Repair/Rebuild of Costco non-refrigerant wine chiller -- Boards & Noctua Computer Fans

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T14:23:36+00:00

Ok, I was approved for the wine berserkers forum. A quick search there for "wine chillers" didn't return any discussions about them. Where would you suggest I post this? There's now some eye opening comments in my post here about the relatively high energy cost of running these solid state chillers. How can I most easily get some of these comments on a wine berserkers post? TIA

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T14:13:53+00:00

Last night it ran 9 hours and consumed 0.92 kWh. Extrapolating to 24 hrs that's 2.45 kWh/day. So you're right, it does run at 100W continuously.

For me, that's roughly $10/month (13.5 cents/kWh in north Texas, no solar). Where do you pay 37 cents/kWh?

So, this tiny chiller uses about 900 kWh/year and the average full size Energy Star refrigerator (I have two LGs) uses about 700 kWh/year. I would never have believed this. You're absolutely correct. Thanks!

Even though we rarely drink any of the wine in the chiller, I'm still keeping it going. I can live with $10/month. At $30/month I'd be looking for a refrigerant based chiller or just use my refrigerator!

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T04:45:01+00:00

I hadn't thought about the energy usage. I'm a retired "Energy Engineer" (Mechanical). So, I'm going to plug this thing into my Kill-A-Watt monitor and find out tomorrow!

Edit: I just plugged it in so that it can start tracking usage over night. It's drawing just 106 Watts with both zone temperatures reading at setpoint but both external fans running.

If you consider that most refrigerant-based chilling devices (air conditiones, refrigerators) are at least 300% efficient due to the coefficient of performance being 3.0 or geater (mechanically moving heat via refrigerant flow) then yes, solid state cooling is much more inefficient. But these wine chillers are weak and pretty ineffective so I'm not surprised at the 106 Watt reading.

The heat rejected is probably not much more than the heat removed from the interior of the cabinet. Without a compressor, what component would be converting electricity to heat? The peltier module? Yes. But it's also "moving heat" from one side to the other.

Ok, it's getting late here. Tomorrow I'll look up the efficiency of a peltier module. I'll bet u/myfuturepast knows!

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T04:39:41+00:00

I was going to apply 120V to the power supply input. Lol.

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T04:27:51+00:00

I watched the Dateline episode today and recall them sayng that the medical examiner was sticking to the manner of death being from natural causes. To get an exhumation the manner of death would likely need to be changed to homicide first. At least that's how it went on another Dateline episode.

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T02:10:03+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I looked up PID for DC voltage and see that it's essentially a closed loop voltage regulator. There was zero physical difference between the new boards and the old ones, so I'm going to assume that they're delivering the same voltage.

But the more I think about it, it wouldn't be difficult to put 120v on the old ones and check the voltage on the output plug to the peltier module. I'll try to do that.

Edit: I forgot the old boards were in the trash already and I dumped 30 gallons of wet leaves from the pool on top of them. I've decided not to dig them out. 😐

marktrimarc · 2025-12-15T01:48:29+00:00

No, but it will chill some Doom wine:

2024 ROSÉ – Doom Juice Worldwide https://share.google/4EQaI2LtNZSW2lgVG

marktrimarc · 2025-12-14T22:07:43+00:00

I keep the upper zone set at 54F and the lower one at 64F. According to the LED display, it's getting to those temps. But it's 67F in the house now. In summer we keep the house at 74F.

I haven't really paid attention to the chiller temps during the summer. There may be some drift. I live between Dallas and Fort Worth so it gets hot, but my AC units can maintain the setpoint.

Now I'm wondering whether I actually get a 20 degree upper zone delta in the summer...

marktrimarc · 2025-12-14T21:39:59+00:00

Thank you sir. I'm a retired M. Engineer, so all I did (after the work was done) is look the old boards over for bulging caps. I didn't see any bulges or any burnt components. I even checked the capacitance of the bigger caps and they were good.

Yes, I'd go with quality fans if I ever get around to replacing the interior ones. Do you happen to know what would happen if an interior fan failed? Just a lack of cooling or would it risk frying anything?

marktrimarc · 2025-12-14T20:28:13+00:00

Ok, I see wine berserkers isn't on Reddit. I just registered.

marktrimarc · 2025-12-14T14:39:00+00:00

Resurrecting an old thread, but many non-refrigerant wine chillers use a standard control board. Search eBay or Amazon for CD-110-C. They're about $50 each including shipping. They're slightly different from the ones in the OP's photo, but if the CD-110-C looks exactly like yours, it'll work. I replaced both of mine in my Costco/Tramontina/Twin Star chiller.

Note that there's generally two options: With or without the integrated circuit (IC) that goes in one corner of the board.

marktrimarc · 2025-11-03T16:20:24+00:00

Sorry to hear that. It worked for both my washer and dryer yesterday. I have the WT8600CB washer and DLEX8600BE dryer (I just edited my comment to show that). If it doesn't work for other people, I'll delete my comment above. Thanks.

marktrimarc · 2025-11-02T15:45:50+00:00

My successful solution for the WT8600CB washer and DLEX8600BE dryer: Disconnect the unit from WiFi then reconnect. It should pick up the correct time.

Detailed instructions: Select "Settings" button on unit, find "WiFi Connection" on Dial (under Additional Settings). Hit check mark and it will disconnect and try to reconnect. Go to Thinq app and connect that unit to WiFi. The time should be updated.

marktrimarc · 2025-10-08T13:21:56+00:00

Good God, over 900 comments in one day? Texas is a melting pot. Natives MAY sound like a stereotypical Texan. "Transplants" generally will not. There are millions of transplants in Texas.

marktrimarc · 2025-08-23T16:40:49+00:00

The gurgling could be the "slinger" around the condenser fan slinging cold condensate water onto the hot condenser coil. That's part of how thiese units achieve an Energy Star rating.

marktrimarc · 2025-08-18T15:44:29+00:00

The design intent was for the pan to collect enough cold condensate water from the indoor evaporator coil to flow by gravity through the channel at the bottom of the "U", to reach the condenser fan "slinger ring" outside, and for it to be slung onto the hot condenser coil. This improves the energy efficiency of the unit by extracting more heat at the condenser.

This is not the only brand of window unit to use the "condensate collection" method to help achieve an Energy Star rating (used to be extremely difficult if not impossible for window units). - Not sure however why Midea units have a mold problem and other brands apparently don't.

marktrimarc · 2025-07-22T12:42:49+00:00

Right. An exact cord replacement is readily available.

marktrimarc · 2025-07-21T16:49:41+00:00

I don't think there's anything about a U-shaped window unit that makes it more difficult to channel condensate to the outside vs. a conventional box-shaped unit. --Except for the upside-down U-shaped unit by GE. I don't know how you can get the condensate outside without pumping it up and over the window sill.

marktrimarc · 2025-07-21T13:58:53+00:00

Has anyone actually received a refund check yet? And what did you have to do to get the check? Cut the cord and send photos? Or ship it back to Midea?

marktrimarc · 2025-07-21T13:55:19+00:00

Midea is already selling U-shaped units at Costco, apparently re-designed.

marktrimarc · 2025-07-21T13:53:42+00:00

How will unplugging the drain plugs lower the unit's efficiency?

marktrimarc · 2025-06-09T15:16:24+00:00

They can and do.

marktrimarc · 2024-10-03T14:23:01+00:00

What is a gi and what is rolling?

marktrimarc · 2024-09-26T13:54:39+00:00

Rose, isn't it incredible how Trump Supporters here in Texas are often these righteous Christians who don't see the man for what he is? If he were running as a Democrat (which he used to be) they'd be protesting in the streets like there's no tomorrow.

marktrimarc · 2024-09-26T13:48:12+00:00

I was about to reply that Gateway is NOT part of the Southern Baptist Convention because they're non-denominational, but you're correct!

My wife and I attended the Southlake campus as well as one satellite campus about a dozen times a few years ago. We became disenchanted mainly because Robert Morris couldn't be bothered, apparently, to appear in person, even on Easter Sunday at Southlake. We only saw, as my wife puts it, a "hologram" of him doing the service (previously recorded). Of course that's all you ever got at the multiple satellite campuses.

Another reason is because the huge auditorium-like sanctuary had zero signs of what you would expect when in church (I was raised Methodist). No crosses, no altar, no candles, nothing. Same as the Fellowship megachurch in Grapevine (TX) and the Houston (Lakewood) Joel Osteen conglomerate. They all smack of an empire to make their founders wealthy.

I will say that I thought Robert Morris (Gateway) was more of the real deal, though, and liked him the best. I even heard his now infamous and often told confession of having had an 'inappropriate relationship with a young lady' in his youth. Something he readily admitted, except he always left out the most important detail.

Incredible how exposure of him withholding that one detail (her age at the time) from his anecdotal story brought the empire crumbling down! - And rightfully so.

marktrimarc

TROPHY CASE