How to Turn Your Mini Fridge Into a Wine Refrigerator

Infear

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posted on 18 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Wine refrigerators can be very expensive, with even the cheapest models running about two hundred dollars. So why buy one when you can convert your mini-fridge into a fully functioning wine refrigerator in just a few simple steps?

Steps

Timer Method

Buy an appliance timer and thermometer. You can find an appliance timer in most hardware stores in the lighting section. Refrigerator thermometers are pretty easy to find. You can get them at pretty much any grocery store.

Set up the timer. Plug your mini-fridges power cord into the appliance timer. Then plug the appliance timer into the outlet.

Turn the power setting to the lowest possible and put the thermometer in the mini-fridge. Allow it to run, and take the temperature. Once it is below 55 degrees F (proper wine storage temp) then move on to the next step. The ideal temperature will depend on each type of wine. 55 degrees F is a good temperature for a light or medium red wine, while a sweet or white wine would probably fare better between 43 and 55 degrees F.

Set the appliance timer to raise the mini-fridge temperature to 55 degrees F (12.8 degrees C). Basically, the appliance timer can be set to intervals that will turn on and off power to the mini-fridge. This will effectively raise the temperature enough to make it a good place to store wine. Start with 2 hours on, 2 hours off intervals. If you start with this, and the temperature ends up above 56 degrees F, adjust the timer so that it has longer settings, like 2 1/2 hours on, 1 and 1/2 hours off. Likewise, if the temperature reads too low, adjust your timer so that it has longer off settings, 1 1/2 hours on and 2 1/2 hours off.

Thermostat Tinkering Method

Pull the control knob straight off the thermostat. You'll probably see a small screw next to the main control. That's the calibration screw.

Twist the calibration screw. Twisting it counterclockwise is likely to alter the temperature range so that the fridge doesn't get as cold, but the only way to make sure is to find out which direction turns the compressor on, then twist it in the opposite direction slightly past its original position.