Should I use a bottle probe in my wine cabinet? v2

In an earlier post, I discussed the benefits of using changes in air temperature rather than changes in liquid temperature to regulate the on/off cycles of Breezaire cooling units. However, there are some circumstances when using a bottle probe DOES make sense.

First, a review. A bottle probe is inserted into a "dummy" bottle of water/alcohol, which is placed in the racks with your wine. Based on changes in temperature of the liquid in the dummy bottle, the Breezaire cooling unit will cycle on and off, thereby maintaining the temperature of the liquid within a predetermined range.

Without a bottle probe, the cooling unit cycles on and off based on changes in the air temperature at the top of the cabinet (which is where the cooling unit is located). Since air changes temperature more quickly than liquid, we prefer to have the cooling unit cycle on when the air warms up (but BEFORE the liquid warms up), rather than waiting for the liquid to warm up.

So when does it make sense to use a bottle probe? If your wine cabinet is placed in an environment that is subject to significant but temporary changes in temperature, such as a garage or a restaurant, you should consider using a bottle probe to avoid having the protection mechanism triggered by too many "false positives." (The protection mechanism is triggered when the cooling unit registers 75 degrees, and will shut down the cooling unit if the temperature doesn't fall below 65 degrees within 45 minutes.) By using a bottle probe, the protection mechanism won't be triggered by temporary changes in air temperature. and therefore the cooling unit won't turn off after 45 minutes unneccessarily.

It also makes sense to use a bottle probe if your wine cabinet is less than half full. With a wine cabinet that is relatively empty, the cooling unit will run constantly just to keep the empty air in your wine cabinet at your desired temperature. Instead, use a bottle probe to lengthen the cycle times, or build the thermal mass inside the wine cabinet by buying more wine! You also can build the thermal mass inside the wine cabinet by using water bottles, soda cans and beer bottles.