Humid Climate Solar Dehydrator

Step 6 Assemble the dryer for use.

The dryer goes together easily. If I'm carrying it anywhere, I carry the glass separately. Everything else is light enough to sit in the frame.

To load the dehydrator with stuff to dry, remove the glass and heater. I can stand on a stool load greens into the frame when it's on my shed roof. I've also set up the dehydrator on a picnic table and a sunny deck.

Starting with the empty frame:
1. Orient with the bottom ventilation space to the south and the top ventilation space to the north. I usually place a 2x4 under the north side to angle it to the sun when using it on a flat surface.
2. Place the drying frames in the dehydrator. You can load them before or after placement, as it suits you.
3. Place the heater on top, with the cross bars on top of the drying frames.
4. Place the glass on top of the frame.

If your nights are damp, you may want to bring the screens and their contents inside. I've placed mine in my greenhouse at night since it's close at hand and not used in late summer.

I've done May drying of dandelion greens in this. When it's windy, I'll have dried greens in a day. The dehydrator works best between the spring equinox and fall equinox.

Comments

[guy90]

Very informative and useful, thank you for the upload