Dryer for vegetables and fruits: do-it-yourself or buy? We independently make a dryer for fruits and vegetables Do the dryer need tiers.

If you grow, a dryer for fruits and vegetables is an indispensable thing in your household. We offer you a scheme for assembling an electric drying cabinet from Ilya Tretnikov

8 principles of fruit and vegetable dryer operation

The most important task is to understand how drying works. Without this understanding, you can't move. I do not suggest repeating after me and I do not think that my method is the most perfect, but by understanding the drying processes, you will understand what tasks need to be solved.


1. Products dry out due to the evaporation of water from their fibers. This requires two factors:
- heat that will remove moisture from the center of the product and go to the periphery,
- blowing, which will release the walls of the product from the accumulated moisture and take it out of the space of the drying cabinet.


To solve this problem, an electric fan and an electric heater are required, it is also called a heating element. You don’t need to invent a wheel, but you need to take it and go to the nearest household appliance store and buy a simple device, popularly called a “dutik”, that is, a heat electric fan, of course, made of plastic and made in China. It already has both a heating element and a fan, and also an important, essentially free, part is a drying case.


2. Humidity increases not only on the walls of the product, but also in the cabinet itself. This means that the cabinet must be ventilated, i.e. have openings so that the accumulated moist air can escape outside the drying space of the cabinet. To do this, simply make holes in the case. Holes can be placed on the roof of the dryer (as in Ezidri) or on the opposite side from the fan (as in Excalibur). I used the last option and made holes with a drill right in the doorway.


3. The temperature in the middle of the cabinet must be controlled so that the product does not boil and remains alive.
The optimum temperature for drying is 40 C.

To solve this problem, you need a device called a thermostat. There are a lot of options here. For example, you can buy a thermostat for a home incubator, it not only regulates heat, but also has an electronic display that shows the temperature. And everything is much simpler and you don’t have to invent anything, again: the “dutik”, a miracle of Chinese engineering, is already equipped with both a thermostat and a special overheating fuse, in case the screw does not turn. So the device is quite safe.
Looking ahead and answering frequently asked questions:
1) do not be afraid - nothing will burn;
2) and if not ecological? - Ecological and does not exist, the difference is only in quality.


4. Products must be dried on a baking sheet, which lets air through, that is, to be a mesh. I have reviewed many options, but the cheapest and most reliable is a wooden frame (like a photo frame) and a mosquito net.
Regarding the environmental friendliness of the mosquito net: I had no complaints, and if there is any doubt, there are companies that sell the same food net specifically for this purpose.
The baking sheet is connected with self-tapping screws and two slats "in the tail". The mesh was nailed onto a baking sheet with an ordinary manual furniture stapler.
Note:

• the grid at the place of punching with the bracket must be folded several times so that it does not align;
• First, nail one side with a stapler, and then, pulling hard, the opposite. So you need to do it first along the width of the baking sheet, and then along the length.
• In no case do not use nails - this is unreliable, only self-tapping screws.

5. The baking sheet should fit comfortably and hang securely in the dryer. To do this, use wooden rails the length of the width of the side wall of the dryer and the thickness of the rail - a square of about 1 cm. I used a thickness of 5x8 mm. Fasten to the wall body with short thin self-tapping screws. At the end of the rails, you can put a vertical limiter from the same rail, if the design is exclusively square, so that the baking sheet does not drive into the heater screw.

6. Space for air dispersal is the distance from the fan heater to the edge of the pan. This distance is necessary in order to evenly blow all the baking sheets, both in height and in width. This distance must be at least 20 cm.
7. Wooden case for drying- this is the most affordable, cheap and malleable material. I used an old Soviet wardrobe that was sad on the balcony. The particle board from which the cabinet is made contains glue and formaldehyde, so I additionally upholstered the inner walls with natural foil without lamination.


Food kitchen foil was also used for these purposes, but it is not convenient and short-lived. There is also self-adhesive foil glued to paper - this is the most convenient option, but I did not find one here. The following models will be produced exclusively from natural wood, because the first attempts were experimental. I advise you to use a tree that is perfectly dried, and before installation it must be oiled with drying oil or linseed oil and dried strongly. These measures are to ensure that the drying is durable and absorbs less moisture.
8. A little creativity. This principle will help you from start to finish. Imagine everything in your head first, and then start creating improvising. It may not turn out as planned, do not worry, because this result may be better than expected.
Actually, these are the basic principles of operation and design of drying.
This is our first homemade drying for 12 kg of fruit. On top is EZIDRI for 5 kg of fruit.

Calculations and installation of a dryer for fruits and vegetables

I did everything intuitively, without clear calculations and planning. Firstly, the lessons of geometry and mathematics are something far and unattainable, and secondly, I did not know what would happen. Therefore, we will not pay attention to calculations and diagrams in this article, besides, the description will take up a lot of space. I will write only a few basic principles, which are quite enough:

1. Don't use nails- this is an unreliable material for this design, only self-tapping screws of different diameters and lengths. Before screwing in the screw, make a hole smaller than the diameter of the screw, then this will guarantee the integrity of the part and prevent cracking.



2. Two drying designs are shown here: one for 13 kg - has a square shape, the second for 40 kg - has a square body for a baking sheet and a pyramidal attachment for fan heaters and air acceleration. The latter design has certain advantages, because the pyramidal shape of the attachment accelerates the air better and it does not “lose” in the corners, and also serves as a kind of direction of air flows.
3. One fan is enough for drying with a depth of 57 cm, width of the inner working surface (v.r.p.) - 41 cm, height v.r.p. - 39.5 cm. Accordingly, deco size: 41x45 with a wood thickness of 1.7x1.7 cm.
So, from 57 cm of the total depth we subtract 45 cm of the length of the baking sheet, we get 12 cm to disperse the air. In my case, square drying for 13 kg is enough.
Two fans provide a dryer with a pyramid attachment of this size: depth - 42 cm, width w.r.p. - 61 cm, height w.r.p. - 83 cm. The distance for air dispersal from the attachment wall to the main body (respectively, into the baking sheet) - 23 cm. The size of the baking sheet: 41.5x60.5 cm.

4. Electricity and thermostat. I don't know how to draw diagrams, I'll try to explain. By purchasing a "dutik" you provide yourself with a bunch of useful details, for example, a switch for a fan, a light bulb, a thermostat and a bunch of wires.


The thermostat itself is already built into the fan and is manually adjustable. The adjustment knob is located on the front panel of the fan heater next to the OFF / 1st / 2nd speed switch. The thermostat setting knob is the thermostat, which is located in the middle of the case. This simple metal device will need to be placed inside the working chamber of the dryer. Manually using a thermometer to adjust and calibrate the thermostat - it sounds abstruse, but it's very simple.

Now the important point! By default (that is, in the factory assembly), the thermostat, when the set temperature is reached, opens the entire fan heater, that is, turns off both the fan motor and the heating element. We do not need such a result. To do this, it is necessary to rearrange the contacts in such a way that the thermostat shares only the heating element, i.e. turned off the coils when the temperature reaches the maximum allowable, while the fan will continue to spin, and when the temperature drops, the thermostat will turn on the coils again and they will heat up. This method is much more economical, even compared to Ezidri. Of course, professionals use seven-storey keys for this so as not to “click” by opening and closing the network, because this has certain negative consequences for the life of the heating element, but we are only amateurs, so this option will satisfy us.
5. Leave only one spiral, the one that is better blown, the second must be turned off from the network.


6. Dryer switch it is better to distribute as follows: off / on only the fan / on the fan and heating coil.
7. We use two light bulbs: one shows that the dryer is turned on at all (either to the first or second position, except for “off”), and the second turns on when the heater is working, and turns off when the thermostat has disconnected the heater and the fan is running.

8. If you make a variant for two "dutiks", you must also leave only one spiral in each "dutik". I connected the “dutik” in series, but there is a suspicion that in this case the voltage on the second one is less - it will dry unevenly, so I advise you to connect it in parallel. The thermostat should open the heating elements on both "dutiks" at the same time. You can check the uniformity of temperature and blowing using two thermometers - one at the bottom of the other at the top. Of course, thermometers measure the temperature outside with the doors closed, since we have ventilation holes in the doors.
9. Feet for the dryer Be sure to lift it off the floor.
10. Use a mains filter with a built-in fuse. Expect that the maximum power of the included two "dukes" with the included spirals reaches 2 kW.
11. Use "dukes" with a flat body, without waves and concavity, otherwise you will not be able to screw half of the electric fan body to the body of the dryer.

Such drying can be used for all types of fruits, berries, herbs, vegetables and

If you are a supporter of a healthy diet, and even more so if you grow healthy food yourself, a vegetable and fruit dryer will be your indispensable ally. I want to offer you a variant of a home-made electric cabinet for drying fruits, vegetables, herbs, berries and mushrooms from Ilya Tretnikov.

Materials and tools:
- plywood sheets for the body
- wooden slats
- self-tapping screws
- mosquito net
- drill
- furniture stapler
- heater
- foil
- power cord with plug
- electrical tape

Preparing the main elements

1. Wooden case for dryer
It can be an old bedside table or a wooden case knocked together on your own.

Be sure to drill a lot of holes in the "roof" or wall opposite the fan for the free exit of moisture from the products.

To avoid harmful emissions from the walls of the case when heated, it is recommended to sheathe it from the inside with foil without lamination. In addition, it is an element of additional thermal insulation.

2. Net trays
With their own hands, they are made of a wooden frame and a mosquito net. It is better to connect the frame rails with self-tapping screws, and fasten the mesh with a furniture stapler. So that the grid does not get out of alignment, its edges are wrapped several times. Stretching the mesh on a wooden frame is first in width, and then in length.

3. Rails for placing trays in the dryer
They can be from the same wooden slats 5 * 8 mm in size in profile. Their fastening to the wooden case is carried out using self-tapping screws.

Let's get down to calculations and installation

Step 1. Go without nails

For this device, nails are completely unreliable. In this case, the author of the master class is recommended to use self-tapping screws. So that the self-tapping screw does not damage the integrity of the structure, drill a hole with a smaller diameter from the diameter of the screw leg and only then screw it in.

Step 2. Decide on the design of the future dryer

Ilya Tretnikov suggests considering two types of dryer designs for vegetables and fruits. The first type - up to 13 kg when loading products, square. The second type - the design is complicated and the loading volumes of fresh products are possible up to 40 kg. This option is complemented by a pyramidal installation for fans that provide uniform air circulation. Thanks to the pyramidal shape, the air flow receives a specific direction of movement and reaches the farthest corners.

Step 3. We select fans

According to the recommendations of the author of the master class in the dryer, up to 57 cm deep, the inner working surface up to 39.5 cm high, and 41 cm wide, only one fan is enough to get high-quality products at the exit. Accordingly, a tree with a thickness of 1.7 * 1.7 cm is used, and we get the deco size - 41 * 45 cm.

Basic calculations:

Dryer total depth (57 cm) - pan length (45 cm) = space for air dispersal (12 cm). If you make a dryer for fruits and vegetables with a load of up to 13 kg, this is enough.

When building a dryer for fruits and vegetables, along with a pyramidal structure and dimensions: the width of the inner working surface is 61 cm, the height of the inner working surface is 83 cm, the depth is 42 cm, 2 fans are installed. A baking sheet measuring 41.5 * 60.5 cm.

Basic calculations:

Total dryer height (83 cm) - pan length (60.5 cm) = room to disperse air from the main body to the wall of the attachment (22.5 cm).

Step 4. Thermostat and electricity

In order not to delve deeply into physics, Ilya Tretnikov recommends simply buying a “dutik” heater, as it is popularly called, and immediately getting a set of all the necessary parts.

The main thing is the thermostat built into the fan, which is placed in the middle of the heater body. Its author is a master class and places it inside the working chamber of the future dryer. Using a conventional thermometer, Ilya manually adjusts the thermostat. To do this, it is necessary to rearrange the contacts so that the effect of the thermostat extends only to the heating element. This means that when the maximum temperature is reached, only the coil will automatically turn off, and the fan will continue to operate. When the coil cools, the thermostat will start it again. At this point, you should pay special attention, since the factory assembly of the heater involves turning off the thermostat of both the heating element and the fan. The method created by Ilya is much more economical in terms of electricity consumption.

Step 5 Installing the Coil

Step 6 Install the dryer switch

It is better to distribute the functions of the switch in this way: fan on / heating coil on and fan / off.

Step 7 Dryer Operation Indicators

Ilya uses 2 light bulbs:
- the first is an indicator of the overall operation of the device, that is, it lights up when the “on” position, does not light up when the “off” position
- the second - the indicator of positions "on" / "off" for the heating element.

Step 8 Installing Two Fans in a Pyramid Design

When creating a dryer with a pyramidal design, Tretnikov uses 2 fans, each with one heating coil. But the adjustment of the operation of both heating elements will be performed by only one thermostat. That is, it is very important to obtain as a result the simultaneous opening of the heating elements, since otherwise the drying process will become uneven. To make sure that the temperatures are uniform, it is enough to place several thermometers on different planes throughout the entire cavity of the dryer.

Step 9 Installing the Dryer

Particular attention is focused on the fact that the dryer must be raised above the surface of the support, that is, it is important not to forget to attach the legs in order to avoid overheating and, again, even distribution of heat inside.

In rainy weather, when you need to dry the crop, what could be better than a do-it-yourself electric dryer for vegetables and fruits? After all, dried fruits are so good in winter! You can also cook compotes and chew like that. We share our experience on how to make an electric dryer with your own hands. This is a very simple design that can be used to dry vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms.

A simple electric dryer for vegetables and fruits with your own hands

Autumn! Ripe apples and pears. But drying in the sun is no longer possible. It's cold, but the dew still falls at night. What dried up during the day, then absorbed again during the night! They tried to dry it over a gas stove, but the volumes are not the same. Therefore, they began to select improvised means for a home-made dehydrator.

What do you need for drying? Warm air and blowing to blow off the fumes. We also need pallets for arranging fruit and a fan heater.

As pallets (baking sheets), we first took 5 available vegetable boxes 400 × 300 × 90. There are large cells at the bottom, so we shot a mosquito net with a furniture stapler:

Warm air through the boxes should go from the bottom up. Therefore, the side walls of the boxes must be sealed. Part of the boxes were covered with cling film:

Then they cut the film at the ends and trimmed it with a simple adhesive tape:

Cut fruit, dry...

... and realized that there were not enough pallets, they decided to add 5 more. They were covered with parchment paper from the inside, also shot with a stapler:

That is, they used for these purposes the material that was found at home. We stack the boxes so that air does not escape between the boxes:

At the very bottom of the stack we put a fan heater with a jet up and provide air access to it from below. A fan heater was found in a store with a capacity of 1000 watts.

After several dryings, we came to the following technology:

• We cut vegetables and fruits into slices no more than 5 mm.
• We put fruits and vegetables on the pallet not very tightly so that air can pass through.
• We rearrange the boxes periodically (once an hour):
  • 1 2 3 4 … 9 10
  • 10 9 8 … 2 1
  • 1 3 5 … 8 10
  • 10 8 … 3 1
• Total drying time 8 - 10 hours.
• We stop the dryer when the fruits are slightly damp, they become drier when cooled.
• Loading 6-8 kg, output 0.7-1.0 kg. It all depends on the quality of the fruit.

Previously, we had time to dry about a kilogram of pears. They are late autumn with us, they do not lie for a long time (Talgar beauty). And this year we dried as much as 15 kg. They dried up so that they look like chips. Their grandchildren happily eat them and demand pear chips! So a do-it-yourself electric dryer for vegetables and fruits helps us out a lot.

Drying is the most common way to preserve and preserve fruits and vegetables that you have harvested from your garden.

It can even be exaggerated to say that a person from a primitive state gradually came to civilization, thanks to the preparation of summer products for future use. Monkeys, as you know, do not prepare anything in reserve.

In addition to preserving the harvest, dried fruits are also beneficial for health.

For example, one cook serving members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU wrote in his memoirs that compote from dried fruits was served without fail at all dinners.

Not juices, not fruit drinks, but dried fruit compote.

That is, the proper drying of plant products is not only the preservation of the crop, but also the health benefits.

We found out the need for drying, the main question is how best to do it? As it turns out, for this it is not at all necessary to buy expensive branded dryers.

You yourself can assemble a productive, economical and very convenient dryer from inexpensive materials (up to 1000 rubles), on which greens, berries, mushrooms, pieces of fruit, fish, etc. will be equally easy to dry.

Shop dryers do not suit many either for their quality or price. And it happens that both at the same time.

But the main disadvantage is their small size. What can you dry in a small saucepan with a 250-300W heating element?

In order to process a rich harvest, such a thing must function offline for days on end.

Meanwhile, home-made options are assembled in much larger sizes and at the same time cope with their task no worse than store-bought ones.

In a few hours, sometimes it is possible to dry the volume a little less than a bucket! It all depends on the type of product. Compare that to factory pots and boxes.

At the same time, the cost of home-made ones will be 5 times lower than the price of the cheapest ones sold on the market.

And when compared with expensive and high-quality models, the difference will be more than tenfold.

Let's look at three popular ways to assemble such an electric dryer with your own hands, but you yourself will choose the right option for yourself.

Dryer from cabinet with fan heater

The first option is to use an old, unnecessary kitchen cabinet for this.

And it is better to assemble it yourself from the boards of bath wood. The materials you will need for this:

• temperature sensor with thermometer

• foil insulating layer

The locker can be assembled in any size you need. At the same time, many do not recommend using composite wood - chipboard, fiberboard, OSB.

They have too high an adhesive content and without sufficient insulation when heated, they can release harmful substances.

But most do not pay attention to this, reassuring themselves that, firstly, such a dryer will work at a relatively low temperature (up to 40-45 degrees), and secondly, everything inside will be sheathed with thermal insulation. Because of this, it will be possible to avoid dangerous heating of wood and direct contact of hot air with it.

Fasten the boards on furniture screws and attach the door in front.

The optimal size of the cabinet so that it does not interfere at home and is convenient to carry:

• width 60cm

• depth 40-45cm

• height 70-80cm

To ensure that the door closes tightly and does not release heat, attach two latches on top and bottom.

Drying tray manufacturing

Inside the locker, homemade nets are laid on the rails.

They are also assembled from wooden planks connected by building corners.

Just don't glue the pieces of wood!

When heated, the adhesive will emit toxic fumes. Therefore, only corners or a stapler.

The grid on which the products will be placed is better to choose a metal one from food grade stainless steel. It will not release any chemicals when heated.

Beekeepers filter through this honey. The only problem is finding it.

Many advise not to bother and take reinforcing, the one that goes under the plaster. It allegedly contains only fiberglass and nothing more.

However, do not forget that there is also a connecting element - an epoxy compound. It is also not recommended to use a mosquito net.

It contains plastic and poisonous paint. With such pallets, after just a few years of abundant consumption of “healthy” dried fruits, oncology will definitely await you.

Shoot the mesh onto the bar with a stapler around the entire perimeter.

Such pallets are made in just a few hours. For the above dimensions of the locker, the optimal number of grids inside is 4 pcs.

The dimensions of the grid-pallet should be 5 cm narrower than the depth of the cabinet.

This is necessary so that warm air can circulate freely both from the back and from the front.

It is better to place the pallets themselves in such a way that the first is located close to the door, and the second to the back wall, etc.

A warm stream with such a chess layout will sequentially blow tier after tier.

The pallet slides in or is placed on the guide rails. They are either made of wood or aluminum.

Aluminum in this case gives off heat faster after heating. However, the question of its environmental friendliness and toxicity always remains open. Wood is safer though.

Thermal insulation of the drying cabinet

From the inside, the entire cabinet and the door itself are covered with reflective foil material.

Such, for example, is used for sauna lining. It withstands high temperatures and is absolutely harmless when heated to no more than 45C.

Fasten it to staples from a construction stapler, or better to self-tapping screws with a wide hat.

Without this reflector, heat will quickly be transferred to the wooden walls. First, it will delay the whole process. And secondly, if you still used chipboard or fiberboard when assembling the frame, they will heat up, which will ultimately lead to food poisoning.

Also, do not sheathe the walls with mirror tin.

Tin is primarily a metal. It will heat up and transfer all the heat to the wooden case. The thermal efficiency of such a dryer will drop sharply.

And from such heating, the body will gradually deform and you will have wide gaps.

heating element or heater

How is the temperature pumped, where and how does the heating occur? Everything is very simple - as a heating element and a fan at the same time, a room floor heater with a wind blower is used.

Try not to use open heating elements for this. First, it is a fire hazard. And secondly, you will have a problem installing them on the wooden base of the box while observing the allowable distances.

We'll have to think hard about what to put them on or how to fix them. For example, someone “thought” to put asbestos under the heating element from the tile.

Once again - ASBESTOS! In the fruit drying box! Never do this.

There are no problems with the wind blower. Just put it on the bottom of the cabinet, and on the back wall for fresh air, cut a hole to fit the fan with a jigsaw.

A hole is made without fail, otherwise the heater will simply overheat itself and catch fire.

Power wires with a plug are output through the same “hole”.

Connecting wires and temperature sensor

If you do not understand electrical circuits, you can regulate the heating and temperature with the built-in thermostat on the heater itself, by turning the knob to the minimum and maximum positions.

But you can make it much more convenient and functional. Buy a remote temperature sensor and an external thermostat at the nearest electronics store or in China.

Drill two holes approximately in the middle of the back wall and insert the control sensors there.

The wires are soldered instead of the heater's built-in thermostat, and a digital thermometer is brought out.

You set the drying temperature yourself depending on the product - vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, etc.

For plants and berries, such a fan in the first position optimally pumps up a temperature of 40C. At the same time, try to open the cabinet door as little as possible.

For other products, switch the heating to position II.

A remote thermostat with wires is good, but not everyone can figure out the connection diagram. If you also have problems with this, but you still want to control drying in this way, use the outlet thermostat.

You insert it into the nearest outlet, put the sensor inside the cabinet and program the upper and lower temperature thresholds.

In this case, the fan heater plug is simply stuck into the thermostat itself. It turns out, as it were, the design of a socket in a socket.

You don't need to do anything with the electrical circuit. The temperature inside the dryer reached 40C, the blower turned off. Cooled down to 38C - turned on.

If you want to automate all this and set the specified drying time so as not to spoil the products, timer sockets (mechanical or electronic) are at your service.

This is especially important when drying fish, when the technology requires a certain pause after many hours of continuous operation of the unit.

Ventilation and humid air outlet

Warm, moist air must escape from the cabinet somewhere during the heating process. To do this, a hole (d-100mm) is cut out from above and a plastic pipe is inserted there.

If you want to do without plastic and pipes, make not one, but three holes of a smaller diameter (35mm) around the perimeter.

It is only advisable not to leave all these holes open, but to fit some kind of protective grille or mesh from flies and insects there.

But still, as operating experience shows, with one hole in the form of a pipe it is possible to maintain a more stable temperature regime than with three.

All dampness, smell and steam through this hood will go outside. During the drying process, do not forget to swap pallets, because the bottom row, due to the close proximity of the fan heater, dries much faster.

With a large harvest, processing it with a relatively small factory dryer is a very non-trivial and tedious task. And with the help of such a voluminous cabinet, you will do it quickly and with pleasure.

infrared dryer

The second way to make a dehydrator is even simpler. Here, instead of a fan heater, you will need an infrared film.

And in this case, you don’t even need to build a bulky cabinet. It is enough to make long shelves. But first things first.

The heating infrared film is a rolled material and it is sold by the footage. The width can be different - 50,80,100cm.

Since we are planning to make a unit for serious volumes, and not an analogue of a small saucepan, then choose a width closer to 100cm.

What power to choose? For good performance, buy models with a power of 220W per 1m2. With an average shelf size of 20 * 100 cm, one tier will consume about 55 W / h or 1.32 kW per day.

Multiply this power by the number of shelves and you get the power consumption of your dryer.

How to connect infrared heating film

The main headache for many is connecting such a film to wires with a plug. For this you will need a soldering iron.

In fact, there is nothing complicated here. Everything is done literally one, two, three.

In order not to burn the material, manufacturers recommend using a soldering iron with a power of no more than 60W.

Heat up with a soldering iron and remove the insulation from the side of the copper conductive strip.

On the one hand, a phase wire is connected, on the other - zero.

Drip tin on this place.

Press the tinned copper conductor to the prepared surface and solder the contact.

That's all. Be sure to isolate the soldering points with pieces of adhesive tape so that there are no exposed conductive parts anywhere.

If even such a simple connection does not suit you (you don’t have a soldering iron and that’s it), then ask the store for special terminals.

Their price really bites, and the contact is less reliable. Therefore, soldering in this case is considered the best option.

Assembly of shelves for drying

So how does such an infrared dryer assemble and work? Here, unlike the option with a fan heater, no thermostat and thermometer are needed. The film during operation is heated exactly with the temperature that we need (about 45C).

It is she who is optimal in this case for drying plant products. Of course, do not forget that the enzymes contained in them die at temperatures above 38C. Therefore, at first glance it seems that 45 degrees is a lot.

However, here we are talking about the heating temperature of the film itself. If you put a gasket between it and the fruit (baking paper, mesh), and this is exactly what experienced housewives recommend doing, then the heating temperature of the products themselves will no longer exceed the permissible 38C.

Dryer shelves can be made in two ways. First, for the lazy ones, cut out a shelf of the desired size from a board or plywood and apply a reflective foil substrate on top.

On top of all this, roll out the film. So that it does not move, it is enough to press it down with wooden blocks from above.

This is a very primitive, cheapest and not very aesthetic way. There are much better ones.

For the second option, prepare two blanks. These will be the supporting legs of our dryer.

The width of such a blank should be slightly wider than the film itself. The optimal size is 20*70cm.

Strips are cut from 9mm plywood, from which the shelves themselves will be assembled. Lath width 4 cm.

The whole tree is sanded with sandpaper, bumps and burrs are removed.

The frame of the structure is twisted on self-tapping screws. In our case, there will be five shelves.

The most important “trick”, which simplifies and facilitates the entire product as much as possible, is the electrodes.

The film in this dryer does not lie on a wide board, but across the strips of electrodes.

In the variant with a wooden substrate, a lot of heat is lost to useless heating of the board. Even reflective foil sometimes doesn't help much.

In the same case, due to the emptiness below, vegetables and fruits on the shelves will warm up from both sides. Firstly, they lie on a warm base and heat up from it, and secondly, the top bar also gives off its heat a little down.

To speed up the drying process, you can cover the entire structure with a blanket, and make several holes at the top and bottom to let moisture out. After a few hours, when the moisture has evaporated, the holes are closed and drying continues.

Make the distance between the shelves 10-15cm. It could be both narrowed and increased heating. However, do not forget about the moments of laying out the pieces on the shelves.

If the frame is too narrow, this will be inconvenient.

Electrodes are used with a diameter of 4mm. They are inserted into the drilled holes of the plywood side planks in increments of 12-15cm.

Wire connection

After assembling the structure, solder the wires to the film, as discussed above, and bring them out through the holes in the side leg.

In the same place, on the side, in order to hide all the wires away from the eyes, screw the cable channel.

And below you mount a switch for on-off the dryer. With power up to 2kW, models with a rated current of 10A are suitable.

You will have several conductors. Twice as many as shelves. Our version has five. Five on one side of the leg (phase), five on the other (zero).

To connect them together and bring them out with one cable, use the junction box.

Using two Wago clamps for six terminals, connect everything to one point (on one side of zero, to the other phase) and connect one two-core 220V power cable here.

Roughly speaking, all the wires from the film on the right side are twisted into one wire. And all the wires from the left to the other. The result is two wires or two twists. Here you need to connect a two-core power cable with a plug to them.

Be sure to plug the plug into an outlet that is protected by an RCD or diffavtomat!

This film is made from thermoplastic polymer PET (polyethylene terephthalate). And it can be food and non-food. In warm floors it is used, as you understand the second option.

Therefore, as mentioned above, be sure to cover the surface with baking paper. It also helps to dry foods with a high juice content (berries).

First, you will not have anything to contact directly. Secondly, you will forever forget what sticking and cleaning the film from sweet spots is.

The simplest dryer from boxes

Well, the third option, for the most, what is called the lazy. There is no need to work with wood and make special pallets with mesh or heating film. Everything is cheap and cheerful.

To begin with, in the second box, which will be located below, cut a hole for the fan heater with scissors or a knife.

Put it on top of another box. Due to this, a free air supply from below will be ensured.

Install a heater inside.

Without capturing the very bottom. The entire winding should take at least seven layers.

Now you need to separate all the tiers separately by cutting the film with a knife.

Do not touch the bottom tray with the fan. To switch the fan operation mode, do not forget to cut two holes for the wheels.

Initially, set the mode control to I, and the temperature knob to the maximum. Basically, that's all.

The dryer is ready to go. Load pallets with chopped fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and build your Tower of Babel.

To protect against debris and insects, cover the upper tier with another box or gauze.

Plug in the fan and watch the process.

The advantages of this method are obvious - simplicity and low cost. Disadvantages - no temperature control.

With such a dryer, you will have to constantly monitor all the work and often change the baskets in places.

As for plastic, choose boxes that are used to collect fruit. In hot countries at temperatures below 40C, they are often stored in them.

Your warm-up should occur in the same mode.

On the eve of each harvest, people massively stock up for the winter. Not surprisingly, in the usual boiled jam, 5% of vitamins are preserved, in fruits covered with sugar - 25%, when frozen up to 60%, and when dried up to 97%! Why not start a new habit - dry up vitamins for the winter?

You can do it the old fashioned way - using old-fashioned methods, laying fruit on the roof of the veranda. You can buy a new dryer - stores offer "pocket" options, with low productivity and the absence of a "soft" temperature regime (the best temperature for drying is 40 degrees, at +65 ° C vitamins precipitate, and can even harm). Good ones cost at least 1500 hryvnia.

There is another option - absolutely no investment. We take the old refrigerator and make a new dryer!

What you need to make your own dryer

To make a homemade dryer, we need the body of an old refrigerator and a fan heater (heater from an electric grill, drying from or a special heating fan). Also, we will need old racks or, if there are none, a bunch of boards. with which we will later make the necessary shelves for our drying.

Advice. Use the old refrigerator grilles, increasing their width, because by removing the glass wool and the entire inner layer of the refrigerator, we increased its size inside.

Making a fruit dryer from the refrigerator

Get ready that the creation of the design will take you several hours. But then you will praise yourself for your resourcefulness for several winters in a row! So, here is the step-by-step algorithm of the invention.

1. Carefully remove the freezer, compressor and cut holes on the top for forced air ventilation. These actions will require almost nothing but your accuracy. If your efforts were not successful, and you accidentally damaged the refrigerator case, it does not matter. Call a neighbor or do your best to carry out welding and repair work. The image is nothing, but the sealing of the case in this matter is everything!

3. Tubular electric heating elements are installed in the housing to heat the air. The fan drives it through the trays, on which vegetables or other products are actually dried. With the help of a thermostat, you can adjust the air temperature and drying speed - so you can vary the moisture content of the finished product and the speed of its “cooking”.

So, the grill grates, from which the wire handle was removed, are very convenient additions..

Fans equipped with motors are attached to the grid. These elements can be easily removed from old unnecessary equipment. In the absence of such fans, they can be replaced by many incandescent lamps. They need from 3 pieces with a power of 150 watts. When using such lamps, it will take more time for the drying process. At the top of the box, we will install trays that will be affected by warm air from the fans.

4. We collect trays from wooden boards and slats. Along the perimeter of our tray, on both sides of each rail, we make devices so that the trays can be tightly installed on top of each other. Now insects cannot get to the drying contents on the trays. The more trays we have, the greater will be the productivity of our drying. But at the same time, it must be remembered that overloading with racks can lead to poor ventilation and, as a result, slow drying. Therefore, it is necessary to rationally use the working space.

5. Homemade dryer for fruits, herbs and mushrooms is ready. The impeller blows well through all its racks, and we do not have to worry about the integrity and safety of our blanks.

Homemade drying. Nuances of use

A home dryer will become an assistant in the annual preparation of food for the winter. Dried fruits will become part of the winter diet, and you will no longer want to spend time making jam or freezing fruits. Useful tips for making a homemade dryer at home will help save your budget and allow you to run mass procurement campaigns and save your precious time. For comparison with a store dryer, here are the main features of our home-made drying option:

• Unlike the store, we can simultaneously load 15-30 kilograms of apples to dry into a home-made unit, depending on the number of shelves and the dimensions of the refrigerator. Just cut the apples into thin slices. The thinner, the faster they dry. First, the apples are washed and then cut.
• Pears (wild birds) are cut in half, while the drying time is reduced by 2 times and is approximately 6 - 8 hours. So we will achieve an indicator that high-quality store drying for vegetables and fruits can demonstrate!
• Eggplants, peppers, tomatoes should be applied in one layer to save space, as they dry very quickly, and their arrangement gives them additional flavor and saves free time.
• Mushrooms dry very quickly and do not lose color.

• Herbs (medicinals) have specifically low drying temperatures, so our thermostatic version is ideal for drying them, unlike the store-bought version.
• Sweet fruits attract many bees. But installing an additional grid provided in our dryer will help eliminate this problem.

So, using our tips, you can make high-quality and inexpensive drying for your own household needs.

Watch an interesting video on the topic