8 Common Problems with Wine Coolers: Wine Cooler Not Cooling Master Solutions

Wine coolers are useful devices that help keep wine at the right temperature. But, you may experience problems with wine coolers such as wine coolers not cooling. What are the common problems with wine coolers?

  1. Broken wine cooler evaporator
  2. Defective wine cooler thermostat,
  3. Electrical breaks including cables and fuses
  4. Problems with the condenser fan not working,
  5. Wine cooler compressor problems,
  6. Wine cooler capacitor issues,
  7. Improper Room Temperature
  8. Exposure to excessive direct sunlight or placing the cooler next to hot objects

You can troubleshoot most of these common wine cooler not cooling problems at home but for the advanced ones you need either to contact a technician or return the wine cooler if it still has a warranty.

Wine coolers are particularly important when storing wine for long periods of time or to avoid having it go bad before you’re ready to drink it. A broken wine cooler isn’t much use, but fortunately, there are several different ways to fix it so that it works again.

An overheating wine cooler can cause wines to taste like plastic. Exposing a wine cooler to extreme hot or cold temperatures for extended periods of time can also cause irreparable damage, so if your Built-In Wine Cooler or non-built-in one has stopped working you may have some other maintenance tasks to take care of as well.

Luckily fixing a broken one is usually not too arduous a task and with the right information and tools, most problems should be fairly easy to tackle on your own at home.

Common Problems with Wine Coolers not Cooling & Fixes

Common Problems with Wine Coolers not Cooling & Fixes

The following are the 8 common problems with wine coolers that can cause them not to cool your wine:

  1. Broken wine cooler evaporator
  2. Defective wine cooler thermostat,
  3. Electrical breaks including cables and fuses
  4. Problems with the condenser fan not working,
  5. Wine cooler compressor problems,
  6. Wine cooler capacitor issues,
  7. Improper Room Temperature
  8. Exposure to excessive direct sunlight or placing the cooler next to hot objects

Let’s explore each of them in detail:

1. Check Your Cooling Unit Thermostat

A thermostat is an electronic device that controls the temperature of the cooling unit inside your wine cooler. If it breaks or malfunctions or the settings are off, it can cause your wine cooler to overheat or not cool properly.

If the wine fridge is not cooling your wine, you may have a malfunctioning thermostat. Therefore, the fridge is not able to regulate the temperatures effectively by working with other fridge components. Thus, you will find that the inside components of your wine cooler are either too cold or too hot since the thermostat cannot either disconnect or cut off the power to different components.

We can check the thermostat by observing if the cooling unit continues to run after we open the door to remove a bottle of wine. If it does, then the thermostat might be broken and we will have to replace it.

The thermostats are usually located near the compressor, so check there first if you can’t find a thermostat near the cooling unit. If you can’t find the thermostat, or you aren’t sure if it’s broken, you might be able to test the thermostat by adjusting the temperature settings.

This can be done by placing a thermometer in the wine cooler and adjusting the temperature dial until it reads the same temperature as the thermometer. Make sure you place the thermometer in a part of the wine cooler that isn’t being cooled by the cooling unit.

Unfortunately, you can’t fix a broken thermostat. You need to replace the thermostat to enable your fridge to function optimally.

2. Check if the wine cooler evaporator is faulty

The evaporator is a cooling plate attached to the inside of the wine cooler that cools the wine as it cycles through the cooling unit. If the evaporator is broken or has broken off the wine cooler, it can cause the cooling unit to overheat and stop working.

A broken evaporator can cause ice buildup in your wine cooler. This ice together with dirt accumulation can block the fan which is contained in this element.

You can fix a faulty wine cooler evaporator by cleaning up the debris around the fan or even the ice and dust that may have accumulated in the component.

If the evaporator fan is broken or bent, you are better off replacing the wine cooler evaporator fan entirely rather than trying to repair it. If however, the problem is with ice in the element, you can melt the ice and then plug in the cooler to the power supply.

If you aren’t sure if the evaporator is broken, you can check it by looking for broken parts inside the wine cooler and by feeling for warm air coming out of the cooling unit.

If warm air is being blown out of the cooling unit, then the evaporator is probably broken and you should replace the wine cooler fan or evaporator.

3. Check if the Condenser Fan is Working

The condenser fan cools down the warm air coming out of the cooling unit and sends it outside. This process keeps the coils cool. If your wine cooler has stopped working, then you should check if the condenser fan is working or not because this can cause the entire cooler to overheat.

If the condenser fan isn’t working, you can try cleaning it and see if that fixes the issue. The debris may be the concern and thus cleaning all the dust can help the fan to start spinning. If that doesn’t work, you will have to replace the fan to help the wine cooler to start cooling again.

If the condenser fan is working but the cooling unit is still not cooling down the wine, then you might have a broken cooling unit and will have to replace it.

4. Fix the Wine cooler compressor problems

The compressor is an important part of the wine cooler that compresses and pumps the warm air that comes out of the cooling unit outside.

If the compressor breaks, the wine cooler will stop working entirely. If the compressor breaks, you will have to replace the wine cooler entirely since the compressor is usually sold as a single unit with the cooling unit.

Fortunately, wine coolers usually have a long lifespan and most people don’t need to replace their wine cooler for this reason alone.

If you experience any issues with the compressor, you can try cleaning it and see if that fixes the issue. If that doesn’t work, you will have to replace the compressor.

5. Check the Wine cooler capacitor for issues

The capacitor is a device that controls the voltage of the wine cooler and makes sure that the cooling unit is performing as it should.

If the capacitor is broken or malfunctioning, it can cause the cooling unit to overheat and stop working. If the capacitor malfunctions, it can cause other parts of the wine cooler to malfunction as well.

We can check if the capacitor is faulty by testing it with a multimeter. If the readings don’t match what they should, then the capacitor is faulty and will need to be replaced.

If the capacitor is functioning but the cooling unit is still not cooling down, then you might have a broken cooling unit and will have to replace it.

6. Check if you have Improper Room Temperature

If you have a thermoelectric wine cooler with cooling problems, you may be having challenges with the room temperature. This is because as compared to compressor systems, thermoelectric coolers are not as effective in maintaining the cool temperature.

For thermoelectric systems, the ideal room temperature is between 50 and 80 degrees F. If your room temperature is higher the thermoelectric wine cooler will not work very well.

To note is that you can easily solve this cooling problem by either:

  • Turning up the air conditioner
  • Moving the cooler into a cooler room
  • You can also change from a thermoelectric wine cooler to a compressor cooler

Moreover, the thermoelectric wine cooler’s temperature setting might be set too low or the room itself might be too warm. This can cause the wine cooler to overheat and stop working.

If you set the temperature setting too low, the wine cooler will try to cool down the wine to that temperature, which might be too warm for the wine.

If the room is too warm, then the wine cooler will also try to cool down the room to the temperature setting, which is also too warm for the wine.

If you have set the temperature correctly, and the room is at the right temperature, but the cooling unit is still overheating, you might have a broken cooling unit and will have to replace it.

7. Analyze for Exposure to excessive direct sunlight or if the wine cooler is placed next to hot objects

Direct sunlight shining on a wine cooler can overheat the cooler, causing it to stop working. If your wine cooler is next to a hot object, like a stove or a radiator, it can overheat as well.

These issues can be avoided by keeping the wine cooler out of direct sunlight and keeping it away from any hot objects.

If you have placed the wine cooler in a sunny place, or next to a hot object and it has stopped working, then you will have to replace the cooling unit.


TIP: We have published an article to help you solve the common wine cooler problem by analyzing the Cost to Repair Wine Fridge: Budget for Common Wine Cooler Problems Repair. Check it out to understand whether to repair your wine cooler or buy a new one altogether

Fix a Broken Thermal Cut-Off

If you have tried everything else, and the cooling unit is still not cooling down the wine cooler, then you can try fixing the thermal cut-off.

The thermal cut-off is a device that shuts down the cooling unit if it overheats. If the thermal cut-off is faulty and not working, it can cause the cooling unit to overheat and stop working.

If the thermal cut-off is faulty, you can try fixing it by cleaning it and replacing any broken parts. If the thermal cut-off is broken, you will have to replace it.

Check the Breaker and Fuse

If you have tried everything else and the wine cooler is still not working, then you should check the breaker and the fuse.

If the breaker or the fuse is faulty or has tripped, it can cause the wine cooler to stop working. If the breaker and the fuse are fine, then you should check if there are any power outages in your area.

If there are no power outages and the wine cooler still doesn’t work, then you might have a faulty wine cooler and will have to replace it. There are several ways to fix a broken wine cooler if your attempts at troubleshooting have failed.

You can check the cooling unit’s thermostat, make sure the condenser fan is working, fix the compressor if it’s broken, replace the capacitor if it’s malfunctioning, and try fixing a faulty thermal cut-off. If none of these methods work, then you will have to replace the entire cooling unit.

At Hopsters Brewing Company we use and love the Antarctic Star 24 Bottle Wine Cooler which has the following advantages over most other wine coolers: 24 Bottle Wine Cooler, reinforced glass door with air tight seal for ideal light and humidity, No vibration and freestanding among others

Lee

Conclusion

We have gone through the 8 common problems with wine coolers not cooling and their fixes. Some of the problems that we have discussed include:

  • Broken wine cooler evaporator
  • Defective wine cooler thermostat,
  • Electrical breaks including cables and fuses
  • Problems with the condenser fan not working,
  • Wine cooler compressor problems,
  • Wine cooler capacitor issues,
  • Improper Room Temperature
  • Exposure to excessive direct sunlight or placing the cooler next to hot objects

As discussed, for most of the problems you can troubleshoot at home but for the complex ones especially where a part replacement is required, you may either need to call a technician or return to the company for repairs.

Sources

https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/product-safety/wine-coolers/

https://www.newair.com/blogs/learn/the-10-worst-wine-chiller-mistakes-you-can-make

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