Dehydrator

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by OpenD

I have a big Excaliber, the cadillac of dehydrators, that I used all the time on the mainland, but less so in Hawai'i than I thought I would, mainly because I keep buying dried fruit at the farmer's market instead of making my own.

Cost of electricity is a factor too, although this one is pretty efficient... 5 trays, 440 watts:

Food, Fruit & Beef Jerky 5-Tray Small Garden Excalibur Dehydrator with 26 Hour Timer

Excalibers are really good. But maybe for 440 watts, I'll just put a 100 watt light bulb in the bottom of my solar dehydrator.

I am very amused by the idea of having an electric dehydrator and making it into a solar dehydrator by adding a solar electrical generating panel.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Excalibers are really good. But maybe for 440 watts, I'll just put a 100 watt light bulb in the bottom of my solar dehydrator.

Nahh. Lightbulbs are designed to produce light, not heat. If you want heat, get a heating element. It will be far more efficient.

I am very amused by the idea of having an electric dehydrator and making it into a solar dehydrator by adding a solar electrical generating panel.

Why? It's entirely logical. Whether it is practical or not is a different question.

At the very least, I'd add a solar powered exhaust fan to the solar dehydrator, because moving air through the thing will help the drying efficiency tremendously.

You can thank me later for that last genius tip.

[BigIslandBum]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Nahh. Lightbulbs are designed to produce light, not heat. If you want heat, get a heating element. It will be far more efficient.

Actually, your typical incandescent light bulb is extremely inefficient for producing light. Most of the energy (around 90%) is given off as heat not light.

Originally Posted by OpenD

At the very least, I'd add a solar powered exhaust fan to the solar dehydrator, because moving air through the thing will help the drying efficiency tremendously.

You can thank me later for that last genius tip.

On my list of things to do for my solar dehydrator.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

A 100 watt bulb will get my chick brooder up over 100 degrees, sitting in a cold garage with no cover over the brooder. The problem being that incandescent light bulbs have been outlawed so that only we outlaws have incandescent bulbs.

The solar dehydrator uses convection currents to move the air. Heated air in at the bottom and out of vents at the top because heat rises. No fan necessary.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by BigIslandBum

Actually, your typical incandescent light bulb is extremely inefficient for producing light. Most of the energy (around 90%) is given off as heat not light.

OK, let me say it another way... get a heating element instead, because they are more energy efficient, and lightbulbs are fragile and can start fires when broken.

The solar dehydrator uses convection currents to move the air. Heated air in at the bottom and out of vents at the top because heat rises. No fan necessary.

OK, let me say it another way... get a solar powered fan because it will give a terrific boost to the efficiency of the solar dehydrator, allowing food to dry much more quickly than thermal updraft will, thus helping avoid the mold problems that seem to aflict thermal drafted dryers in Hawai'i. High airflow, not high heat is the reason Excaliber dehydrators are so good. I worked for a while in a veg'an restaurant at which a bank of 10 Excalibers were used for food prep, set to only 115 F, and they worked like champs.

[hotzcatz]

If you have a propane refrigerator, you can put a screened box on top of that (to keep the bugs out) and it will dehydrate things, too. Since all this is working off the pilot light, I'd think a dehydrator could be made from an oil lamp or railroad lantern, too.