In any case, maybe it will help some newbie HR Freeze Dryer owners to answer some of the questions I once had.
Have you ever tossed out spoiled produce or leftovers? How about those cans of food that are nearing their expiration date sitting on the shelf at the back of your food storage?
I think a community-built troubleshooting manual is a great idea. These machines are simple in some ways, and more complex in others, and having a lot of eyes on the problem is always good.
The only way I know to filter the water vapor out would be a cold trap. They usually use liquid nitrogen or dry ice to keep the temperature low enough that all the water condenses out. Obviously you would need a supply of the liquid nitrogen or dry ice that would probably not be cost effective for most of us. The other option to get that cold would be to use a cryocooler and build a cold trap around it. It could be done, but would be pretty expensive. I've been watching some electronics on ebay that have cryocoolers in them, but the cheapest I've seen is around $600. Still not a cheap option, but you wouldn't need dry ice or liquid nitrogen to feed it.
Reinstalled the vacuum hose and capped far end of hose to do a hose test. (same results as pump alone)
Gas fryers and gas stoves are typically in commercial kitchens because they generate much more power. Overall, this range of commercial range has less components and can be easier to maintain and undergo less commercial repair.
Hence, the Premier Pump is especially not affected by warm, ambient conditions. When temperatures rise, it will pull a vacuum far better than the Standard Pump. The Premier Pump is just not affected by outside heat. It pulls the same deep vacuum even when it is in a warm environment.
They’re all great articles, packed full of helpful information. My goal is always to provide helpful information, so let me know if you don’t find the answers you need. Enjoy!
14 Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) On 7/31/2015 at 11:12 PM, TonyC said: Somehow this post got posted twice so I'll edit the second one with some more useful information. Buy Now I remember reading somewhere in this thread where somebody was asking how long you run the freeze cycle with pre-frozen food. I have my chest freezer set to -12F, and I usually let the freeze dryer cool for an hour before I put the frozen food in. After I load the food in I wait another half hour to start the drying process. I've had a lot of cycles that the Completa time between pulling one batch out and starting the drying cycle on the next is around 2 hours. I'm running mine in a cold garage, so it cools down pretty quickly. If you have yours in a warm room it would probably take a little longer.
Over night the FDer warmed up and the next morning we had a massive puddle under it - running off the counter onto the floor. I cleaned up the mess, but the next day the puddle was even bigger. On the 3rd day it was back again just as large even though I left a large towel under the FDer.
Removing water quickly is very important because the longer a harvested plant or compound retains water, the higher the chance it has of spoiling, losing nutrition, and losing potency.
There are 3 ports on the chamber that I made slits in the plastic to get around and taped them up once around them. Do not tape to the insulation. Tape only to the vapor barrier plastic. It doesn't take long, just be careful. After the plastic is in place and secure around the chamber I sealed the plastic to the back of the front and back panels using the packing tape. All the way around the front and back of the chamber to completely seal the chamber from outside air and humidity.
Is it flash freezing and dehydrating at the same time? Do the items need to be kept frozen, or stored at room temp?
Fermenting foods is perhaps the oldest food preservation method and has grown in popularity in recent years due to their touted “gut”, probiotic, and other additional health benefits. Fermenting at home is an inexpensive way to control what goes inside yo