Danby DKC5811BSL Keg Cooler - Stainless Look
CUSTOMER REVIEW
For those of you who are conflicted and confused about what the distinctions are between a "wine cooler" and a "wine cellar", let this reviewer be clear about this Danby model: it is a mini refrigerator that has a tinted glass door instead of a solid door, and a black interior instead of a white interior, and has wire racks spaced to accommodate wine bottles instead of groceries. Other than those styling differences I am sure that it is made on the same factory line as Danby's mini fridges, has the same mechanical guts and thermostat, and is otherwise not in any way made especially for wine. It's a mini refrigerator styled to make you feel good about putting your wine in a "wine cooler" instead of a refrigerator.
That is not a bad thing, in itself. But don't expect too much beyond that. Many people feel that the ideal temp for wine storage is about 55F. I was able to get the Danby to maintain a roughly stable temp of 55F with the temp dial turned to barely a fraction above OFF. With the thermostat turned higher (stronger) it is likely that the unit would achieve a temp much like a regular fridge, of about 40F. Several reviewers have noted that their units ran "cold". One thing I did notice, using a digital thermometer, was that there was about a six to seven (6-7) degree difference between the top rack and bottom rack of the unit. If it was 55F on the top rack then it was 49F or even a little colder on the lower racks. Someone thinking about paying a premium price for a cooler model advertised as "dual zone" might want to contemplate this. It may be that wine coolers of this type are "dual zone" by nature, no need to stress and worry and pay extra for this "feature".
Some people have expressed the opinion that leaving wine in a unit like this for extended periods will dry out the corks. I left a digital humidity meter inside for a day, and noted that the humidity level was 60%. Hardly desert like.
The unit seems well built and solid. It certainly weighs enough at about 70 pounds. It is slightly noisy, as others have noted, making a noticeable whine when cycling for a few minutes every so often. But I tend to think that the sound levels are more a product of a unit like this being placed in living rooms or dens, where this kind of noise is unusual and calls attention to itself, more than it is due to the system being more noisy than average.
It does in fact hold 36 standard sized bottles. Adding one broad shouldered bottle per row didn't cause any problem. But if your whole assortment of wine is all broad shouldered bottles then you might wind up with only four bottles per row rather than five. But standard 750ml bottles were no problem.
I am basically happy with my Danby wine cooler for what it is: an inexpensive unit that is mostly for convenient wine storage close to the dining table, at a temp that is approximately the right temp for storage, that protects wine from big temp swings and excessive heat. It's not a system for long term aging or preservation. For the price, about $240.00 from Amazon with free shipping for Prime members at the time of this review, it is certainly the cheapest unit of this type on offer. It seems to be a great bargain, even with the features that it lacks. It does not, for example, have a digital temp readout, or the ability to maintain warmer temps up to about 60F, or humidity control, and although the racks are removable they are not slide out trays, you have to pull each bottle out to see what it is. For the money I am a happy buyer. At higher prices one should be more critical, and might think harder about the system's characteristics before buying.
