Dear fan of local food,
Are you looking for simpler, lower-energy ways to preserve summer's
bounty? Want organic sun-dried tomatoes or dried cherries without the
astronomical prices? A solar food dehyrator may be just the thing.
My friends and neighbors, Otto Ottoson and Graham O, built a solar
food dehydrator last summer, using slightly modified plans from the
book The Solar Food Dryer: How to Make and Use Your Own Low-Cost, Hi
gh Performance, Sun-Powered Food Dehydrator, by Eben V. Fodor.http://
www.amazon.com/Solar-Food-Dryer-Performance-Sun-Powered/product-
reviews/0865715440/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?
ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescendin
g
Using the designs in the book, you can build your own solar dryer.
But for those of us who are busy or whose carpentry skills aren't so
great, Otto and Graham can build them for us (Otto is a carpenter.).
While Otto has his power tools set up to make the three dehydrators
people have already ordered, he can readily make a few more. They
would cost around $300 - $400 each (depending on the number of
orders) and would be ready by late June, in time for this year's
harvest. The basic dehydrator is made from plywood, with an option
for solid pine construction at a somewhat higher cost. (Obviously
this costs more than a conventional electric food dryer made from
plastic, but we believe the solar dryer to be a much better product.)
On sunny days the dehydrators run completely on passive solar energy.
If the day turns cloudy or rainy, there's an electric backup. The
standard plans use light bulbs; Otto prefers a small heating element
which uses the electricity for heat rather than for unneeded light.
The dryers are screened to keep out insects and other pests, and
adjustable venting allows you to control the temperature. It is quiet
because there is no fan; air circulates by natural convection (hot
air rises and cool air flows in from below).
The solar dehydrator works great. I tried it with tomatoes, green
peppers, and even onions. Best of all were the cherries, which I
doled out like candy all winter long. I liked the solar food dryer
much better than a conventional electric dehydrator, which I found
noisy and hot.
If you'd like more information, or you might be interested in
ordering one, please contact me at [email protected],
or 272-4921 before 9 pm. You're welcome to forward this to others who
might be interested.
Thanks,
Valorie
_______________________________________________
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