12 bottle vinotemp - any point?

[dannyboy]

Originally Posted by BigCat

I see that ebay is littered with 12 bottle thermoelectric vinotemps for $50. I was curious if anyone is familiar with the box capacity of these. I am interested in getting the 28 bottle model that everyone seems to rave about, but my wife and I are getting ready to move and I can't justify the $400 price tag on the bigger ones at the moment. The weather is getting warm around here though and I also can't justify running the two wall unit air conditioners all day while we are gone to protect my sticks. I have a 50 qt cooler right now with about 10 boxes in it of varying sizes. Are these likely to fit in the 12 bottle? I guess I am just looking for short term cheap protection.

I have the 12 bottle and it works well for about 5 boxes, up to 7 if it is completley packed. I had to condense my collection by combining boxes, etc. and you cannot have the shelves in the unit. It works for my purpose, as I have only a 5 box collection and have very little cigar budget currently. It keeps my sticks at 65* and 65% with beads very well, but the size is incredibly limiting. If I had any sort of cigar budget, I would save that and get the 28-bottle and then start buying sticks to fill it. Well worth the extra space, IMHO. Hope that helps