Gear

Or is it dehydrater?

Anyway flushed with success from making my own pot cosy from an old roll mat I was looking at a dehydrating thingie and thinking 60 blinkin' quid!!!!  when it's nowt more than a few foil trays and a lightbulb (probably )

Anyone made their own? any good? and any handy links to a 'how to' page?

 all help or warnings not to bother much appreciated

Cheers

R

Its a bit more than a lightbulb, I would say they are more a hairdryer.

I have made my own biltong box which is a wooden box with holes at the top and bottom and a tray with holes in above a 60 watt light bulb.

To draw a comparison my dehydrator makes Biltong in about 18 hours and my biltong box takes 3 to 4 days.  I built the biltong box because the Dehydrater dried it too quick.

For dehydrating other foods I think the food would spoil before being ready.

If you are not ready to commit to a specific dehydrater why not try some in the oven, leave the door open slightly and put the oven on between 90 - 110 (don't quote me on that)

The ones I've seen on the net were only heated by one or two bulbs

 http://www.k-clements.fsnet.co.uk/dehydrator.html

http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/dehydratorstryder.htm

They seem fairly do-able so I might have a bodge session and see if it's feasible / reliable. The idea of carrying decent curry is just too tempting

If the results are edible / non-fatal I'll report back

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

I've successfully dried mushrooms above the hot water tank in a cupboard.

DIDDY*THE TENT DEMON* wrote (see)

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

I've successfully dried mushrooms above the hot water tank in a cupboard.

Bet you cant remember much after that eh Mike .

If you want a decent curry with no fuss and come in a boil in foil bag for 5 minutes have a look at these,to be found at your local ASDA for no more that £1.09p. SHANA* Authentic foods.

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

DIDDY*THE TENT DEMON* wrote (see)

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

I've successfully dried mushrooms above the hot water tank in a cupboard.

Bet you cant remember much after that eh Mike .

I used to like keeping a supply for during the winter.

Thanks but I like the idea of my own , plus those all looked a bit veggie for my liking.

Would this be of interest? I considered one but haven't got round to it yet. Probably not as good as the Backpackinglight ones but it's cheap.

See Here

It's certainly interesting but from the write-up it seems they recommend it only for fruit. I know it's ony £25 but I think a home-made one could be much cheaper

Certainly I'm thinking curry, dahls etc, chilli, casoulet and so on (ie sloppy / wet things). I have tried others' versions and they're just too processed / bland for my liking.

So far for the home-made one I have a bits list of:

Big cardboard box

Foil to cover the inside

1 or 2 light fittings for heat source

Fan (one from many of the dead computers I have)

Internal shelves

Foil trays

glue / tape etc

This seems to be a cost of about £5, worth a punt.

I may road test it in the shed JIC it proves flammable (in which case it WILL prove expensive!)

Aye I would have wanted to dehydrate stuff I'd already made, spagbol, that kind of thing. I assume (probably incorrectly) that the cheap dehydrator would work if you kept it on long enough.

Good luck with the DIY attempt, hope your shed survives

> 1 or 2 light fittings for heat source

I'd look for IR bulbs (as used at serving counters, etc).  Whilst conventional bulbs will do, a bulb designed to generate IR is probably preferable.

I'd add a thermal cutout, too, to be on the safe side...

The Tchibo dehydrator I've got uses a 250W heater, and a fairly low-output fan.  I guess the ultimate design would control the heater or fan to maintain a set temperature...

<thinks: may tinker with the Tchibo...>