July 2009) although it cost me $14.99 and I had to send them my power cord! After about 6 months I decided to try and fix the unit and began searching the web for solutions. Consensus view was that the TEC devices were failing so I decided to replace the TEC device (TEC1-12706) in the upper zone with a higher capacity unit, CP85438 (DigiKey 102-1682-ND). After receiving the device I procrastinated for about 10 months and then finally installed it. Although I am an EE and it was a lot of fun, this is not a project for the inexperienced. Unfortunately this didn't fix the problem. In fact, I think the original device was fine. The real culprit turned out to be the large fan on the upper cooling zone. Sometimes it would start and run fine, other times it wouldn't. Based on another reviewers experience, I replaced it with Scythe S-Flex fan (SY-1021) from Koolertek.com. This fan is higher quality with expected liftime of 150000 hours. Seems to be working fine now although I admit I've only tested it for a day so far. Advice: before you go through the trouble of replacing the TEC, check the fan by forcing it to turn with a screwdriver when it is stopped and the zone temperature is too high. If it starts to turn, you've got the same intermittent fan problem, and the fan is much simpler to replace then the TEC.

I wish I had checked Amazon before buying this. Came back from vacation last week and found that we had a wine heater instead of a wine cooler as the termperature was reading 89 degrees (warmer than our house!)
Same problems as the other reviewers - the top zone fails and then eventually the whole unit fails. Ours lasted about 9 months - which seems like longer than most. Complete waste of money and will make me question buying a Haier product again in the future.

I bought this item 7/08. By 12/08, the top section stopped cooling. I called Haier and was told I would get a refund and they would pick up the unit. After calling weekly they finally picked up the unit 3/5/09. I continued to call them weekly and finally received a refund 6/09, 6 months after I reported the defect. Then they don't reimburse the taxes paid so I still am out $10. Not a good customer service company at all, I would not recommend them or this product.

Research indicates a 20% or greater failure rate with this product. In other words, the manufacturer and the retailers KNOW it is an inherently faulty and possibly even dangerous product. Most states observe breach of implied warranty and fitness for a particular purpose (a wine cooler should cool wine rather than heat it). Most states also observe breach of express warranty (we promise this wine cooler will cool wine rather than heat it). Furthermore, many states allow product liability claims for inherently dangerous products (for example, one that is designed to cool wine but in fact heats wine and in doing so may create a fire). Here, there is some evidence that all of the above are in fact the case with this particular product. My own experience is that I have owned four in the last 22 months and all have failed and one overheated. I hate to sound like an attorney, but I am one. In this state, the possibility that Haier and the retailers pushing this product are looking at liability appears to be less a matter of if than a matter of when.

Purchased December 2009-first unit failed May 2010-Haier replaced after paying $15 shipping fee and $50 hazardous disposal fee-replacement unit fan on white wine setting could not reach suggested cooling temp of 45 degrees in 90 days and began burning insulation around TEC module. Notified Haier and was instructed by Corporate to immediately unplug unit. Haier claimed they would send a Fedex label to return unit-After 5 calls to customer service over a 1 month period, I gave up and will pay another $50 hazardous disposal fee. I will be reporting this Haier product to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and hopefully they will recall these units and prevent Haier from knowingly distributing defective products through legitimate channels

I found this product and immediately liked it for it's price and look. However, 3 coolers later, I am regretting ever finding it. I am not very handy so fixing it really isn't something I plan to do. Don't waste your time or money...