Sears coldspot upright freezer

I am going to build a fermentation chamber and found this upright freezer for 50 dollars. I believe the shelves are where the cooling lines are running. Does anyone know how difficult this will be to work with? I will probably have to move the shelves or bend them back? Is this too much trouble or should I try to find another one? Thanks for any help!

I just did something similar with a small Kenmore freezer with the cooling lines in the shelves - it took a little work (a pair of diagonal cutters or tin snips can be used to cut the small metal rods welded to the coils) but was definitely doable -- just be gentle when bending the shelves so you don't kink the cooling lines.

A quick word on old Sears Coldspots. A years or so ago I bought a 1978's era Coldspot works great. After the purchase I learned that freezers built in 1994 and thereafter save a considerable amount of energy when compared to earlier models.

I have this unit on its own electrical panel and noticed that the monthly bill seemed pretty high for just a freezer and one computer. So I purchased a 'Kill-A-Watt' electrical use meter to see what energy the freezer actually uses. I learned that this old SOB uses almost $40 a month in electricity; I was surprised it was this expensive to run.

Now I'm hunting for a new freezer as I figure it will pay for itself within a year.

I know you aren't intending to use this as a freezer, but nonetheless thought I'd let you know how inefficient old freezer are.

In my GE fridge I had to bend the cooling shelf down, I just went slowly when it was warm to avoid kinking the line.

HOWEVER, I've been told them being bent down can cause oil to stay at the bottom of the cooling element and ruin the fridge. Ive not noticed this in 2 years of brewing, but Im no HVAC dude.