Incubator as a dehydrator?

[tinknal]

I have a huge old Humidaire incubator. It is made of Redwood and will hold about 800 chicken eggs.

Is there any reason I can't disinfect it and use it as a food dehydrator?

[Chixarecute]

Dehydrator temps for most fruits & veggies is 135, jerky is 160. Before you clean it up, can you adapt the thermostat?

[7thswan]

I don't see why not. People dry outside on a screen, Incubator gets hotter than that. Just don't put water in the moisture thingy. My Excalibur dehydrator tempature range is 95 degrees up to one forty five.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by Chixarecute

Dehydrator temps for most fruits & veggies is 135, jerky is 160. Before you clean it up, can you adapt the thermostat?

Well, I know that you can dry foods at ambient temps. I'm sure that the higher temps are ideal, but are they necessary? I would be drying foods that will ultimately cooked, such as vegetables and mushrooms.

Right now the thermostat is screwed up and it never shuts off. In the spring when it was in the 50s in my basement it would hold at about 110 degrees. It is warmer down there now so I imagine it would maintain a somewhat higher temp.

[oregon woodsmok]

Redwood incubators are valuable. If you run that as a dehydrator, you will dry out the wood and risk cracking it.

You can sell that for enough money to by a very good dehydrator.

Too bad we aren't closer. I'd love to have an old redwood incubator and I'd trade you a solar dehydrator for it.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

Redwood incubators are valuable. If you run that as a dehydrator, you will dry out the wood and risk cracking it.

You can sell that for enough money to by a very good dehydrator.

Too bad we aren't closer. I'd love to have an old redwood incubator and I'd trade you a solar dehydrator for it.

Well, I still want to keep it as an incubator too....LOL. I doubt it would harm the wood if I didn't use it extensively.