Anyone using a freeze dryer?

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  • BehindBlueI's

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    I’ve done some crunching and I don’t think there’s really any way to make money via retail with a non commercial freeze drier. Some of the cycle times get into the 30+ hour mark and the payload is just too small. A big one would be a whole different story.

    Yeah, I figured. Some things are just so time/labor intensive you have to have a massive operation to make it economically feasible. Still, sounds like it'd be neat to experiment with. I buy a decent amount of freeze dried stuff for backpacking, but not nearly enough to justify the expense of my own machine. Plus I'm cheap.
     

    phylodog

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    Yeah, I figured. Some things are just so time/labor intensive you have to have a massive operation to make it economically feasible. Still, sounds like it'd be neat to experiment with. I buy a decent amount of freeze dried stuff for backpacking, but not nearly enough to justify the expense of my own machine. Plus I'm cheap.
    It wasn’t a part of my typical budget for sure but it happened to pop up on my radar when I had some cash that could go to something not necessarily a “need”.
     
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    I had never crossed upon a consumer grade freeze dryer. I want(ed) to love it and put it on my short list of obvious buys. Then I saw the price. I'd be curious of the results when the dried product was reconstituted...?
     

    Altrex

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    Freeze drying is a linear process from the surface of the item being dried. If you want to speed it up, you need to increase the surface area and reduce the thickness. As it dries, the material closer to the surface acts as a resistance to the vapor coming out of the material.
     

    Jsomerset

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    I would imagine there is someone out there that can macgyver one for 1/5 the price as a new one and make it 3-4 times larger. It’s just a vacuum and cold temp as I understand it. Probably do it with an air compressor a small air dryer used on air brakes and a few air brake valves and a freezer unit.
     

    phylodog

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    I would imagine there is someone out there that can macgyver one for 1/5 the price as a new one and make it 3-4 times larger. It’s just a vacuum and cold temp as I understand it. Probably do it with an air compressor a small air dryer used on air brakes and a few air brake valves and a freezer unit.
    That would make for an interesting project.
     

    bwframe

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    I would imagine there is someone out there that can macgyver one for 1/5 the price as a new one and make it 3-4 times larger. It’s just a vacuum and cold temp as I understand it. Probably do it with an air compressor a small air dryer used on air brakes and a few air brake valves and a freezer unit.
    That'll be mine.

    Have you seen my expensive coffee bean roaster?
     

    shibumiseeker

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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    We’ve considered it but never been able to justify the coin. We’re pretty well set up off grid and produce and process a fair amount of our own food, but 20 year storage of everything has not been a priority. We’re pretty good with 2-3 year storage of most things with some long term stuff bought.

    What I would like is for some of the things that freeze-dried makes tastier. I love freeze dried fruit!

    I’ll be interested in the firsthand reports. So many of the youtube stuff is either pie-in-the-sky or long and dull with crap production values.
     

    Altrex

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    I would imagine there is someone out there that can macgyver one for 1/5 the price as a new one and make it 3-4 times larger. It’s just a vacuum and cold temp as I understand it. Probably do it with an air compressor a small air dryer used on air brakes and a few air brake valves and a freezer unit.
    I think the most difficult part is getting an inexpensive vacuum pump that can get to the level required for sublimation occur. You also need a refrigeration source for the cold trap approximately 10 deg (or more) cooler than a home freezer. This is for a small system of course. As you get larger, having a chamber strong enough to hold high vacuum becomes costly.
     

    Jsomerset

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    I think the most difficult part is getting an inexpensive vacuum pump that can get to the level required for sublimation occur. You also need a refrigeration source for the cold trap approximately 10 deg (or more) cooler than a home freezer. This is for a small system of course. As you get larger, having a chamber strong enough to hold high vacuum becomes costly.
    There are always wrenches tossed into the works to kill the simple, easy and cheap way dagnabit!
     

    Altrex

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    There are always wrenches tossed into the works to kill the simple, easy and cheap way dagnabit!
    Ok, I will make it easy for everyone. Just take the food to outer space lol. The only thing else you will need is a refrigeration source colder than your frozen food.
     

    2in1evtime

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    I would imagine there is someone out there that can macgyver one for 1/5 the price as a new one and make it 3-4 times larger. It’s just a vacuum and cold temp as I understand it. Probably do it with an air compressor a small air dryer used on air brakes and a few air brake valves and a freezer unit.
    Jeephammer comes to mind??????
     

    2in1evtime

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    We have our freeze dryer up and running, putting peppers and tomatoes in mason jars when done. first batch wife didn't package right away and it was humid tomatoes started pulling moisture in from the air, will be doing apples and pears this weekend. We have been freezing everything before hand to speed process up a little.
     

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    phylodog

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    We have our freeze dryer up and running, putting peppers and tomatoes in mason jars when done. first batch wife didn't package right away and it was humid tomatoes started pulling moisture in from the air, will be doing apples and pears this weekend. We have been freezing everything before hand to speed process up a little.
    I plan to do the same. I have a huge chest freezer and I ordered a spare set of trays with the dryer. I plan to keep it running for quite some time.
     
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