Dehydrators

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-28-2013 02:17 AM

Dehydrating is something I've dabbled with for years. I've done a few veggies, apple rings, and mostly beef jerky.

I've done so much jerky that I usually go through a meat slicer every few years. They just don't stand up. I always wanted to get a commercial grade one but the cost is prohibitive.

Last week at work, the owner of the restaurant upstairs at the Sports complex was throwing his out. It's roughly an $800 model. He had already bought a new one. I tinker fixing things and asked him what was wrong with it.

He informed me that a few of his cooks complained about getting shocks off it. He said I was welcome to take it but wouldn't be responsible if I electrocuted myself. The first thing I checked was the plug. The grounding pin was broken off. It's a $1 fix.

So now I have the last meat slicer I will ever have to buy and I'm ready to step up my game.

I've also been through my share of store bought dehydrators and I'm now looking at building one. Mine will hold 1lb of dried meat but I want something I can do 10-15lbs at a time in.

Lots of info on the web, but I was curious if anybody else out there has done this themselves.

Doka · Post by **Doka** » 04-28-2013 10:52 AM

Sounds great, Megman! I have a little one, that I do all kinds of stuff with. My favorite is tomatoes. You can not do them for very long or they really leathery or just about disappear. When you dehydrate, they get really sweet. Then I put them in olive oil, with some slivers of garlic. They are wonderful in salads or just about any thing you want them in and very tasty.

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 04-28-2013 11:16 AM

Way to save a buck megman! Actually about 700 bucks.

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-28-2013 11:47 AM

That's why I want to build a bigger dehydrator Dale. Save even more $$$.

I can get a 7lb eye of round for about $30. That translates to about 3 1/2 lbs of dry jerky.

For years I was selling it for $25/lb and selling a lot of it. But when I can only produce 1lb of product at a time the electricity costs and the time to produce it goes up dramatically.

If I can dry 10-15lbs at a time though, it cuts down on cost and time involved, and I can still make money for the price I sell it at.

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 04-28-2013 11:58 AM

You being a diy guy might google "solar food dehydrator plans" .. Even in Canada you may be able to save a little during the summer months. Carrying it further you might add some assist by Fresnel lens or something that may get you savings thru the cooler months?

This guy does similar stuff and has a great youtube channel.

http://www.greenpowerscience.com/

Just a thought.

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-28-2013 12:00 PM

I would love to go the solar route Dale, but they tend to work better in drier climates.

People here always complain about the humidity in Ottawa in the summer months. Guess they haven't been to Windsor. I love it but the process would be way to slow IMHO.

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 04-28-2013 12:08 PM

We have monster humidity here so I know what you mean.. Perhaps using the Fresnel lens to dry the air that circulates around the food? You still would have to track the sun, which is another problem.

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-28-2013 04:12 PM

Dale O Sea wrote: We have monster humidity here so I know what you mean.. Perhaps using the Fresnel lens to dry the air that circulates around the food? You still would have to track the sun, which is another problem.

Good idea, but how would you control the heat? You want a little heat just to dissipate the moisture, but it's the air itself that does the actual drying. You don't want to cook the meat.

Here's a design that I'm leaning towards with some modifications of my own: Dehydrator

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-28-2013 11:12 PM

This is the meat slicer I got for a song. Literally.

Post by **Fan** » 04-29-2013 04:03 PM

sweet. I wanted a good meat slicer but bought a high quality set of chef knives instead

As for dehydrating you can build it easily, all dehydrators are simply racks with a fan and maybe a little heating. Using the power of the sun and even passive air flow you could get it done, but throw in a little computer fan and you have a pro setup.

My Dad built one long ago, using window screens over 2x2s for the shelves, and a simple rack holder design like a smoker uses.

Check this out although there are endless designs on the web for this, I think it will have more to do with what materials you have on hand http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/buil ... z2Rt8vWMPi

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-29-2013 05:09 PM

Screens are a good and practical idea, but I don't see them working well for jerky, mostly in the cleaning department.

A fine screen would be totally clogged on the first use due to the meat marinade.

I'm leaning towards an egg crate type of tray for the jerk.

I do have a set of good knives, including 2 #3 one piece SS cleavers. But the slicer drastically cuts down on the slicing time and keeps a better thickness consistency as I slice it at 1/8".

Post by **Fan** » 04-29-2013 05:15 PM

megman wrote: Screens are a good and practical idea, but I don't see them working well for jerky, mostly in the cleaning department.

A fine screen would be totally clogged on the first use due to the meat marinade.

I'm leaning towards an egg crate type of tray for the jerk.

try chicken screen, it comes in all sorts of sizes... however, the nylon screens work fine, I have done marinated stuff on them, you just give them a quick soak and a brushing after. With metal screens you need to watch out for oxidization.

We did not say it, but it is obvious, you can use a stove for it as well, you can do a big amount in most stoves.

Old smokers that have a burnt out element would be perfect (since it is easy to fix but most ppl would throw it out like your slicer). My smoker can maintain very stable temperatures for as long as necessary, and has separate smoke and heat elements (ie you don't have to have the smoke going). This has the added benefit of being able to add smoke flavour should you desire.

megman · Post by **megman** » 04-29-2013 05:27 PM

Stoves do work but what you want here is air movement.

This is where the first generation of dehydrators dropped on the market failed. They didn't have a fan. It is an integral part of any good machine.

The chicken wire I'm familiar with is metal and I would avoid it. Are you thinking more along the lines of snow fencing?

Post by **Fan** » 04-29-2013 05:38 PM

megman wrote: Stoves do work but what you want here is air movement.

This is where the first generation of dehydrators dropped on the market failed. They didn't have a fan. It is an integral part of any good machine.

The chicken wire I'm familiar with is metal and I would avoid it. Are you thinking more along the lines of snow fencing?

some metal is fine, stainless of course, but I believe there are different materials they use in these fences. They are designed to be outside without rusting... however, I leave this up to you as an exercise of the mind

Here are some examples, some of which should be fine for food use http://www.twpinc.com/wire-mesh/TWPCAT_19

I am pretty sure they make larger squared nylon screens as well.

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 04-29-2013 05:40 PM

I like the wood smoker idea. This could also scale well if you needed to grow. I'm sure most any wooden shed kit could be converted to a smoke house..prolly zoning against that tho, being the nation's capitol and all. But nothing beats real wood smoked taste on jerky IMO. The shorter the ingredient list, the better.

Also, if you know someone with the proper test equipment you should probably have that unit hipot tested. This will tell you if there is a short or other current leakage by running enormous voltage thru it and seeing if that can find ground or other path that may still potentially be a shock hazard to the user.
That or only touch it with one hand at a time wearing dry sneakers.