Freezer conversion - coils in shelves???

[BrewStache]

sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but this one sparked my interest, as I too just acquired an old freezer with the "coolant shelves"

At first - i thought i'd try and make a collar of some sort to get the fermenters up in front of the shelves, but that might be a little costly, and i'm not too handy.

Based on the suggestion here of bending them back (while the freezer is warm, of course), I just took a look, and those lines don't seem to *want* to give.

To those experienced with doing the conversion - did you have to apply some decent force to them to get them to bend? Did you use any sort of tool to assist in the bending?

Thanks!

Someone please answer the man. I'm in the same spot.

 

[stonebrewer]

YYMV but I just bent them with "careful force". Freezer ended up dying about 2 years later so I went with a chest style freezer for round 2. I had to snip the wire ties that attached the coolant coils to my shelves and remove the shelves. It was a bit stressful, but I eventually got it done and got a couple of years out of a $25 craigslist purchase. Good luck!