Dr. Eric J. Karson | Thursday, October 15, 2009

Frankly, I expected more from Haier. This is basically a dorm-fridge, with a glass door, and digital temperature display. It looks very nice, an my wife is thrilled -- which is what matters most. It sits on ceramic tile in my TV room, and the noise, while present, is not bothersome. I am a bit less happy with the constant 5-6 degree temperature variation. Needs better insulation, I shudder to think how much electricity its eats!

Gizmo Guy | Saturday, July 18, 2009

Looks great, and when it works it works well. But I had two units fail on me within a year.

The unit I originally bought was DOA, but after an inspection by a service technician revealed that the coolant had completely leaked out, Haier replaced it. The replacement unit was a refurbished unit which seemed to have some damage on the bottom. But it worked fine, until it failed almost exactly one year later, too late to be covered under the warranty!

I liked the looks of the unit, and the digital readout is a real boon--if nothing else, it helps to tell you when the unit stops working. :-)

But I don't think the headache, and the hours I spent on the phone, are worth it. I'll look for another brand next time.

Gary | Friday, July 17, 2009

I agree with other reviewers who were disappointed....extremely poor hinge design....in fact, mine arrived with the door off the hinges. There was no visable damage to the packaging....which was in was minimal. The "leveling" wheels were bent and not effective and a piece was missing from the left lower corner. I would have paid 4X the price for a well designed appliance with appropriate packaging. Too bad, I will never know whether the cooling device worked well or not....this is going to the curb side tomorrow to be haulded to the junk heep!

Tom | Thursday, February 12, 2009

Purchase date: Purchased the product from amazon.com in December 2008.

Price: Several web sites were selling the unit for three hundred dollars including amazon. When amazon reduced the price by thirty-six dollars I made my purchase.

Shipping: With the free Super Saver Shipping, the cellar was delivered by UPS in 3 days.

Packaging: The packaging is minimal. There is thin Styrofoam packaging covering each of the four corners and a square piece covering the top. Plus a piece of Styrofoam is inside the door to protect the glass door from the wire shelves. Cardboard covers the four sides and the top. There is no packaging at all covering the bottom of the cellar and there is no Styrofoam covering the sides.

Delivery: I was most concerned about damage to the glass door and the compressor - which were not damaged. UPS delivered the cellar by using a dolly with a very long blade that was wider than the cellar. I believe this helped avoid any damage to the bottom of the cellar. (Remember there is no packaging for the bottom.) But, unfortunately, there was damage to one of the sides. I did not notice it until UPS was gone but there was a small tear to one of the sides of the cardboard - small enough that it looked like normal wear and tear of shipping and not significant enough to be a concern. But there was a small dent in the side of the cellar. If there were even a thin piece of Styrofoam covering the sides, the damage would have been prevented. I took the easy way out and decided to just keep the cellar.

Cooling: The cellar lets you set your own temperature or you can use the white wine button (which uses a temp of 47 degrees) or the red wine button (which uses a temp of 57 degrees). The compressor turns on when the temperature is 3 degrees more than your setting. It turns off when the temperature is 2 degrees less than your setting but the cellar does continue to get colder. I keep the cellar in a room where the temperature is in the mid 60s and the cellar continues to get another 3 to 4 degrees cooler. So, all together, there is an 8 or 9 degree temperature variation.

Noise: Some of the reviews of various cellars I read complained about the continuous running and noise of their cellar. But this cellar is extremely quiet. I do not notice when the compressor is on. And when cooling, it's on for only a couple of minutes.

Vibration: Since this cellar uses a compressor for cooling I was concerned about the amount of vibration that it created since it can disturb the sediment in the wine bottles. But the compressor in this cellar is bolted to a bracket on the bottom of the unit and there are rubber bushings in between the compressor and the bracket. I did, however, feel a very, very small amount of vibration when the compressor is on. To measure the vibration, I put a glass of water on the cellar and found, to my relief, the water was completely undisturbed. I also watched for vibration when the compressor turns on and when it turns off. The water in the glass does show some vibration - more so when it turns off than when it turns on. But this is probably less vibration than when you open or close the cellar.

Warranty: The manual states the warranty for parts and labor is 12 months from the date of purchase. The compressor, condenser and evaporator have a warranty of 5 years from the date of purchase.

Donald A. Johnson | Thursday, August 23, 2007

Product is excellent to date. Shipping (UPS)
Product container very beat up. One shipping strap broken. Fist sized hole through
container. Driver delivered through front door and immediately returned
to truck without waiting for a delivery signature. Luckly, product seemed
to be OK, and is OK, working properly at this time. Maybe too large for UPS
shipping ability, unless product was mishandled at warehouse. Not good PR for
UPS in my view.