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06/24/10, 01:02 PM
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Singletree Moderator
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kansas
Posts: 12,974
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Has anyone built an inexpensive dehydrator?
Life happened this spring, the fruit is very nearly ripe, and I never found the time to get/build a dehydrator.
I will have too much to eat fresh, and, I HAD been wanting to dehydrate some (Dried apricots..... YUM!!!!!!) but now I have to RUSH it a bit!!!!!!!!!
Any advice? I THINK I will have 4-6 gallons of apricots to do up? Followed, of course, by apples this fall!
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06/24/10, 01:06 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,693
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You mean like on window screens sitting out in the sun? Works.
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06/24/10, 01:08 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 324
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I converted an old freezer into a solar oven with a lil black paint and a piece of glass for the lid. I used a 4x4 goat panel and made a shelf in it. If I use it to dehydrate I use cookie sheets with oil and keep an eye on them for overcooking. That can be regulated by how big the chrack at the top is.
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06/24/10, 01:19 PM
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Ouch! Pinch you.
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,868
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whatrset
I converted an old freezer into a solar oven with a lil black paint and a piece of glass for the lid. I used a 4x4 goat panel and made a shelf in it. If I use it to dehydrate I use cookie sheets with oil and keep an eye on them for overcooking. That can be regulated by how big the chrack at the top is.
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Awesome - are you able to post a photo??
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The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac
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06/24/10, 01:36 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 324
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I dont know how to post photos on here.
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06/24/10, 01:40 PM
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Ouch! Pinch you.
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,868
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whatrset
I dont know how to post photos on here.
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Well, thanks so much for sharing your innovation. We are looking for ways to build a solar cooker and dehydrator. Very cool!
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The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac
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06/24/10, 01:52 PM
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It's Me, who are you?
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Staying with friends in Manassas, VA
Posts: 326
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Years ago I did some research on Google, etc, and came up with people making them out of just about anything you could imagine. The weirdest one I read about was a person who used a (dead) little hatch-back car. Like a Chevy Chevette or Metro. Took out the seats, carpet, etc, and installed some racks to hold wire mesh and they where good to go.
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06/24/10, 02:16 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 324
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I think the glass came off of a storm door. (Dumpster discount price: $0) and the flat black spraypain is wallyworld special $1.25/can.
If I had a chance to rebuild it I would have built a wooden box to go inside and painted the inner part of it black. The inner plastic has warped badly due to the high heat in the box. I have seen it hold 300 degrees while cooking during the heat of the day before.
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06/24/10, 02:27 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Alabama (east central)
Posts: 3,111
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Here's a video for homemade solar dehydrator that looks easy enough...
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06/24/10, 04:34 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 3,567
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SirDude
Years ago I did some research on Google, etc, and came up with people making them out of just about anything you could imagine. The weirdest one I read about was a person who used a (dead) little hatch-back car. Like a Chevy Chevette or Metro. Took out the seats, carpet, etc, and installed some racks to hold wire mesh and they where good to go.
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Dude
Does weird sometimes mean inovative? We used an active 91 civic wagon. Fold seats , set clean window screens on bricks and open crack windows to moderate temps.
Works well.
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06/24/10, 06:12 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: S.E. Ks.
Posts: 5,942
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a food grade barrel with removable lid painted Black
cut a hole at the front bottom and glue a fine screen over it , at the top back cut a slightly larger hole and again glue a fine screen over it .
make some drying trays to stack inside .\
If it takes more than a day to get the desired moisture removed besure to cover the holes over night or place a light bulb in side .
good luck its the cheapest Ive came up with .
Plastic canvas makes an easy to clean screen if placed over florecent light grids for support
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06/24/10, 08:10 PM
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It's Me, who are you?
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Staying with friends in Manassas, VA
Posts: 326
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
Dude
Does weird sometimes mean inovative? We used an active 91 civic wagon. Fold seats , set clean window screens on bricks and open crack windows to moderate temps.
Works well.
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Sorry, I meant weird in a good way, innovative, yes, but more like it caught me off-guard. Would have been cooler if they could have still driven the thing. LOL
But I shouldn't be too surprised by anything made from vehicles or automotive parts. When I was teen I had the rear end of a 87 Corvette hanging on my wall, working taillights and all. Grabbed it from the Junk pile at the bodyshop worked for.
I like the sofas made from the rear half of 57 Chevy's and other cars. It's all good.
Getting off topic for a second, but the latest craze I'm seeing in art is people making things from airplane parts. I guess the car thing got too common??? LOL
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06/24/10, 08:32 PM
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Singletree Moderator
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kansas
Posts: 12,974
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LOL, I just KNEW what I was going to use! I was going to use my little black smoker with some plexiglass or something clear to gather in the solar energy..... I opened it up and it was full of wasps nests, so I sprayed it.
I no longer want to use it until the spray has weathered out and burned out, LOL!
I will look around some more!
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06/24/10, 09:08 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 324
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Terri, build a fire in it and the wasp spray will be gone!
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08/01/13, 11:49 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Missouri
Posts: 2,748
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Did some searching for ideas for inexpensive food grade mesh for a home made solar dehydrator. Doesn't seem like anyone is concerned with metals from cheap window screen leaching into their food?!
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08/01/13, 03:22 PM
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 5
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Alton makes one with a box fan.
Mike
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08/01/13, 03:34 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Oregon
Posts: 1,366
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This style is on my list to build (once I can move it to the top of the list!):
http://www.geopathfinder.com/9473.html
The design looks very flexible, easy to build and modular.
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08/01/13, 03:38 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,150
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I love making stuff, but theres something to be said about a properly designed dehydrator that dries food evenly and at the correct temperature. I can set my dehydrator temp and it will dry for 24 hours...I dont have to worry about mold or case hardening.
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
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