Solar dryers or Solar dehydrators

Solar Food Dehydrator

Made from two cardboard boxes, some clear plastic wrap, and a little tape. You can build a nearly free solar dehydrator. Set it on a stool or chair and face it's solar collector towards the sun, and you have a functional food preservation machine for little work and even less money ... [an excellent construction idea]

Preserving the harvest: Dry it out!

Your school garden has fulfilled its promise of plenty, and the harvest has begun. Perhaps you're celebrating abundance by feasting on your delicious produce. But what happens when the harvest and feast are over? When the plant's life cycle ends, or frost or heat preclude the garden's ability to bear, and the leftovers from your cornucopia are ready to eat NOW? ... [another excellent construction idea with valuable information]

Drying Food

Drying is the oldest method of preserving food. The early American settlers dried foods such as corn, apple slices, currants, grapes, and meat. Compared with other methods, drying is quite simple. In fact, you may already have most of the equipment on hand. Dried foods keep well because the moisture content is so low that spoilage organisms cannot grow ...

Drying Foods

Foods may be sun dried with or without a solar dehydrator, in a gas or electric oven, or with a portable electric dehydrator. Dehydrators with thermostats provide better control over poor weather conditions and food quality than sun drying ...

Solar chimney dehydrator

A Solar chimney dehydrator can be constructed with any number of designs, adjusted to meet whatever needs you have ... a rather difficult design though

Make a Solar dryer

For around $50, perhaps even for no cost if you are an inveterate hoarder and have a well stocked shed, you can make a drying cabinet and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor all year ... an interesting simple idea ...

Solar Drying

'Solar drying' ... refers to methods of using the sun's energy for drying, but excludes open air 'sun drying'. The justification for solar driers is that they may be more effective than sun drying, but have lower operating costs than mechanised driers. A number of designs are proven technically and while none are yet in widespread use, there is still optimism about their potential ... A Technical Brief from Practical Answers to Poverty [a very interesting ".pdf" file]

Small scale drying technologies

Globally, drying is the most widely used method for preserving foods for use in the home or for sale. The most common method involves simply laying the product in the sun on mats, roofs or drying floors. This is known as sun drying. As shown below simple sun drying has advantages and disadvantages ... A Technical Brief from Practical Answers to Poverty [a very interesting ".pdf" file]

Drying of Foods

Drying is used to remove water from foods for two reasons: to prevent (or inhibit) micro-organisms and hence preserve the food and to reduce the weight and bulk of food for cheaper transport and storage ... A Technical Brief from Practical Answers to Poverty  [a very interesting ".pdf" file]