There are 3 ports on the chamber that I made slits in the plastic to get around and taped them up once around them. Do not tape to the insulation. Tape only to the vapor barrier plastic. It doesn't take long, just be careful. After the plastic is in place and secure around the chamber I sealed the plastic to the back of the front and back panels using the packing tape. All the way around the front and back of the chamber to completely seal the chamber from outside air and humidity.
5 Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) Gypsyman: Proof again that "great minds think alike". In my initial pondering, I thought using an oil filter base would be a logical approach -- but I didn't have one handy and figured my car might miss it. Besides, one of my goals was to keep this affordable, and they tend to be a little pricey.
Suitable placement of food around the freeze drying trays is much more than simply an aesthetic option—it’s a science. Making sure an excellent distribution, without the need of overpacking, is essential for reaching a dependable freeze drying end result.
5. Maintenance: Understand the maintenance requirements of the machine. Some units require more frequent servicing than others.
Obviously things like ice cream and marshmallows you would want to let the freeze cycle run longer. When I'm ready to start the drying cycle, I open the door, remove the insulator, and check the temperature of the food on the trays with an infrared thermometer. As long as it's below -10F I start the dry cycle. A side note for TonyC, have you ever thought about attaching a mirror to each side of the tray rack to reflect the radiant heat back in to the trays? I've looked at some mirror finish stainless on ebay, and it looks like you could do it for about $quarenta. Not sure if it's worth a try or not. I would think it would let you get more water out in a cycle because the radiant heat wouldn't be warming the ice on the chamber walls. Just a thought.... Edited December 16, 2015 by Pipsqueak duplicate post (log)
22F, achieved by dividing 9 hours by 110F (the difference in food temps). We both know that the FDer doesn't do linear as the temps fall faster early on and slowly peak to max low temps, but the food freeze time might be a tad more linear than the FDer as food is denser and must be frozen throughout.
I've also added an oil catch can that does a wonderful job of trapping oil vapor exiting the exhaust of the pump. Now instead of coating the area in a fine oil mist, the oil settles into the can. The clear tube on the side of the can lets you know how full the can is.
Agree entirely on the fittings! After many emails and phone calls to HR, some advice that didn't pan out, and some parts replacement, the unit is back in business! Turns out it was the wire passthrough for the heater wires.
•The system records and maintains a log of the pressure and temperature during all parts of the freeze-dry cycle.
I personally have a medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer and love it. I actually wish I had gotten the large! But for our family of 4 (almost 5), it’s a perfect fit, we have it running constantly and fill bins full of homemade freeze dried food.
If you don’t have the time or money, or if you believe the food crisis will hit hard very soon, then it makes more sense to buy freeze-dried food instead.
The current and emerging food crises in the United States have millions of Americans very concerned about the future. From supply chain shenanigans to food processing plants “inexplicably” being compromised to bird flu decimating the poultry industry, it’s pelo wonder there has been a sharp rise in the “prepper” food industry.
So the bottom line is this: If you can afford the website 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.