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Frequently Asked Questions

(We get asked these questions a lot, so don't be afraid to ask if your answer's not here)

 

The blinking blue light on your temperature control panel is an indication that the wine cooler is working in its most quiet mode and the internal fans are running at 75% of their maximum.

The upper zone has to be set 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the bottom zone.  If you try to set them at the same temperature or within 4 degrees of each other you will see that they move in tandem to try to keep this 4 degree temperature difference.

You are probably familiar with the concept of heat rising and cold falling and we use that phenomenon to regulate the temperature of our wine and beverage coolers.  The top zone is your cold zone and the bottom zone is your warmer zone.  That’s not a typo.  It seems counterintuitive, but in a wine cooler the cooling mechanism is in the upper zone so we want the cold air to fall into the lower zone and push the warm air from the lower zone up into the cooling mechanism located in the upper zone.  With continual cold air falling and warm air rising we are creating a circular air flow pattern between the 2 zones that helps to keep them both balanced.

No, you cannot use your wine or beverage cooler outdoors. Your wine or beverage cooler will operate efficiently at ambient temperatures between 85° and 95° Fahrenheit.  Outside these temperatures and your wine or beverage cooler will not cool very well.  

Yes! It is normal for the temperature of your wine cooler to fluctuate within 5-6° Fahrenheit. We often tell people that your wine cooler operates the same way your car’s air conditioning does on a hot day:  If you are in your car on a hot day and turn off the air conditioner you can last about 5 or 10 seconds before it starts to get uncomfortable and you need to turn the air conditioner back on.  But, if you have a cold drink with you it will stay cold for a very long time inside that hot car.  The same is true for your wine bottles.

 Although the air temperature in your wine cooler will fluctuate about 5°, the wine inside the bottle will fluctuate about 1/2° over a long period of time.

Yes! It is normal for your wine cooler will run more often than your household refrigerator. 

  • A refrigerator’s purpose is to keep your food at a safe temperature, under 40°, in order to keep it from spoiling.
  • In order to save energy, your refrigerator has long on/off cycles and the internal air temperature will often fluctuate between -5° to + 8° of your set temperature.
  • As long as the internal refrigerator temperature stays in that range the temperature of your food and beverages will remain under 40°.
  • Wine, on the other hand, has to be stored at a very consistent temperature or it will go bad prematurely.  
In order to maintain a consistent temperature your wine refrigerator has to turn on and run more often than your refrigerator.

Your wine or beverage cooler needs some airflow to work properly.  We recommend half an inch of space between your cabinets and the body of the wine cooler to help create this airflow. 

If you don’t have half an inch of available space, you can get away with as little as 1/4 inch, but you will need to make sure you have a minimum of 2 inches of space between the back of the wine or beverage cooler and the wall behind it.

Yes, individual shelves are removable, which can create additional space for larger bottles.

Yes, our wine coolers can fit larger bottles. We use low profile metal shelves that give us additional space between the shelves above and below it.  This creates extra space the helps larger bottles like pinot noir and chardonnay to fit well.

Yes, the doors are reversible, and changing the door swing direction is a piece of cake! All it takes is a Phillips head screwdriver and about 5 minutes of your time.
Our wine and beverage refrigerators are rated at 39 decibels.  This is similar in volume to a whisper.

Yes, extended warranties are available and you can learn more about them here: https://www.smithandhanks.com/collections/extended-warranties.

You can return any product for any reason within 30 days.  You can read more about our return policy here:  https://www.smithandhanks.com/pages/return-policy.

That smell is mostly stale air mixed with a new plastic odor.  This will go away quickly once you plug in the appliance and start circulating the air inside.  You can also clean the inside with a mixture of mild detergent and water and a little baking soda.

No, you should not worry if your wine cooler was delivered on it's side or upside down. Turn it right side up and let it sit for about 24 hours before plugging it in and it will operate normally.

 

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