Dehydrator info please?

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Dehydrator info please?
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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 9:17 am Post subject:
I have an ezidri machine, I picked it up really cheap at a car-boot sale. It's not bad, but to be honest drying vegetables doesn't really inspire me; better to freeze them after a brief blanching, or to botle them. The drier really comes into its own for dealing with excess mushrooms, making biltong, etc. It's best for things that are improved or really intensified by drying.

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 9:23 am Post subject:
Thanks cab I think it'll be one of those things I'll pick up if I see it cheap enough but won't splurge out hundreds for one.I could kick myself for not getting the one Tchibo had for �29.99 last year,by the time I had enough money for it they'd sold out

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 10:52 am Post subject:
The only thing I ever dry is oranges for christmas decorations. They go in the oven for 24 hours on gas mark E. Might be worth a go before splashing out on a dehydrator.

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 12:17 pm Post subject:
I bought an Italian one a couple of years back for drying chillies. At about �120 it seemed a bit steep for half a dozen trays, a fan and a heating element, but that said, it does the job. It's a bit noisy though - the fan needs to run all the time and can be a tad obtrusive. All in all, if you're counting pennies, I'd stick with a very low oven - especially if it's electric and fan assisted.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 1:45 pm Post subject:
To be honest, the advantage to using our dehydrator is that it's more compact than using the airing cupboard (leaving space for drying sheets in there!) and it's a wee bit faster. If I had to buy one for full price, I'd not do so.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Sat Jan 15, 05 11:54 pm Post subject:
I dry our chillies in the warming oven of the Rayburn using heat that already exicsts rather than turning on an appliance. The airing cupboard is useful too, and always warm. As long as I don't leave the door open while I'm in the shower, in which case everything steams up!

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 05 11:15 am Post subject:

hi,

i've been very interested in making my own unit so it's similar to the excalibur type. the racks should be easy to make, simply stretch wire mesh over a square frame. the box should be easy to either come by or make.

now i'm wondering how many racks a 60 watt bulb would work for and also is a fan necessary or can you just have some form of ventilation (drilling air holes etc)

i'll have to have a google again when i actually have the supplies but i'm always curious to get firsthand knowledge

i had a ronco dehydrator in the states, the round type, plastic with several stacking trays you had to rotate, not very keen on that, it made a mess and wasn't very efficient

i've done dehydrating in the lowest oven setting but again, not very efficient (though i do love my beetroot crisps, should make more of those soon) i'm curious, just how does the air cupboard drying work?

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28233
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 05 11:33 am Post subject:
You might want to look at this thread: https://forum.downsizer.net/about2742.html&highlight=dehydrator Mine has not arrived yet, but the thread convinced me away from my usual diy approach.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 05 9:57 pm Post subject:
thanks for that, i am considering it. since ours wouldn't have a fan in it i suppose this would be just as good and probably easier to clean.... i am expecting a big paycheck in a few days, hope they still have some left!

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 05 9:24 pm Post subject:
Having a quick glance at Selfsufficientish, I've just come across one of their contributors plans for a propagator/dryer in one...they say it's successful for chillies... https://www.selfsufficientish.com/drier.htm

Hedonists

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Romford, Essex.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 05 11:32 pm Post subject:

ButteryHOLsomeness wrote:

thanks for that, i am considering it. since ours wouldn't have a fan in it i suppose this would be just as good and probably easier to clean.... i am expecting a big paycheck in a few days, hope they still have some left!

I'm guessing the fan is included to ensure airflow and prevent mould???

It'd very easy to fit a computer fan. I've used computer fans in a similar type of project. You'd need to connect the computer fan to a twelve volt adapter, by stripping the wires and twisting them together. Be sure to rewrap the exposed wires with 'electricians tape'.

Computer fans are available in different sizes (generally between 8cm & 12cm). Again I'm guessing, but I'd have thought the smallest size would be fine. Maybe someone with a dehydrator could measure theirs?

I'd situate the fan low on one side, with two or three 1" holes on the other for air to escape.
computer fans are widely available for under a tenner, either from computer shops or online. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

https://www.quietpc.com/uk/casefans.php

Power adaptors are easy to come by also. Most if not all mobile phones, computer printers, battery rechargers, laptops use them. You may well be able to recycle one from a gadget that you no longer use. Here's an example:

https://www.a1-battery.co.uk/CHARGER/CASIO/CCS001K.htm
The adapter is the plug looking thing, on the top-right of the photo.
I bought mine from a local computer shop. They cost about seven quid each.

I guess my only concern about a computer fan is that the through flow of air might be too great, which would result in one losing too much heat. But as I have no experience of building or using a dehydrator, hopefully someone else might be able to chip in on this? If it is a problem then it'd be fairly easy to baffle the fan and slow the airflow.

lr110td5

Joined: 20 May 2005
Posts: 37
Location: Kerpen, Germany

Posted: Fri May 20, 05 9:07 am Post subject:
@ Deedee I ordered the Tchibo dehydrator only last week and it has arrived (albeit at my Mum's place in the UK, for me to collect - It wasn't listed on the tchibo.de web site). Colin

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Fri May 20, 05 9:21 am Post subject:
Hi Colin so pleased yours arrived without a hitch poor Bugs had a terrible time trying to get hers! Buttery has written up some wonderful ideas on here for using them which I plan to try.I think its definately one of my better buys and am looking forward to a great summer of drying Hope you enjoy using yours as much as I do mine and welcome to the site

Guest

Posted: Fri May 20, 05 9:38 am Post subject:

Hi Deedee

No sooner had I entered my post when I discovered the other thread - typical me!
So now I can actually see what I've bought. Mum says the parcel is huge (she worries about such things) and I hope BA won't moan when I bring it back on the plane next time.
Our kids loved the jerky we had in the States and contributors (such as 'aris') on other web sites have written about biltong and making a drying box.
I can't wait to get started; my biggest problem will be convincing She Who Will Be Obeyed that we really need the gadget, but I will leave that to her taste buds.

Colin

Haddock

Joined: 24 Apr 2005
Posts: 81
Location: Marburg, Germany

Posted: Fri May 20, 05 9:13 pm Post subject:

lr110td5 wrote:

It wasn't listed on the tchibo.de web site

I had the same problem. Ended up ordering one online from a German mail order company. Couldn't find any dehydrators in the shops that I tried.

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