Although the machine itself is a bit pricey, I am saving money by buying in bulk or on clearance, and I am able to store food for when we need it later.
Investing in a freeze dryer is not just about saving money; it's about gaining the skills and resources to become more self-reliant and prepared for whatever life throws your way. So, invest in your self-reliance journey – your future self will thank you!
We have to face one hard fact when shopping for home freeze dryers. That fact is, unlike many other purchases, freeze dryers aren't cheap. However, unlike many other purchases, a freeze dryer can provide a lifetime of cost savings that ultimately pay for itself.
Modular and versatile freeze-drying systems are also in high demand and this is changing the landscape of the market. Certain companies need equipment that can handle different sizes and types of products. This is being done by pharma machinery manufacturers who provide these industries with better scalable models.
While I had the unit apart to replace the display I decided to correct the water condensation problem. If you find yourself using your FDer in the same conditons as we do you may want to consider modifying your FDer to keep the condensation from your FDer control circuit and display cards. Here are the steps that more info I followed to minimize what the NC high humidity climate does to my FDer.
The unit can also connect to and communicate the freeze dryer cycle data to a nearby PC through an ethernet cable.
Door seal appears good against the plexiglass side, even stripe of contact, nice and wide. Inside gasket groove has been checked for debris and cracks. Looks OK, but the design seems odd to me!
What I presume was happening was that condensation was building up on the cooling coils between the insulation and the chamber and freezing. When I finally turned the FDer off it took 3 days for the ice buildup to melt and slowly soak through the insulation and drip onto the counter.
Another reason to buy a freeze dryer instead of already freeze dried food is that you can choose to freeze dry whatever you want.
I personally have a medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer and love it. I actually wish I had gotten the large! But for our family of 4 (almost 5), it’s a perfect fit, we have it running constantly and fill bins full of homemade freeze dried food.
Lean meats work very well. Meats can be freeze dried either raw or cooked. If you are processing beef or pork, be sure to remove as much fat as possible first.
4 trays of corn takes only 16 hours, I would estimate that we have cut our FD times by 30% or more! Condensation has been decreased by 90% - no more dripping down the interior front panel and collecting on the aluminum base. There is still condensation around the front door seal, but it pelo longer drips down the front onto the floor.
Forgive me for the extremely long post but I thought other southerners may also face this problem and could use this information.
The system records and maintains a log of the pressure and temperature during all parts of the freeze-dry cycle.