sk888smooth

Recipes 

Hello all... I'm poppin the cherry and asking about/suggesting my first idea. I have a Upright Freezer with coolant lines in the shelves. I'd like to bend them in order to make room for my kegs.

Has anyone tried a hair dryer to warm up the lines and get them nice and hot for bending? Any rules of thumb besides going slow and trying not to kink the bad boys?

Obviously I'll leave the freezer at room temp until it is completely warmed up, but is a hair dryer to warm up the lines a good idea? Anyone try it?

Thanks

ElginBrewer

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Primary#1: Oktoberfest & Gumball Head Clone
Secondary: French Oak Bourbon Amber Ale,
Kegged: Imperial Irish Red Ale, Hacker Phsorr Clone, English Brown Ale
Next on Deck: Boddington's Clone, House Pale Ale

mikescooling

Recipes 

Bending old live refer lines, I don't think your going to it without kinking. If you do kink a little, you can take a crescent wrench and use that to get the roundness back. I'd were gloves and eye protection, refer burns suck, it just takes a second. Also find out what kind of coolant is use, in-case it's deadly. I don't think heating it would make it bend any easier, when we braze copper it glows red and still holds it's shape.

meadmazer

Recipes 

I am in the same boat, lines built in to the shelves, havent tried it yet tho. I would suggest using cutters to get the shelf wires away from the tubes and getting a small tubing bender in there. Just a single peice hand one that helps the tubing hold its shape, has a U groove the tubing goes in

AlCophile

Recipes 

Careful, guys!
I have a small Sanyo fridge, too short for std. kegs. Had same idea, but, too likely to rupture lines, and, coolant may suffocate you. Will try to sell or trade on craigslist. There's more: In this state, and undoubtedly the entire country, before trash collection, you are required to have coolant collected by a tech. This cost me $30 ten years ago. The tech tapes a form to the drained unit, as proof.
So, what do you think will happen when you show up with an illegally-drained unit? One big, fat $$fine$$, probably.

fixitoscar

Recipes 

Its all in how you bend them. I used a small butane torch and gloves. You can't get greedy with your bends. I did a diy post when i did mine since I couldn't find any good info on the net. let me see if i can find it.

here we go http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/stand-up-freezer-ferment-chamber-conversion-290876/