Universal Charcoal Filter

It is a charcoal filter! I think I am going to talk to a buddy of mine who has manufacturing done in China. The cost of this thing is what $1 (probably 25 cents before overhead, shipping etc.)The only thing more OUTRAGEOUS is the shipping. They charge you $9.95 and it takes over a week to get to you. How do they justify the shipping???? They put a filter that is the size of large Champagne cork in a 6"x6"x6" box... What a joke!Buy it if you have to...I did because mine cracked and I could not REFILL it. Yes that is right save yourself $39.99 and refill it. You will see how easy (cheap manufacturing) it is. Take a cardboard cutter and cut the top off; dump out the charcoal and discard the paper; buy some activated charcoal(pet stores or aquarium supplies); put the charcoal with the coffee filter (it replaces the discarded paper) back in the plastic container and glue or tape the top back on.

I can't believe this thing costs over $40!

If you got a eurocave you got to have a new one of these every year to make it work correctly

A good bottle of Cabernet Savignon is about $100 and up.

I bought a Eurocave off Craigslist recently. The filter was really old, so I decided to order a new one. I was shocked to see it was $45, but there are no after-market manufacturers other than Eurocave. The filter arrived and I changed it out. I took the old one outside and gave it a good twist to see what was inside and it came apart quite easily. There was just activated carbon (charcoal) inside it. What a rip-off! You can buy a pound of activated carbon off Amazon for $9. Search "Marineland Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon." It is enough carbon to fill about 100 of these. All you have to do is pour it in, twist it back together and you are good to go. I took a closer look at the new one and it appears that they are enclosing the carbon in some type of filter paper, probably to keep the little bits of carbon from falling out. So, to solve that problem, I am going to Home Depot and buying some fine-mesh screen material to wrap up the carbon before I put it in the plastic case.The only purpose of this thing is to keep smells from getting in or out of the wine cellar. That is what activated carbon does, it absorbs smells. I am amazed that the people at Eurocave are ripping people off like this. This item probably costs them about 0.75 cents to make and they charge $45. Shame on them. I already have my Marineland carbon from Amazon and I am going to use it in a 6 months when it is time to change the filter. I am glad I didn't order the 4-pack of these stupid things.

I have a Eurocave and have stopped changing the filter. The supposed purpose of the filter is to keep all those terrible smells and odors from going into the Eurocave. I don't think all the 1st cru wine caves in Bordeaux and Burgundy with their uber expensive wines have the air in the caves filtered with activated charcoal filters. In fact, most the caves are filled with mold and other smells. So, nice way for Eurocave and their distributors to add to their bottom line, selling for $25-45 something costs them at most $1 to make.

I have only today re-read the instruction book and learned that I should have been changing the filter annually. I have noticed no smell or any other deleterious effect. The only consequence of not changing the filter has been a saving of $40 per annum over the 12 years that I have been using the machine.

I just bought a Eurocave Perofrmance V183 and noticed dealer recommend to change the carbon filter every year.As one reviewer (J Burke) pointed out the activated carbon can be refill by yourself easily.My additional info here is you can buy the Marineland Black Diamond Carbon Media Activated (440ml = 14.88 US fluid ounces) from Linen & Thing for under $5.Why let dealer rif you off like this? Just take care the plastic cover and you are go to go.