Solar Food Dehydrator - Easy (Pizza Box) Design!

in this instructable i'll show you how to put together a simple solar food dehydrator

Step 1: Watch Short Instructional Video...

Step 2: Read Description...

video shows how to make a simple solar food dehydrator. cost almost nothing to make. made using 5 common household items. dries and preserves many types of foods (meats vegetables fruits herbs nuts and more). reaches 135F to 150F. dries food quickly. slice food thinly and lay on screen. place screen in the dehydrator. place in the sun

Step 3: Items Needed...

1.) large pizza box (i used a 16 inch box)

2.) flat black spray paint

3.) standard household screen

4.) small piece of wood cut down into 4 equal lengths (square wood dowels work good)

5.) 16" by 20" piece of glass (fits the 16 inch pizza box - with a little overhang on 2 edges)

Step 4: The Build... Start by Making the Collector Box

1.) first remove the lid off of the pizza box.

2.) then paint the interior of box a dark color (the best color is flat black).

3.) next, poke 3 or more holes along the bottom and top edges of the box (to let the moisture escape as the food is drying)

Step 5: Now Let's Make the Screen Assembly...

i cut down 4 small pieces of wood and attached them together to make a 15" square. then just take some standard insect screening (you can buy it by the roll) and wrap it tightly around the wood. i used staples to secure it.

Step 6: Now Just Put It Together...

put what you want to dehydrate onto the screen and place the screen assembly inside the pizza box. then just place collector box in the sun. lastly, gently place the glass onto the box. (the box i used has a little lip on it so the glass will not slide off of it if the box is tilted up. the collector box will warm to between 135F-150F. the perfect temp. to dehydrate food.