How Often Should My Cooling Unit Run?

May 20, 2020 IWA Wine Accessories Wine Cellars & Cabinets 0

CellarPro 1800 Cooling System

CellarPro cooling units are very advanced and designed to run in multiple cycles. This article describes the run cycles for most CellarPro cooling units as programmed in the factory.

Essentially there are 3 “run” modes that for CellarPro wine cellar refrigeration equipment:

Refrigeration Cycle (compressor + fan)

This cycle, evidenced by the snowflake and fan icons, occurs when the cooling unit detects temperature at the setpoint plus the differential, and turns off when the unit detects the temperature has reached the setpoint. The cooling unit will run less or more in refrigeration cycle depending on:

  1. The fan speed – ie more fan speed = shorter run time
  2. The size of the cellar – ie larger cellar = longer run time
  3. Air vs liquid measurement – ie liquid = longer run time
  4. Thermal mass – ie more thermal mass at warm temperature = longer run time
  5. Temperature setting – ie lower the temp setting = longer run time

Fon Cycle (fan only)

This cycle, evidenced by the fan icon only, is controlled by the Fon setting and is factory preset/recommended for 3 minutes AFTER the refrigeration turns off, and repeats for 3 minutes every 15 minutes until refrigeration begins.

When the unit is “running,” most customers assume that the unit is in the Refrigeration Cycle, but it could also be in the Fon Cycle. There are several advantages of the Fon cycle:

  • It blows moisture that has collected on the evaporator coils back into the cellar
  • It continues to cool the compressor and thereby extends its life
  • It keeps the air circulating inside the cellar
  • It is very energy efficient

Off Cycle

This cycle depends on:

  1. Ambient temp – ie the warmer the ambient temp relative to the setpoint, the shorter the Off cycle
  2. Insulation – ie the better the insulation, the longer the Off cycle
  3. Thermal Mass – ie the more the thermal mass, the longer the off cycle
  4. Air vs liquid measurement – ie liquid = longer off time
  5. Size of the cellar – ie the larger the size, the shorter the off time

If you have any questions about our cellar cooling units, or suggestions for improvement, please contact us and we’ll be glad to assist you!