If the manufacturer's recommendation of 5" can't be met, then a fan placed strategically to blow cool air across the unit's condensing coils sounds like a plan. Just circulating air around the unit may not help much. It's the condenser that gives off heat. Remove that heat and the unit will operate more efficiently, contributing to its longevity and reducing energy consumption. Can't say I've ever installed something like this, so thermostat placement, cut-in and cut-out temps, and fan size need to be addressed by others in the know. Brick? Petey? Bus? Cobra? Unc? etc? If no answers here try a refrigeration forum.

I'm no help with this one Bird. But what he proposes makes perfect sense. I would look into wiring an aux fan to do as you suggest and blow across the coils. Even pull air across the coils would be good. I would see if I couldn't find a way to control the fan when the compressor kicks on. This could be done by using a heat sensor attached to the coils that kicks on a relay for the fan or wired directly to come on when the compressor comes on. But any modifications to the unit itself would probably void the warranty and the UL listing.

You might want to look at wine coolers intended for built in installation as they exhaust all heat through the front.

Thank you for providing your insight and suggestions. We already have a wine cooler that is not a "built-in" model and are trying to use a semi-built-in. The built-in models we've see cost around $700 and the one we have was about $250.

Other thoughts we had was to cut out an opening in the adjacent cabinet (a sink base) exactly where the wine cooler's side vents are located. The opening would be covered w/ a grill/register to allow heat to escape into the sink base and vent thru the openings around the sink base doors.

I like the suggestion of the Fan that turns on whenever the compressor starts. Not worried about voiding the warranty as the Wine Cooler is fairly inexpensive and we want to re-purpose instead of buying new.

Thanks,
Tom

For future reference:

Home Depot sells an under-counter 50-bottle unit for $349. It can be had on sale for under $300.

Magic Chef MCWC50DST

A small muffin type fan on a thermostat would do what you need.
DigiKey will have the fans and a small wall wart type power supply in a matching voltage.
You can then just wire a thermostat in series with the fan and put it down with the refrigerator.
All you need is any cheap thermostat (not a fancy computerized one) for regular low voltage use (24 V).

Go to one of the Big box stores and get a thermostat for an attic fan. Mine can be set below 70F. Connect that to your fan with a line cord and it is now automatic. Place the thermostat close to the condenser (the hot area). Be sure to set it high enough that it shuts down after the cooler shuts off and cools down.