After a lot of confusing research and reviews, I selected the Ivation. I couldn't be happier. The overall look is sleek enough (without being gaudy or glitzy), and the operation is quiet enough that it can be placed in any room without being a distraction. The smoked-glass front is a nice touch as compared to some of the other units with a clear-glass front.
Set up is easy and straightforward, and the temperatures are holding steady. In simple terms, it does exactly what it's supposed to. Refreshing!
I had some shipping issues with TWO units but I must say that DBROTH (seller) customer service is responsive and outstanding! They went above and beyond to ensure I was satisfied.
There are a lot of seemingly similar products available. But if you are interested in buying from a supplier who stands behind their product... look no further than this Ivation sold by DBROTH!
I seem to be the first reviewer of this item (24 bottle dual-zone). It arrived yesterday. The unit is light, easy to move around (when empty). Plug it in, it starts up (no power switch that I could find). The instructions are minimal, but clear. The unit is very quiet indeed - only the hum of 2 fans (one for each zone) while it is cooling. I put 7 bottles in the top section (so, almost full) and put an accurate digital thermometer in there with them. I added 11 bottles to the bottom (a bit more than half full). As expected, at startup the temps of both sections showed pretty much room temperature (around 70F).
The LED lights are easy to operate, tough a tad dim. They turn off automatically after 10 minutes. It's easy to choose between F & C display. Setting the temps is easy. I set the top section at 50F, and the bottom at 60F. All bottles were at ambient temperature when I put them in, so the thermoelectric coolers had a bit of work to do. I monitored the temps for a couple of hours, and they didn't do much. Left them overnight, and in the morning the LEDs showed 50 & 60 - exactly where I had set them. At that point, the unit was completely silent (no fans running, because it wasn't actively cooling). BUT, the thermometer inside the top section showed 52.2F. So, to try to get the "real" temp down to 50F, I changed the set temp for the top section to 48F. However, after I set it, the fan kicked in (as expected) and the LED showed me that the actual temp was 52 (the same as shown by my digital thermometer). So I surmise that the displayed temp isn't refreshed all the time, and when I changed the temp setting, it forced a refresh, causing the LED to display the correct temperature (52F). Still guessing -- perhaps if I had left it alone, then when the real temp rose to (say) 53 degrees it would have triggered the system to (i) display the correct temp (53 instead of 50) and (ii) kicked the cooler on, to get the temp back down to 50.
Anyway, so far, so good. Obviously, I can't comment on reliability, but if anything happens I will update this review. Also, I live in SoCal, so when the hotter weather returns, I am a bit concerned that the unit won't cope well (I have read a few things indicating that thermoelectric coolers can't do much better that 20 degrees below ambient - which is pretty much what my top section is set for at the moment).
**Updated Review*** We had an issue with the top compartment not getting cold. They contacted us and send us a new one so we're all good now. Great to know they are paying attention and want to make things right.
**Original Review**
We've had it turned on for less than a month now and the upper zone no longer cools. We have it set to 46 degrees and it is at 70 degrees.It's actually warmer in the upper compartment than it is in our house so we're just putting our white wine on the counter instead of this refrigerator.
Update to this review- customer service contacted us and replaced the fridge.
I liked this wine fridge when I purchased it - it's fairly small/sleek and did a decent job - until it didn't. I have had it for just over 1 year and the top half stopped working. I contacted customer service who couldn't help me since it had been past a year. For this price, I think a small wine fridge should work for much longer than 1 year. Pretty disappointed, I would suggest spending your money elsewhere.
It’s smaller than I originally pictured it to be, but the description is exactly correct. It works as it should. The only criticism is of recovery time to the set temperature after the door has been opened to load the racks, but that is more an observation of operation than anything critical to the function.
I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a replacement for their countertop wine chiller-especially from this distributor as it was a terrific price delivered quite promptly. The exact model can be had elsewhere on the ‘Net with a much higher price and slower delivery time..
Feature Product
- WINE COOLER (wine Cellar / Wine Chiller) A MUST HAVE: The only way to protect the quality and taste of your wines long or short term, and ensure it AGES at a consistent level, the wine has to be stored in the correct environment and CONSISTENT TEMPERATURE, (ideally in the range of 55° F) This free standing innovative wine cooler will protect your red or white wine, preserving its quality and rich flavors, so you could enjoy its real taste to the fullest.
- PERFECT Stable TEMPERATURE: The Ivation cooler enables you to store your wines short & long term in a consistent stable temp environment, and allows you to customize the temp to one that creates an ideal climate for your wines ageing process, Upper zone: 46º - 64ºF (8º - 18ºC), Lower Zone: 54º - 64ºF (12º - 18ºC), therefore bringing out the true characteristics and full flavor of your wines in the long-term. Quickly monitor and set temperatures in both temperature zones with touch controls.
- HUMIDITY, MINIMAL LIGHT: Insulated with Solid polyurethane heavy foam (CFC-free) & Closed with Thermopane doors that are tempered smoked, to ensure an interior odor-free environment that maintains constant humidity, keeping the cork from drying out, thus preventing more air to come into contact with the wine, also to ensure darkness, blocking out sunlight and harmful UV rays that breaks down the complex molecules that create the special flavors in properly aged wines.
- NO VIBRATION & SUPER QUIET: Specially built with an Energy-efficient thermoelectric cooling system with no compressor, to minimize the vibration effect and noise, allowing your wine to age and settle properly, with no disturbance to its natural occurring sediments.
- FEATURES: Sleek design with exterior digital Touch controls and LCD temp (°F/°C) Soft interior lighting with on/off control 100% Customer Satisfaction GUARANTEED we stand behind our products and pride ourselves with exceptional customer service care. If you need help please contact us at info@myivation.com or call 866-849-3049.
Description
The Ivation Wine Cooler keeps your wine at the correct & consistent temperature and stable environment, protecting the wine from exterior lights and elements, and is specially built to have zero vibration, so the wine could be aged and stored properly, enabling it to preserve and develop its delicious flavor, Color & Aroma, with the best possible mouthfeel, body, palette and finish, serving you the best and tastiest wine that is Full, Rich, Supple, Smooth, Round, & Balanced
A Must Have for Wine Lovers & Collectors
The only way to properly protect your wine is to store them in the Ivation temperature-controlled beautifully designed wine cooler, even for short term storage. Serving temperature has a big effect on how a wine smells, tastes and feels in your mouth, even a very good wine can be awful at the wrong temperature, likewise improper temperature can also shorten the wine's life or ruin the wine completely, Regular refrigerators are not an option, as they are too cold for most wines, and "Room temperature" is too warm.
Features & Specifications
Maintains the perfect temperature for red & white wines
Efficient thermoelectric cooling
Low noise, low vibration - will not disturb sediment
Touch controls and LCD display
Soft interior lighting with on/off control
Tempered smoked glass door
Solid, CFC-free polyurethane foam insulation Rated Power: 65W
Temperature Range: 46º - 64ºF (8º - 18ºC) -54º - 64ºF (12º - 18ºC)
Unit Dimensions: 13.5" x 20" x 25.4" (34.5 x 50.8 x 64.5cm)
Weight: Net: 36.4 lbs. (16.5kg), Gross: 40 lbs. (16.4kg)
Impotent Tip: Do not put your wine cooler in the garage. The big temperature ranges of a garage will make the cooler run too often, shortening its life.
Buy with confident:If you need help regarding any of our products, we have a dedicated team ready to assist you please contact us at info@myivation.com or call 866-849-3049
Fits all my different wines perfectly! It is quiet and I love the dual zones. The blue digital temperature display is very bright when in the dark. It is easy to program and even comes with a light to see what wines are inside without having to open the door. It goes well with my wine/coffee bar area.
Ivation 18 Bottle Dual Zone Thermoelectric Red & White Wine Cooler/Chiller Counter Top Wine Cellar with Digital Temperature Display, Freestanding Refrigerator Smoked Glass Door Quiet Operation Fridge
This is a vast upgrade from my old, noisy 12-bottle, single zone chiller. Our household enjoys both white and red wines, but we don’t want our reds at white wine temperatures. Here’s a few comments that my help you decide on this chiller.
BOTTLES: Lots of confusion in the market place. Imation correctly says it holds 24 “standard” bottles. True. That’s referring to Bordeaux-sized 2-7/8” diameter bottles. Some Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel wines come in 3-3/8” diameter bottles. I have found that I can pack this chiller with both sizes of bottles by placing larger bottles cork-first onto the racks in the bottom zone of the chiller. The larger bottles can fit like this on only the top rack of the top zone of the chiller. If you keep small “splits” of wine, these can be placed two to a slot if they are placed in with their necks overlapping.
TEMPERATURE: This unit reached operational temp within 1-1/2 hours. Please note the top zone gets to a lower, white wine drinking temperature. The bottom zone is perfect for red wine drinking temperatures. However, the bottom zone is also suitable for white wine storage. So store your extra whites (if you have more than 8 at one time) in the bottom and move them to the top as you drink the chilled ones.
SIZE: I measured this unit as 17” wide, 20-1/2” deep, and 29-3/8” tall from the floor to the top of the front door hinge which sticks up. If you have a tight space to the rear of the unit, the height of the chiller is 28-1/2”. Also, when you open the doors fully, you’ll need 36-1/2” from rear to opened door edge. That’s just normal space accommodations.
NOISE: The two fans are half as loud together as my old single-fan/single-zone chiller. In a quiet room you’ll hear them, but not when there’s any activity, conversation, or environmental noises. This is much quieter than my home refrigerator, for example.
APPEARANCE: This has an elegant “blacked-out” appearance, no protruding handles, and features a mirrored glass treatment. The doors open easily from subtle recessed pocket handles. The internal lights are for reading labels, not for showing off your wine collection. The lights automatically turn off in 10 minutes. This unit was well-packed and arrived in perfect condition via UPS from Amazon.
COMMENT: I wish the temperature LEDs turned off or dimmed. These don’t need to be on all the time and they are bright. I’ve taken black paper and masked them. Problem solved. Not something to drop a star over in my rating, though.
The wine chiller industry needs to recognize that Pinot Noir-sized bottles are commonly used and accommodate these products in their chiller designs. Maybe Imation can make a great product even better and update this design and beat others to the market. Also, more chillers need to get efficient and meet California standards so their are more options in the marketplace.
After reading reviews of many similar wine chillers, I opted for the Ivation 18 Bottle Dual Zone Thermoelectric and am not at all sorry for that decision. It is quiet and has chilled my red and white wines to the perfect temperature. I do wish I had gone for a larger size as I do have a few bottles of sparkling wines and champagne I would love to have chilled. They do not fit in the frige with the other bottles and that is one of the drawbacks. Another is that the instructions on setting the temperature are not clear in that it does not specify which control is for the upper and which the bottom. Once I figured it out we were good to go. This is a really good buy for the money that I paid and I am most pleased. My next purchase will be for a bigger one that holds more bottles and has space specifically for champagne/sparkling wines.
Very nice appearanc and design. My only problem is the temp control on the upper section, which holds 8 bottles, can only be adjusted down to 54 degrees. The lower section can go much lower, but it seems this product was designed for white wine (16 bottles on the bottom). My problem is I want to keep the 6-8 bottles of white I keep on hand in the upper section, but can’t get the temp down low enough.
plugged it in and ater 1 day it has been keeping steady temps. very easy to operate. NO NOISE... one thing to note. doesnt fit champagne style bottles or thick wine bottles very well. i shoved some in and it just left the shelf above by a bit. No problem really. just an observation. looks great and so far running great
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