Aristocrat - set and forget worth it?

[montecristo#2]

I actually use the temp but not the humidity control (I still had Bob install it though as the price difference was only $75 or so). When I had water in the humidifiers, the RH was too high.

I wanted the temp control, so for me it was a no brainer (no way could I do it myself). We do get into the high 70s in the house during the summer. One thing I never liked about my Vino was that whenever the power would go out it would reset to 55C. So if I needed to kill the power for 5 minutes, I always had to remember to go reset the temp. That does not happen with my Aristocrat.

Are you planning on getting glass? If so, I think he recommends adding another cooling device, just something to consider.

Also, I will say when the temp control is running and the humidifier fans are running, the cabinet can be a little load.

[markem]

Originally Posted by montecristo#2

Are you planning on getting glass? If so, I think he recommends adding another cooling device, just something to consider.

Hiya Aaron!

Not interested in looking at boxes and cabs, so no. I'm a solid cherry wood kinda guy. I may even buy the cherry from a local custom furniture builder and send it to him so that it all matches the rest of the house.

Yes, I'm anal that way.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by markem

Hiya Aaron!

Not interested in looking at boxes and cabs, so no. I'm a solid cherry wood kinda guy. I may even buy the cherry from a local custom furniture builder and send it to him so that it all matches the rest of the house.

Yes, I'm anal that way.

Trust me, I know what you mean.

Mine is dark red mahogany - I wanted it to match our hardwood floor which is Brazilian Cherry. So Bob and I went back and forth with images so he could get an idea of what he was trying to match.

Then about a week and a half before it was suppose to be done, he sends me an email to let me know I would be getting a fedex package in a couple of days. He decided it would be best to send me two samples with two different stains (one lighter, one darker). He figured the ligher one would be best, but he just wanted to make sure and said the only way we would know was to look at a sample in the actual room.

The lighter one ended up being perfect.

In an age where people prefer cheaper over quality and customer service (anyone been furniture shopping lately), Bob is old school and takes great pride in his work. Seriously, one of the best purchases I have ever made.

[bazookajoe]

Originally Posted by montecristo#2

I actually use the temp but not the humidity control (I still had Bob install it though as the price difference was only $75 or so). When I had water in the humidifiers, the RH was too high...

Hey Aaron, I had the same problem - spoke with Bob and he said that for those living on the coast the humidifiers sometimes provide too much RH, even if they don't run. He suggested that I cover all but one or two of the slots, add a fan at the bottom and use beads to absorb any extra humidity. He upgraded me to the new RH control that lets you run the fans independently without running the fan in the humidifier. It works perfectly, dropping the RH from 75% to a constant 65%.

[ucla695]

Originally Posted by montecristo#2

I actually use the temp but not the humidity control (I still had Bob install it though as the price difference was only $75 or so). When I had water in the humidifiers, the RH was too high.

I had the same problem and switched to beads. The water basin makes a great bead holder.

[Parshooter]

As others have said, really depends on where you are putting the cabinet. Since the THC was double the price, I went with just the Set n Forget. My cabinet is in an upstairs room, and in the spring, when just windows are open, it can get warm in there. I bought a portable ac unit for my room and it works great.