How do I make a DIY Food Dehydrator?

Date sort Score sort
The best ones I saw at Cabello's were a little over $200.00. IMHO not worth the price. From my research, it looks like excalibur dehydrators are getting the best reviews. The largest one I saw on the net was $300ish, It's hard to judge how sturdy it is from a picture. I am cheap....hate to spend that kind of money on something I will use once or twice a year....and haven't seen or touched in person. Years ago, I had an inexpensive round, stacking tray type. I think I donated it to goodwill, because I never used it and wanted the cupboard space back. That was before the garden. Several years back you could find them at second hand stores and garage sales all the time.
 
I have a big one that I got from a woman for building her new garden beds. She couldn't and didn't use it any more. Before that we used window screening stretched on 1 inch wooden frames that we stacked up and clamped together. The frame depth covers the food on the tray below. We then would sit them propped up by a brick on one end on the patio table outside in a shady spot. It works pretty well for fruit and vegies but definitely not for meat of any kind. You can increase the temp of the drying by placing a piece of glass over the top frame and allowing it to get some sun, but not full sun. It can take a few days to dry things this way. If it's going to rain (not likely in this heat wave) you take the frames inside at night so they don't mold. Of course in the olden days, ie Oregon trail days, they just laid the food out on sheets of muslin in the sun ... they weren't so picky about bugs back then however.
 
AZBootsie said:
For the past couple of weeks, I also have been thinking about making one. No real plans yet, but I am checking out the DIY cabinet incubators for inspiration..... Frame some screening material for the sides. You could either use a heating element (heat tape looks simple) or an old fashioned incandescent light bulb. Then add a couple of computer fans. I am not sure what to use for trays though. It would be nice if they could fit in the dishwasher, nothing that will rust, heavy duty would be best......still thinking on that. It would be smart to keep all the electric parts at the top of the unit in case something drips.

I checked out the dehydrators at Cabello. They were pricey and seemed cheaply made....kinda fragile...and difficult to clean.
Click to expand...
If you have goodwell in your area go ck there. They can have some really nice one's because people try it once or twic and than dont like it.
 
Living the Country Life has "Build a smokehouse in 11 easy steps" that you might want to check out. It's cool!!! I know a guy who took an old refrigerator, and made one and he smoked jerky and everything else in it and had great results.

OH, food dehydrator!! Sorry . . . but check out the smoker anyway!!! Cute as easy as can be.
 
Last edited:
bilder said:
Mother Earth News has a few dehydrator plans on their site.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real...de-dehydrator-zmaz75jazgoe.aspx#axzz2KtQ0Q5Zr
Click to expand...
That one is interesting - hadn't seen that one yet. I like the design of it that keeps the sun's rays off the food. Alot of the solar dehydartors are just food on screens with the sun shining on the food, but I though I read somewhere that the sun actually breaks down some of the nutrients when dried that way.
The dehydrator that I want to make is the same concept as the article you attached, only instead of a direct heat source - you hook up a solar heat collector. This is a thin glass topped box, painted black inside, with holes on the lower side to allow fresh air to enter and the upper edge open to allow the heated air to flow up into the dehydrator.
 
I live in VA and we are over run with cicadas right now - the chickens love them! And I do to because it has cut my feed cost half over the last couple of weeks.
Does anyone here have any experience dehydrating insects for winter chicken food? Would they keep if I dehydrated a couple hundred pounds and store them in the deep freeze in vacuum bags? I'm thinking of doing the cicadas and mealworms from my mealworms farm... I need "human consumption" quality... Just in case. If not dehydrating then how about canning cicadas?
I've already looked into freeze drying and may even attempt that as long as the cost is as close to free as possible.
Any advice welcom - Thanks
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

tripletfeb
    • Like
    • Love
    • Informative
Food dehydrating
2 3
Replies
27
Views
4K
saysfaa
saysfaa
N
    • Like
DIY septic questions?
Replies
6
Views
838
U_Stormcrow
U_Stormcrow
ihatedarkroast
    • Like
Making Yeast Supplements from Scratch
Replies
1
Views
2K
cavemanrich
cavemanrich
N
DIY question on water distillation;
Replies
7
Views
920
Annetti
A
browngd
    • Like
DIY Laser Cut Egg Candler
Replies
3
Views
1K
Girl_Farmer12
G

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom