"Ned" wrote:
Are you saying you HAVE to modify the freezer? See, I don't know the
details of how to do this... temps, pitfalls, pros, in what cases it
will or will not help the wine, etc...

Ned,

No. You purchase and install a "controller", which

1) you plug into the wall outlet

2) you place the probe attached to the controller inside the freezer (it's
made so that you can do this and still shut the door tightly).

3) you plug the freezer into the controller, rather than the wall outlet.

4) you set the freezer temperature control to any setting (it won't make any
difference)

5) you set the controller temperature control to the desired setting.

6) you sit down with a nice glass of scrumpy, and worry about other things.

The controller will control the temperature by turning the power on and off,
whereas the freezer would do so by turning the MOTOR on and off. You will
lose the use of the little inside light (if your freezer has one) except
when the power is on, and the freezer's automatic defrost cycle will no
longer work, so you will have to defrost manually.

If I recall, they sell these controllers as an energy-saving device for
refrigerators, and Home Depot had them for about $60

Alternately, you can purchase and install a cheap light-timer with multiple
on-off settings, and turn the freezer on and off every so-many minutes,
rather than based on a thermostat. You will have to experiment to determine
the duration of the on and off cycles. Such a timer will cost $5-25
depending where you get it. Costco has electronic ones (this month, at
least) for 2 for $15, which is a very good deal for an electronic model.