Long ago. and B. I don't have the test equipment I did then. I guess what I'm saying is don't be afraid to get too technical with me in your answers. What I wouldn't give for a helium leak detector right now...
4) I made a plastic shield to protect the main circuit board of the FDer. it simply slides into place and protects the top and both sides of the board from condensation.
(had to replace the whole galvanized T piece with new wires in it) Seems they are epoxied in there, and in my experience passthroughs are a problem spot, so it's not at all surprizing that there was a slight leak there. In any case, I thanks the folks at HR for sending parts and sticking with me throughout.
What type of oil does the vacuum pump use? Harvest Right freeze dryers use food-grade vacuum pump oil, which is available for purchase. One gallon typically lasts several months with proper filtering and maintenance.
A dehydrator dries food by using heat only, while a freeze dryer uses both cold and heat. Dehydrated food still has moisture in it and works for short term storage only.
•The shelf heaters can be set to automatically control the rate of sublimation during the primary drying cycle. Through this process, the unit has control of the attendant vacuum pressure.
They can last for decades, with regular maintenance of course. It’s like any other major appliance, it has running parts and will need to be maintained or repaired as needed.
The one "gotcha" I encountered in making this is that a typical car oil filter attaches with a 3/4x16tpi threaded pipe. I could find pelo such pipe anywhere. My solution was to use instead a 3/4x16tpi bolt, and then drill a hole through it.
A couple of other points: There are obvious and easy improvements that could be made, such as using a container with a dispensing faucet (think of a lemonade jar, for example). Also, for the technically savvy, auto-mechanic-type person who may be wondering about it, there is an anti-backflow seal that has to be removed from the oil filter, but that can be removed by cutting through it and pulling it out with needle nose pliers, which is easily done.
Foods with lots of seeds can be freeze dried but usually take longer. That’s because the seeds hold moisture. If you’re processing strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and kiwis you’ll need to add Em excesso time. I like to add at least 12 hours when processing these foods.
So, while it might be tempting to stuff just as much as you may onto a tray, an arranged tactic making use of these applications will produce the best freeze dried foods, batch immediately after batch.
Dairy free substitutes freeze dry well In addition to harvest right Ontario Celiac Disease, my son has developed a lactose intolerance, which is common among people with Celiac Disease. We live in a small town, and there pelo lactose free dairy products in our grocery store.
So the bottom line is this: If you can afford the money and time to spend on freeze-drying your own food and you believe the need for the food is many months or years away, then eventually the Harvest Right freeze dryer will pay for itself.
And therein lies the best piece of advice I can offer on this topic: Keep your freeze dryer running. Downtime is wasted time. Some items take a while. Others are quick. But keeping the freeze dryer going almost non-stop is the key to getting the bang for the buck.