Wine Cooler vs. Fridge

[Ax01]

ok i'm gathering supplies for an incubator build and was wondering what's the (big) difference between a wine cooler and refrigerator?

they're both insulated, have a door and keep stuff inside them cool/cold. so i was wondering, if i had a minifridge - can i use this instead of a wine cooler?

here's what i see as the difference:

Wine Cooler
-- usually has a glass door
-- has wire shelving, often times curved to hold wine bottles
-- looks cool

Refrigerator
-- has a freezer box
-- usually has a removable (veggie) crisper


what do u think? which would u use?

[Aedryan Methyus]

Either one will work fine. It's just a matter of personal preference. I used a wine cooler, because I think they look nicer is all...

[Ax01]

Either one will work fine. It's just a matter of personal preference. I used a wine cooler, because I think they look nicer is all...

which one would be easier to gut? do fridges have extra cooling elements, ya know (not) like a radiator but an intercooler (i don't know what they're called)?

[BPGator]

I may be wrong but I think a wine cooler has more internal volume than a mini fridge.


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[Hannahshissyfix]

I use a wine cooler. Its nice having the glass door to be able to peak in witjout opening the door and throwing off the heat.
Since you already have the mini fridge, as long as it has enough room that i dont see why not. Give it a try for a season and then in that time you can keep an eye out for something with a see through door.

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[Aedryan Methyus]

which one would be easier to gut? do fridges have extra cooling elements, ya know (not) like a radiator but an intercooler (i don't know what they're called)?

I think they're both have relatively the same components... The wine cooler I made mine with just had a little motor and a tank with a few wires and some copper tubing that I had to remove. Just be sure to do it in a ventilated area, because freon gases will be released when you start cutting tubing. Mine was really simple to gut and convert into an incubator. I used a regular wood router bit to cut a hole in the top of it for all of the wires and it worked great. It was just a thin layer of metal, some insulation and a thin layer of plastic to drill through...

Here are some photos and info about mine:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...o-An-Incubator

[scooter11]

They are both the same. You can remove the freezer section of the mini fridge on the one door models no problem. I used a mini fridge for a while and it worked fine. Only drawback is that most one door mini fridges have a bump out at the bottom for the compressor that is on the back. You can also remove that to lighten the load. Once you make it into an incubator it serves no function anyway. Hope this helps

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[Godzilla78]

Greet thread, I’m going to keep an eye out for an old wine cooler.


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[Ax01]

I use a wine cooler. Its nice having the glass door to be able to peak in witjout opening the door and throwing off the heat.
Since you already have the mini fridge, as long as it has enough room that i dont see why not. Give it a try for a season and then in that time you can keep an eye out for something with a see through door.

oh i got this over the summer. it had cat hair but was free!


gonna start assembling this weekend, so well see.

[enginee837]

Wine coolers work and are popular (I used one) however the glass door does not insulate as well as a solid fridge door. That is the only difference I have found.