Build a passive-solar food dehydrator

The finished passive-solar dehydrator maintained a fairly constant temperature of 150 F

throughout most of the day without any repositioning, which shows that this design can easily provide the
temperatures required y any dehydrator recipe!
"umans have een drying fruits, hers, nuts, vegetales, meats, and fish using #ust the sun for
thousands of years! $arly $gyptians used wooden rac%s to sun-dry thinly-sliced strips of meat and fish! &s
early as the 1'00s, people were improving the dehydration process y constructing drying enclosures uilt
over slow-urning fires! By the early 1(00s, commercial dehydrators ecame availale that included
powered fans and small electric heaters similar to the designs in use today!
This article descries how you can uild your own solar-powered food dehydrator, ut ) will not
e going into detail on how to actually prepare and season foods for dehydration! There are numerous
reference materials, recipes, and detailed instructions on the dehydration process, which are easy to find in
other B"* articles and on the )nternet!
+ehydrators come in every si,e and design imaginale! -esidential units usually are aout the si,e
of a large microwave oven and use a ottom heating element to improve the drying process! .imple
homemade units have een uilt using everything from cardoard o/es with a small light ul in the
ottom for heat, to larger homemade dehydrators made from discarded refrigerators, wooden shipping
crates, and metal shelving!
The main design feature for all dehydrators is multiple porous rac%s that will support small slices
of fruits, meats, or garden hers spaced closely together while still allowing good airflow around and
through these rac%s! 0ood airflow is mandatory1 the goal is to slowly remove the moisture from the food,
not coo% it!
*ost dehydrators have ventilation near the ottom, so that the air passes up through the drying
rac%s efore e/iting near the top! .ince heated air rises, some dehydrator designs do not require electricity
and rely on natural air convection to provide the airflow! *ore e/pensive dehydrators will include
ad#ustale air dampers and e/haust fans to draw air through the rac%s and out the top! This dehydrator
pro#ect includes air inta%e vents located on each side near the ottom, and a larger outlet vent on the ac%
near the top!
The second design issue is the si,e of the enclosure, and this will e driven y the si,e of the rac%s!
.ince you want metal rac%s that are easy to clean and offer good support, while still having minimum air
restriction, the rac%s will normally e a manufactured product! "owever, you can use the metal rac%s from
a discarded refrigerator, old stove, or even commercial screening material! 2nce you have found or
purchased the rac%s you want to use, this will determine the width and depth of the enclosure! The
enclosure itself can e made from metal, wood, or heavy cardoard, depending on your udget and
availale scrap materials!
.ince the fruits or meats to e dehydrated will e sliced very thin to improve moisture removal and
reduce drying time, the individual shelves can e much closer together than you would normally see in a
standard refrigerator or oven! )n fact, shelf spacing of two to three inches is typical in oth homemade and
commercial dehydrators, so the numer of shelves and their spacing will determine the height of your
homemade solar dehydrator!
Finally, y covering the interior with reflective aluminum foil and adding a clear glass or
3le/iglas4 front cover, you can forget electric heating and use the sun to drive the dehydration process!
-ememer, this is not intended to e a high-temperature solar oven and you are not trying to coo% the
fruits, hers, or meats! &lmost all foods will e properly dehydrated y %eeping the inside temperature
etween 150 and 160 F, ut ) recommend following the pre-seasoning, drying temperature, and drying
time recommendations found in your dehydration recipes!
7hile some fruits such as thinly-sliced, peeled apples may e fully dehydrated in si/ hours, moist
fruits such as ananas and strawerries may require 15 to 18 hours efore they are fully dehydrated!
Thinly-sliced meats may require slightly higher temperatures and up to 18 hours to fully transform into
#er%y!
"ere are all the materials needed to uild a solar food dehydrator!
9ompleted ac%
Construction
) wanted to design a solar-powered dehydrator that would utili,e low-cost materials and e very
easy for anyone to uild using asic hand tools! 7hile you can modify my asic design to accommodate
your choice of metal rac%s, ) found some very ine/pensive rac%s at :owe;s that are designed to fit
areque grills! These rac%s are made from 15/1<-inch perforated aluminum sheets and sold in pac%ages
of two for less than =5! $ight rac%s will cost =50 and since they were designed to coo% foods on a grill,
they are perfect for our needs! $ight of these rac%s will easily fit in a dehydrator that is 56 inches high,
including e/tra space at the ottom and top!
To save construction time, ) chose 18-inch-wide finished shelving lumer to ma%e the sides, top,
and ottom, and >-inch plywood to ma%e the ac%! ) also found a 1</56-inch stoc% si,e of pre-cut
3le/iglas4 and pre-formed metal rails to support the thin 3le/iglas4! 7hile ) spent aout =(0 for all
materials, if you have discarded appliances or scrap uilding materials you many not need to uy
anything!
.ince ) recently had ma#or shoulder surgery, my current wor%shop pro#ects are seriously limited
for the ne/t few months, so ) enlisted the help of two of my si/ grandchildren! $leven-year-old
9hristopher and nine-year-old .tephen did all of the cutting and drilling to faricate the wood components
shown, so ) only had to do the final assemly using construction adhesive in a caul%ing gun and a
pneumatic nailer, oth easy to operate with one arm! 7hile not intentionally trying to prove this pro#ect is
child;s play, it does show that this solar dehydrator is fairly easy to uild! &nd %eep in mind, if you find a
good deal on rac%s of a different si,e, you can modify this design as needed!
By adding a small solar-powered fan on the top, you can significantly improve the performance of
this dehydrator! ) have also tried to utili,e a design that eliminates the possiility of insects getting inside
since some types of fruits or meats have dehydrating times that e/ceed the typical si/ to eight hours of sun
availale per day! This could require having to leave the fruits or meats outside in the dehydrator for
multiple days to fully dehydrate, depending on the weather, so insect screening is mandatory!
) have covered all e/terior ventilation openings with low-cost metal louvers that include internal
insect screening, and all #oints are nail and glue construction for a tight fit! 2nce the 3le/iglas4 front
panel is slid into position, you are ready to start dehydrating! ) added a %itchen thermometer with a long
proe inserted through a drilled hole near the top to monitor the inside temperature! ?ou will want a
thermometer with a range of (0 to 500 F if possile! 9andy thermometers register up to 600 F, which is
too high for our purposes! By periodically chec%ing this thermometer, the drying temperature specified in
the recipe can easily e maintained y orienting the dehydrator toward or away from the direct sun!
+uring my initial testing, this homemade solar dehydrator stayed a fairly constant 150 F
throughout most of the day without any repositioning! 7hile you may want to orient the dehydrator
slightly away from the direct sun to lower this temperature, this does show that this design can easily
provide the temperatures required y any recipe!
&ttach rac% supports to each side!
&ssemle oth sides to the ac%!
Step-by-step construction
1! 9ut all parts as shown! @ote the top is set ac% 1> inches from the front edge to clear the sliding
front so it can e pulled up and out!
5! &dd the rac% supports to oth left and right-side oards, then drill the air vents as shown
etween the lower two rac%s!
A! &fter cutting out the three openings in the ac% to fit the top louver, glue down a layer of heavy
aluminum foil efore adding the rear rac% supports!B
6! 9over the underside of the top oard, and top side of the ottom oard with a layer of heavy
aluminum foil efore final assemly!
5! &ssemle the sides, ac%, top, and ottom using construction glue and finish nails or screws!
.and all rough surfaces and corners!
8! Finally, install the metal rails to support the removale sliding 3le/iglas4 front! This front
3le/iglas4 could also slide in grooves cut into the sides and ottom, which would eliminate the metal
rails!
.ince this solar dehydrator will e outside when in use, ) added two coats of a semi-gloss e/terior
paint to all outside surfaces! "owever, ) left all e/posed interior wood surfaces unpainted to avoid paint
fumes affecting the taste of the dehydrated foods! &lthough the ottom of this dehydrator is covered with
heavy aluminum foil, you may still want to add a small pan to catch drippings if you will e dehydrating
meats!
The 15/1<-inch aluminum rac%s are fairly fle/ile, and since they will only e supported along the
left and right edge and the ac%, ) ent down a C-inch lip across the front edge which significantly
strengthened the rac%s! .ince these rac%s are thin, it was fairly easy to end y hand to form the lip with
the end passing through the first row of holes!
Conclusion
7hile you are free to copy my design and material selection shown, ) encourage you to utili,e
your own discarded materials to reduce costs which may require ad#usting the dimensions and
construction to fit!