Danby Dual Zone Wine Coolers - Reviews

If you're looking for affordable wine coolers with two temperature zones check out the Danby dual zone wine coolers reviewed on this page.

Founded in Quebec, Canada in 1947 Danby is one of the largest household appliances marketing company in North America. Their products, including a wide range of electric wine coolers, are available at many dealers and stores.

Dual zone wine coolers and wine refrigerators have two tempearture zones each with its own temperature control and display. Wine coolers with two individually controlled compartments are perfect for wine enthusiasts who love both reds and whites.

In one of the compartments you can store your favorite red wines at around 55°F, while you can set the other zone to lower temperature to chill whites and/or sparkling wine in it.

The capacity of Danby dual zone wine refrigerators range from 30 bottles to 166 bottles so you can select the best size that suits your wine storage needs.

Danby 30 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler - Model DWC283BLS

The Danby Designer DWC283BLS is the smallest capacity 2-zone wine refrigerator by Danby.

Main Features:

The two temperaure zones of this elegant looking 30-bottle wine refrigerator have their own individual controls and displays, so you can set and monitor temperature in the two zones independently.

In the red wine compartment you can place max. 10 bottles while you can fit 20 bottles in the white wine zone (capacity is for bulk storage of standard shape and size 750 ml Bordeaux bottles; wider, larger bottles reduce the max. capacity).

Both temp. zones feature electronic thermostats and LCD displays for accurate and easy setting and monitoring of cooling temperature in the two compartments. The control panel is located under the 2 top shelves.

Danby 30 Bottle dual temp zone wine cooler

In the upper zone (meant for storing reds) you can adjust temperature between 50 - 64°F (10-18°C), while the white wine zone's temp. range is 41 - 50°F (5-10°C). You can set the temperature for the two zones by pressing the "Set Upper" and "Set Lower" buttons on the control panel. The selected temperature will flash on the display monitor for about 5 seconds then it'll show the internal temperature of the cabinet.

6 natural wooden shelves accommodate the wine bottles: 4 in the bottom zone and 2 in the upper chamber.

Each shelf is capable of holding 5 standard size 750 ml bottles. You can pull out the shelves to conveniently place and acess the bottles.

The two zones have blue LED interior lights that turn on automaticlly when the door is opened and turn off when you close the door.

As you might know wines not only require proper storage temperature but adequate humidity level (min. 50% relative humidity) too, so that the corks are kept moist.

The two zones of the Danby 30-bottle wine refrigerator have humidors, a plastic container that you are to fill 3/4 full with water and place on the top shelves of the zones. Don't forget to check water level occasionally, and refill if necessary. Note that the container reduces the top shelf's capacity to 4 bottles.

The black cabinet looks stylish with the stainless steel-trimmed glass door and it blends well in most home decors while providing space-economic wine storage solution for both your reds and whites/sparkling wine. The glass door is double pane and the door opening can be reversed for more flexibility in placing options. To keep the temperature inside the cooler constant the magnetic door gasket provides tight seal preventing warm air getting inside the unit. The door glass is slightly tinted to filter out harmful UV rays while still providing great view of your wines. The easy-grip stainless steel handle is on the top of the door.

The Auto Defrost feature defrosts any possible ice build-up automatically. Water from the defrost ice is channeled into a drain pan from where it evaporates by the heat of the compressor.

Dimensions:

Height: 33 3/16" (84.2 cm)
Width: 19 13/16" (50.3 cm)
Depth: 23 5/16" (59.2 cm)

Price of the Danby 30-bottle 2 temp. zone wine cooler: cc. US$ 300 - 450 (US$ 10 - 15 per bottle)

TIP: the Avanti 28-bottle Dual-Zone Wine Cooler, Model WC331DZD is a similar item.

Customer Opinions on Danby DWC283BLS 30 bottle wine cooler

Although Danby wine refrigerators look great and are equipped with modern features, however, many customers complain on poor quality and inefficient customer and repair service. Often times the customer service staff of Danby didn't deal with customer's complaints properly or simply didn't call back the customer. Repair service people refused to come out to customers' homes and deal with the problem many times.

One of the users of the Danby DWC283BLS model said that some of the wine actually froze inside the cooler. He also found the appliance to be so noisy that he placed the unit in a far corner of his home so that the noise will be less disturbing. He also became disappointed in Danby's customer service, he had to try calling them several times until managed to talk to someone about the problems he expereinced with his Danby cooler. The repair service he was referred to refused to come out to his home to solve the problem.

Another owner of this model said that some of the shelves stuck and that the wine cooler is very noisy.

A couple of customers have noted that the wine cooler broke down after a few months of operation and caused their wines to get ruined) Note that ruined wines aren't covered by Danby's warranty.

I think you'd better think over whether it's worth buying a cheap wine cooler that could stop working after a couple of months or could even ruin your wines.

Danby 51-Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler Review - Model DWC513BLS

This is a capacious two zone wine refrigerator capable of storing up to 51 bottles of wine ( max. capacity can be achieved by placing only standard size and shape, 750 ml Bordeaux bottles in the unit).

The two independently controlled temperature zones allow you to store reds, and keep whites/sparkling wine chilled to their tasting temperature within the same unit ).

The tempered, tinted glass door comes with silver frame that matches the black cabinet and all-black interior nicely. The semi-flush, sculpted handle on the top frame of the door enhances the clean look of the wine cooler. The door hinge is reversible providing you more choices when finding a place for it in your home.

Danby 51 Bottle two temperature zone wine cellar

The slide-out, natural beech wood shelves add elegant warm touch to the design.

The smaller upper zone is designed for storing red wines (temperature range of the upper zone is 50 - 64.4°F/10 - 18°C), while in the capacious bottom compartment you can cool whites (temperature range of the lower zone is 41 - 50°F/5 -10°C).

The Danby DWC513BLS 2-zone wine refrigerator is better for those who prefer whites over reds. The top zone has two shelves, while the lower zone contains 4 shelves.

Danby 51 bottle 2-temp zone wine cooelr-shelving

Both zones have their own plastic containers that you can fill with water and place in the center of top shelves for humidity control.

The control panel is mounted under the top 2 shelves featuring easily-read blue LED display and push button controls for setting the temperature.

Both compartments are equipped with blue LED lights that can be turned on/off manually or automatically with opening/closing the door. To operate the lights manually press the light switch on the bottom part of the cooler to "on".

Danby DWC513BLS two-zone wine refrigerator control panel

Dimensions:

Height: 34 6/16" (87.3 cm)
Width: 23 14/16" (60.6 cm)
Depth: 23 12/16" (60.3 cm)

This model is designed for built-in installment, under the counter.

See other Built-In Wine Refrigerators.

Price of the Danby DWC513BLS dual zone wine cooler: cc. US$ 750 - 950 (US$ 14.71 - 18.63 per bottle)

Warranty: 2 years parts and labor, 5 years limited only on compressor and sealed system.

Consumer Reviews of Danby DWC513BLS 51-bottle 2-zone wine refrigerator

Similarly to the 30-bottle dual zone Danby wine cooler reviewed above, buyers of the DWC513BLS model have experienced many problems with their wine cooler.

Bad customer and repair service is frequently mentioned again as a major and reoccuring
problem.

Other main weakness of this model is that it is very noisy (a customer measured it to be over 53 dBA). The nosie is caused by the fan which also tends to break down the most often. A user said that the fan broke down within a short period of time after purchasing the unit and it took him 2 months to replace it under the warranty.

Others experienced that the shelves can't be pulled out smoothly.

Similar Wine Storage Units

Read review of the Danby 54 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Refrigerator - Model DWC2121BLS.

See also other recommended 40-50 Bottle Wine Cooler Refrigerators for residential use.

The Magic Chef MCWC44DZ 44-bottle wine cooler is one of the cheapest units in the dual zone category.

TIP: the Haier Aficionado 52-bottle Wine Cellar and the Avanti 46 bottle 2-zone wine cooler offer similar storage space.

The Electrolux ICON™ Professional 48 bottle wine cooler has 3 temperature zones.

For high-end wine cooler models Compare Marvel Dual-Zone Wine Refrigerator to U-Line Echelon 2-Zone Wine Cooler.

The Sub zero 427 Dual Zone Wine Cellars offer large storage capacity.

Danby DWC516BLS 2-Zone, 51-bottle Wine Cooler

This is a good-value two zone wine cabinet in which you can store up to 51 bottles of wine. The 24-inch width makes the wine cooler ideal for built-in use, under the kitchen counter or in a bar area.

Read a detailed review on the Danby DWC516BLS Undercounter Wine Cooler with 51 bottles capacity.

Price of the Danby 51-bottle dual zone wine cooler: cc. US$ 900 - 1000 (US$ 17.65 - 19.61 per bottle)

TIP: make sure you buy Danby wine coolers only from authorized Danby dealers because Danby only support warranty services on models purchased from Authorized Dealers.