solar food dehydrator

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Has anyone used a solar food dryer? I searched the archives under kitchen( food preservation-other) and came up with nothing except electric dehydrators. There is quite a bit on the internet, and after a dozen or so pages of a Google search the best I found was:

http://permapak.net/solarfooddryers.htm

http://users.chariot.net.au/~gloria/dehydrator.htm

They sound good, but has anyone else actually used one. My location is south-central Tennessee and my primary use will be tomatoes. Thanks.

-- MartyB (mebtn@hotmail.com), March 13, 2002

Answers

I used my car the first season by putting window screen from the back seat to the front seat. Finished out with apple and banana slices to leave a nice aroma in the car. My John Seymour book shows a simple design using a window, some rocks, a wooden crate and some screen. The sun shines through the window onto the rock. There is an air channel in the crate at the bottom to allow heat flow to the top where the drying screens are.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 13, 2002.

Marty,

I use a folding clothes rack, the wooden racks used to dry cloths when a clothes line is not available. I bought a few feet of vinyl screen at Home Depot and stretched it across the top, middle and bottom racks. I secured the screen by sewing the ends over the dowels. I used it to sun dry Roma tomatoes. It worked like a charm. Here in southern CA we do not have high humidity, but do have abundant hot, sunny days.

-- Dwight (summit1762@aol.com), March 13, 2002.


made some wooden frames, stretched some wire cloth over them,stapled on,, strung 5 together with 4 inches apart,, hand them from a branch, eave, or whatever, , gets cloudy or wet,, just bring inside,, I just did some tomatoes 2 weeks ago, inside near the wood burner

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), March 13, 2002.

For a larger/durable set up, might look at: Solar Dehydrator Plans, http://www.echonet.org/tropicalag/technotes/solardeh.pdf from EchoNet, 12 pages of plans in pdf format, who do a lot of basic gardening/living items in third world situations.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 13, 2002.

Hillbilly solar dehydrator: stationwagon in the yard with sliced fruit and vegetables inside.

Urban solar dehydrator: stationwagon in the parking lot with children inside.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 13, 2002.



Good one Don :>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 13, 2002.

Bad one Don. I still luv ya tho.

-- Susan in Northern LP Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), March 13, 2002.

I was searching Homepower Magazine's web site, looking for a solar, steam generator, when I came across plans for a solar dehydrator that was designed at Appalachian State University. It's more elaborate than I expected, but it appears to be quite efficient. It may be suitable for someone who wants to dry a LOT of food. Look here:

http://www.homepower.com/download2.htm#Homebrews

Jenny

-- Jenny (jnjonline@earthlink.net), March 15, 2002.


Good one mr.don! the staff at the towns' 'pier-1-imports' got tired of tracking down the parents to get the kids out of the car.! So they instituted a get kid safe & manager call police on the parent.

tho most of the kids would go with the complete stranger [pier 1 sales person] who asked them to unlock the car door & help go find mommy!

most parents were shocked to find the interior of the car would get 140 deg. faren. in minutes here in the south, but one lady got really p.o.ed at the manager for calling the cop, so the cop wrote her a ticket! everyone else that summer just got a lecture & a warning.

btw mr. marty, wether you use a 'hillbilly' dryer or build one from scratch, deffinitely add a chimmney to get great airflow & speed the drying time.

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), March 15, 2002.


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