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.
The food and pharmaceutical industries crucially rely on freeze drying for the long-term storage of products. This method enables businesses to preserve product quality, extend shelf life, and improve stability.
The best choice I ever made when it comes to long-term storage food is getting a freeze dryer. I didn’t always think that. It was far more work than I imagined and the maintenance on the machine is annoying when it needs it.
I routed the exhaust from the catch can to a home made catch can that consisted of a jar with two ports with steel wool inside. I wanted to see just how much oil would escape the newly install catch can and collect in the jar.
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 I followed to minimize what the NC high humidity climate does to my FDer.
•The shelf heaters can be set to automatically control the rate of sublimation during the primary drying cycle. Through this process, the unit has control of the attendant vacuum pressure.
The longevity of freeze dried food depends on the what the food is and how it is stored. When stored in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber, many foods can last up to 25 years. If stored in a glass mason jar with an oxygen absorber and a vacuum sealed lid, food can last about 5 years.
8) The vacuum port was up next. You can see the condensation on the brass fitting. That means cold is escaping and heat is getting into the chamber. This small section was placed inside the panel.
In any case, maybe it will help some newbie HR Freeze Dryer owners to answer some of the questions I once had.
I asked her what she was planning to serve and offered to bring something similar for Buy Now my son so she wouldn’t have to worry about accommodating him. She said she didn’t want me to have to make food.
The only downside is that the interior is now so cold that defrost time has doubled! I use a large high volume fan to defrost the unit, not the heat trays. It used to be a 15 minute job, now it is closer to 30 minutes.
We packed freeze dried milk and cooked chicken strips as well as an assortment of snacks. One checked bag was dedicated to food, and it traveled very well.
As I mentioned before, freeze dryers are an investment. They're an investment because of all the benefits they bring to you and your self-reliance.
And therein lies the best piece of advice I can offer on this topic: Keep your freeze dryer running. Downtime is wasted time. Some items take a while. Others are quick. But keeping the freeze dryer going almost non-stop is the key to getting the bang for the buck.