Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey fellas,

wanted to take some opinions of who utilizes commercial cooling units (SPECIFICALLY wine coolers) out there and what results they've had.

Also of interest, what brands seem to be the most reliable/successful in maintaining consistent temperatures?

Thanks for any and all advice, commentary, etc.
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

I use a number of dorm. fridges to cool my animals. They work exceptionally well, and the larger sizes can fit ~20 animals, give or take. It's a more expensive route than relying on a cool basement, but is a more reliable method, in my opinion. Dell uses wine coolers (essentially the same concept as the dorm friges I use), and has similar results (=good).

The brands I use include ChefMate and a number of others I can't remember off the top of my head.

Hope that helps,
-Cole

The forum member "Upscale" has used the wine cooler method before. Maybe he can chime in and give you some feedback.

I DO know that these can work great, as long as a fresh air supply, is kept in mind and addressed.

good luck with it "J-dawg"..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

j-dawg....LOL.... thats almost as god as Nate Dogg!.....

Out of all the canned peaches I have tried the ones in heavy syrup are the best.They are just good! does that help with your question about wine coolers?

L8r

"Nate-dawg" must be busy as heck lately with his kid and all, I don't see him post near as often as he used to.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

....utter evidence that specialized schools and electroshock treatments have little long-term effects for some..........

LOL...but that was pretty funny though.......
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

Jerry,

I used a converted wine cooler for the first time this year. It is a Frigidaire that I got at Lowes. I tried a very unscientific experiment.

I brumated two thayeri males and two females in the cooler. One female was a first timer, the other was proven. The two males were first timers also. I also brumated another first timer female on my basement floor. I bred one of the cooler males to the proven female, and the other male to the first timer cooler female and the first timer basement floor female.

Both females brumated in the cooler produced clutches of 13 good eggs each. The female brumated on the floor produced a clutch of 10 eggs with 8 being good and two slugs. I will try something similar this season to see if results mirror last year.

Craig
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God Bless Evolution.

What about the air circulation? Do some of these have air flow?

okay, 'splain "converted"......lol. You have my attention.....
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

I tried the wine cooler thing.....but forgot what the hell I was gonna do after the 4th one.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Booze on one shelf, eggs on the next? Count me in! It isn't too different than keeping ice cream in the rodent freezer I guess

>>I tried the wine cooler thing.....but forgot what the hell I was gonna do after the 4th one.

too funny.

I put some snakes in a wine cooler for two and a half months one time, but when I took them out, all of them kept hic-upping and were far more belligerent than usual.

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Hi Jerry,

I bought a convenience-store drink cooler and had the vendor install some sort of safety valve that would kill the system if temps got too out of whack. I was told that was needed to utilize it at brumation temps that were warmer than the temps you'd keep drinks chilled at.

I ran it empty, to see how it would work, before putting snakes in it. On the 2nd day or so i found temps of about 100 inside and humidity steaming the glass doors. We did some re-wiring. I eventually got it working but had to leave the doors cracked an inch or so to control the humidity. For me, at that time, using the (costly) equipment i got, it wasn't a very satisfactory (ie reliable) solution for a rare collection. I used it just that one year.

If you do use something like a wine cooler, my advice would be to run it for weeks keeping a close eye on temps and humidity, before putting anything valuable in it. Someone else's observation here that you need some sort of fresh air supply also sounds like good advice. Good luck!

I will most certainly heed any and all advice/recommendations. I will likely start small with a 40-50 bottle cooler at first and go from there. I'm promised discounts anyway at a reliable appliance/electronics empire, so saving a few dollars is nice. But as Terry stated, I'd have to run it for a bit to ascertain the reliability and modify as needed. Indeed there are some rare gems that I wouldnt want to risk. Again, thanks all...
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

You can "hack" the wine cooler by moving the thermocouple closer to the coil so it can be set a little warmer than factory. Also when your done you can use it as an incubator in the spring.