Broken Whynter wc-211dz

[Rooney77]

I have the wine fridge mentioned in the title that I've been itching to turn into a wineador. A few weeks ago the top section quit cooling which was fine as I was going to just seal it off and use the larger lower section. Well now the whole thing just does nothing when I plug it in. I think the control panel on the front is the culprit but I cannot find a replacement for the life of me. Having lurked here a bit I've seen that many of you have made repairs and was hoping someone knew of a parts source for these. I do need the cooling feature since our house sits at 75 most of the year.

I wanted this to be what I grew into from my 50 count desktop.

 

[Boudie]

Just curious, did you try to contact the manufacturer? They pop right up when I did a search. There is normally a fuse or two for the unit that I would check and then make sure all the cables are seated properly. New Air simply mailed me a new control board under warranty.

 

[Rooney77]

Just curious, did you try to contact the manufacturer? They pop right up when I did a search. There is normally a fuse or two for the unit that I would check and then make sure all the cables are seated properly. New Air simply mailed me a new control board under warranty.

I did try to call them and never could get anyone to answer. I have heard rumors that whynter doesn't sell replacement parts but I can't remember the source so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[Rooney77]

I have debated trying to rig it up with an arduino but I have no arduino experience besides purchasing one.

 

[Boudie]

Try email and good luck with the Arduino, that's above my pay grade!

 

[Rooney77]

Ya I need to do some research and see if the arduino can even handle it. I'm tempted to try and jumper the boards to see if they will still cool. Fake the control panel basically.

 

[jasonatjl]

I'd say start with emailing Whynter - they've always been good in responding to me, case number, etc.

 

[Boudie]

Well I tried jumping a blown fuse on my New Air and once the smoke cleared........

 

[Rooney77]

I emailed whynter and I'll update when I hear back from them. I hope I can get it going since I'm already struggling with the small storage I have now.

 

[Rooney77]

Well I tried jumping a blown fuse on my New Air and once the smoke cleared........

I will neither confirm nor deny doing something similar on many many things in my past.

 

[jasonatjl]

I emailed whynter and I'll update when I hear back from them. I hope I can get it going since I'm already struggling with the small storage I have now.

LOL Storage will FOREVER be a struggle, unless you dedicate a couple 120 qt. coolidores just to overflow, haha.

Depending on where you live, I know Whynter sells refurbished units on Craigslist in the greater LA area if you're in a pinch. Also, I posted a small wine cooler that was on sale at Home Depot the other day, would make for an easy conversion at $65 bucks.

 

[Rooney77]

I debated the coolers but in East Texas Temps can sore well into the 100+ range. The house rarely goes over 75 but it spends a lot of time at that temp.

I need to find your post then. That's a steal.

 

[Boudie]

Well, we have the same weather in SE Louisiana and I don't let the AC get under 78 or so most of the summer. I use a retrofitted refrigerator, a Newair and since my visit to Tampa a small ice chest. I gotta join the buying freeze contest!

 

[Rooney77]

I have wondered about tupperdors in a standard minifridge too. So many options.

 

[Boudie]

Works great, just make sure you get the ones with the gasket and find a temp controller to prevent the fridge getting to cold.

 

[Rooney77]

I may dig deeper into that path instead of trying to patch a failing wine fridge. I just like the wine fridge appearance so much better.

Edit: in hindsight I didn't verify I was getting juice to the control panel, I just assumed it was the problem. I need to hook it all back up and see. It's possible both fan control boards died since the power goes through them first.

 

[Rooney77]

As promised, here is an update. Whynter did get back to me and sent me the link below. That website is their official site for parts. So for anyone searching, hopefully this will help. As soon as Christmas is over I'm just going to order all 3 boards and get it going again and build a wineador. Of course I'll post it here when I do.

https://ambientstores.com/control-board-for-chcwc-120s-chc-251s-chc-172bd-wc-211dz-wc-212bd/

 

[jasonatjl]

Any idea how much the replacement parts and new drawers will cost? Would it be more cost effective to just get a new wineador and use the defective one as a "overflow" storage similar to a coolidore?

 

[Rooney77]

Any idea how much the replacement parts and new drawers will cost? Would it be more cost effective to just get a new wineador and use the defective one as a "overflow" storage similar to a coolidore?

All 3 boards will be about $70. I had planned on using pre-made trays and calling it good. Given its size, I can't replace it and outfit it for that.

 

[jasonatjl]

All 3 boards will be about $70. I had planned on using pre-made trays and calling it good. Given its size, I can't replace it and outfit it for that.

That's not bad at all.

With the dual temperature, will you be able to utilize both for cigars? Or booze in the colder section?