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DIY Wine Cabinet vintagekeeper, aka coolspace, aka koolspace , aka chillR, aka whatever ... is a notoriously lower-tier product line. their "cabinets' are particle board and plastic laminate - hence the 12 month warranty versus 3 - 15 years among mainstream cellar builders. to whatever extent they know anything about building storage cabinets, they don't utilize such knowledge in their own "construction" techniques. the company is a subsidiary of a group that made real $ in the high-tech instrument-controls industry. as with many "experts" in one field, "scientific"credentials or qualifications don't often transfer from one field to another. drobot's engineering is substandard with regard to wine storage equipment - i'm not qualified to evaluate their oilfield or aviation equipment. the cooling system is composed of generic overseas, sweatshop, components that is quintessential "planned obsolescence" ... they come out with "new and improved" models every couple of years, resulting in zero availability on service or parts 3 years down the road. breezaire and whisperkool will have 6 year warranties - the canadian stuff - 12 months .... their "extended warranties' are tantamount to selling replacement units at regressively discounted prices. as a matter of fact, the machines built machines built 7 years ago have superior service histories to those of the 2000 generation, which have had superior performance to those built in 2002, etc., etc., etc. between the 2 mainstream alternatives - breezaire and whisperkool, both are quality and dependable equipment. breezaire will routinely provide superior warranties, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. there's a reason that every usa mfg of wine storage cabinets (that don't have their own "house brand of cooling systems - vinotheque mfg's whisperkool) chooses to use breezaire. their 20 year track record is immaculate. while our primary focus is on objective information, our company does deal with every mfg in this industry - whisperkool is a quality product, but "apples and apples", it simply costs more with no enhanced value. as distinct from room preparation - the guidelines for which can be found on the breezaire site, the vinotheque site and any number of mail order-retailer sites, cabinet construction is somewhat specialized construction, tho' not enron accounting. vapor barriers are critical on both sides of the rigid foam insulation that must be sandwiched between the interior-exterior wall coverings. otherwise, the wood will inevitably warp and there goes your airtight enclosure .... excessive condensation, failure to maintain a controlled temp-rh and-or constant running can result. naturally, absolute airtightness and appropriate accommodation of air exchange (intake and exhaust) and other variables must be addressed as well. as counter-intuitive as it may appear, temperature delta is often irrelevant with regard to the vapor barriers. humidity levels RELATIVE to a given temp (interior or exterior) may effect the direction that mother nature attempts to migrate the moisture and equalize environments. the buttumption that warmer air has a greater capacity to retain moisture is true in general, but geography and household hvac equipment makes the "warm side" versus "cool side" placement a non-issue. e.g., 72 degree mountain air can be "dryer" than 55 degree "cellar" air. 2 vapor barriers in an integrated room's wall is a bad idea - there will be a tendency to trap moisture, grow mold, puddle, etc. but, in a cabinet, both are highly recommended, if not necessary. mike stanton www.galtwine.com
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