Need plans for a dehydrator.

[Don Farr]

Hey guys. Long time no post. I still see a bunch of old friends on here. I would like to try drying some fruits and veggies but don't want to spend big bucks on a dehydrator. I have everything that I need for heat control but just need some help with the basic design.
Don

[Jason Roehl]

Don! Welcome back! I hope everything is well with you in your neck of the woods.

Anyway, I'd suggest hitting an outdoors-type box store (Gander Mountain, Cabela's, etc.) and putting your hands on one of the dehydrators they sell. No sense in a bunch of us here trying to reinvent the wheel. My wife splurged on a better one a while back, and we use it a LOT, especially since we've been trying to eat more home-made and home-grown foods over the last few years.

[Keith Hankins]

Go to motherearthnews and search for dehydrator plans and you will find some. Old mag has been around a long time.

Here is a place (emergencyessentials) I've bought from in the past that has good prices and ships fast. I bought a large all american canner from them and had it in 2 days. Unless you already have all the parts laying around, this might be just as cheap.

http://beprepared.com/american-harvest-snackmaster-expresstm-fd-60-dehydrator.html

[Joe Hillmann]

I just built one last weekend, it still needs a bit of refining to get it to work properly. I built mine to be a piece of paint grade furniture. I built a cabinet about 33" tall, 20" wide and 18" deep. The sides are frame and panel with the stiles left about 3" long on the bottom to act as feet. The bottom and back are plywood. The front has a rail on the top and has a 9" tall frame and panel on the bottom. In the area between the top rail and bottom panel is a door. The bottom panel also has 20 or so 1/2 holes drilled for ventilation and the back panel also has holes for ventilation at the top. I put cleats on the inside of the side panels every two inches from the top. For the top I just have a piece of plywood but I plan to cast a cement counter top for it.

For shelves I had a hard time. I planed to use polyester or nylon window screen but couldn't find any locally. I didn't want to use aluminum or galvanized because of how it may react with the food, I didn't want to use fiberglass because I didn't want fiberglass in my food, I couldn't afford stainless or brass. I ended up cheaping out and using some left over wire shelving with plastic canvas on top to prevent the food from falling through. Since the shelves are only 12 inches deep and the cabinet is 16 inches deep inside I push the first shelf all the way to the back, the second I pull all the way forward, the third all the way back, the fourth all the way forward and so on until I have it full. I figure by doing it that way the air has to go back and forth to get out. I may still end up ordering some screen so I can make larger shelves. I am wasting a lot of space by my shelves only being 12 inches deep.

For electronics I have two 150 watt bulbs and a small fan blowing are in from the bottom vents. They are mounted in the bottom 9 inches of the cabinet. I still need to build some type of shroud to direct the air so it has to come in from the outside vent rather than just recirculating the air in the box. Also 300 watts of heat isn't enough. Looking a similar sized commercial made dryers I should have about 600 watts of heat. I am thinking of replacing the the light bulbs with a heating element from an old clothes dryer I have sitting unused.

[Steve Milito]

Hey guys. Long time no post. I still see a bunch of old friends on here. I would like to try drying some fruits and veggies but don't want to spend big bucks on a dehydrator. I have everything that I need for heat control but just need some help with the basic design.
Don

How much is 'big bucks'? You can get a new 9 tray Excalibur for $250 or a refurb for $200.

[Don Farr]

Hey Jason. Doing well and hope you are also. Thanks Keith and joe. Joe, I was concerned about what to make the shelves out of. The last one that I had (years ago) they were plastic. Maybe Steve is right. It may be cheaper to buy one just not as much fun.

[David Hawxhurst]

i use a box fan and 20 x 20 paper filters bungeed on to the front.

[Joe Hillmann]

Right now I have $17 into mine. If I were to have bought everything it would have been closer to $60. I ended up replacing the light bulbs with a 700 watt hot plate which has a thermostat

[John Lifer]

Even the cheap round plastic one's are about $40 now. If you want to do a bunch of stuff, I think I'd be building my own. If not so much, buy.....

[Frank Trinkle]

The best dehydrator available is..... Late August - Arizona!:D