Poor man's kegerator: the wine chiller I found on sale

[hardrain]

So home depot had a beat up $250 wine chiller that they knocked down to $110 for me. I live in a small apt and space is an issue. I tried finding a mini fridge on clist but wasn't able to find one with the right dimensions.

Anyway, the wine chiller is absolutely perfect in terms of size (model: mcwc34a). I'm having one minor issue: temperature. I was told wine chillers only go down to 49F, however I've gotten this one between 33F and, when turned just slightly down, to 44F. I want it right around 43F, but the temp gage, which is one of those 1 to 7 deals, has a tough time remaining consistant.

Would a RANCO do the trick? Is that something you can hook up to a wine cooler? I wasn't able to find info on the site.

 

[samc]

I disconnected the thermostat on mine and use an old analog controller to maintain lager temps of 32F on my wine chiller. If you want to make it more permanent you could wire in a controller, I would look at the Love controllers or one of the cheaper EBAy from china models. The wine chillers on the low end are just re-purposed mini fridges with different thermostats and shelving.

 

[hardrain]

I'm all for the cheap hack, so I'll read up on this stuff. Have no experience but can probably figure it out. Any suggested links you used?

Photo for fun: