Top Reasons Why Your Wine Cooler Is Not Working

Has your wine cooler suddenly stopped working? You can get it up and running back in no time by finding out the top reasons why your wine cooler has suddenly stopped working. There are many different reasons why your wine cooler could stop working, some are easier to fix than others but with this guide, you will be able to identify the problem and fix it.

Picture this, you’ve had a great week at work and you are looking forward to that bottle of wine in your wine cooler to drink to wind down after all that hard work. Finally, you are home and put everything away, now it is time to grab the bottle and kick back but there is just one massive problem, the bottle is warm! You think to yourself how has this possibly happened?

Here are four top reasons why your wine cooler is not working.

What Is A Wine Cooler?

Before you roll up your sleeves and get fixing the problem, it is important to learn more about what kind of appliance you are dealing with. The technology inside a wine cooler can often look complicated from the outside. Wine coolers usually are designed with a compressor or a thermoelectric system that enables them to successfully keep the air inside the cabinet cold.

Compressor units work like your kitchen fridge - and if they are not cooling then there is something definitely wrong with it. That doesn’t mean that your thermoelectric system is broken - before you start making conclusions that your wine cooler is completely broken, you should know about the limitations of your wine cooler.

An example would be if you have a thermoelectric cooler - it will not work at its most effective when the room temperature is too hot. These types of wine cooler models will work at their best when it is at ambient temperatures between 10° to 26°.

If you are drastically above this limit, then you run a high risk of your wine cooler not being able to chill your wine correctly. With all this in mind, let's move forward to finding the main reasons why your wine cooler has stopped working.

Your Evaporator Has Broken

When you open the door of your compressor wine cooler (whether it be a freestanding wine cooler, integrated wine cooler, etc), you are usually greeted by cold air that comes from the evaporator. This component works by pulling the air from the coils and then cooling down the interior of the cabinet.

If your evaporator has stopped working then the unit will not be able to generate any cold air even if your compressor is running at full capacity. Since your evaporator uses a fan, a big reason why it has stopped working could be due to the fact that there is a blockage.

Another complication that could happen with your evaporator is that the blades of the fan can sometimes bend due to dust build-up, and that can lead to your wine cooler not being able to chill your wine correctly.

To fix this, have a quick inspection. If your evaporator has built-up ice on it when checking, have a thorough inspection of the blades of your evaporator to see if they are in good condition - you may notice that dust and debris have built up.

If you notice there is a build-up of ice, then let it melt before you plug in the appliance again. If there is dust and debris then clean it with a wipe. If your fan has bent then quickly replace it.

Your Condenser Fan Isn’t Running

A compressor cooling system has four elements, one of which is a fan that is designed to be able to successfully cool down the condenser and the condenser coil. This should turn on when the entire system has been switched on and if it isn’t running then there is a high chance that the condenser and coil may overheat.

In the long term, this means the heat transfer from the elements of the system to the interior cabinet causes it to warm up together affecting your wine collection.

To fix this, take a look if the condenser fan is spinning freely and is currently not obstructed by anything. It could be obstructed currently by a build-up of dust and debris which causes the blades to stop spinning. If you notice that there isn’t any dust and debris, then most likely, your fan has broken and you will need to get it replaced.

Faulty Thermostat

If your compressor wine cooler isn’t cooling then another reason could be the fact you currently have a faulty thermostat. It’s important that this component is working as it is responsible for the supply of power to the condenser, evaporator and compressor.

The thermostat lets you control and adjust the wine cooler’s temperature - and if this crucial component is broken, then there is a chance that your wine could be spoiled.

You won’t be able to fix a faulty thermostat and you’ll have to fully replace it. In the manual, there should be instructions on how to fix it but we always recommend that you call in a wine cooler technician.

Room Temperature Is Too Warm

Thermoelectric wine coolers use Peltier modules to conduct heat out of the cabinet. Thermoelectric wine coolers do not come with a refrigerant system, and if the room that you’ve placed them in is too hot, then the Peltier modules become ineffective in helping to cool the interior.

We recommend that you do not attempt to place your thermoelectric wine cooler in a room where the temperature rises above 25°. The good news about this is your wine cooler isn’t faulty or broken so it can be easily fixed short-term.

Unfortunately, if it has been a while since you’ve noticed, your wine collection could have been affected by staying warm for a long period of time. Move your wine cooler into a much cooler room and on hotter days use the A/C.