Dryers for fruits, vegetables, herbs and mushrooms: a variety of modern technology. DIY drying chamber Drying for grass

Can buy ready dehydrator, without inventing anything, but you can do simple design from improvised materials and get a variant of a country dehydrator using solar energy. That is, to make a simple dryer with your own hands

Many summer residents are faced with the question preservation of berries and fruits grown on their plots. Fruits or berries can be dried for further storage. In a dehydrator or in a simple dryer, you can dry almost everything. Apples, pears, plums, strawberries, herbs and leaves for tea, any vegetables and root crops. Strawberries, roots or blooming Sally.

• bar 50*40 mm or 40*40mm. Width and Depth it is chosen at the discretion of the master. Usually this 500 - 600 mm.
• the height with the roof ridge is approximately 2 - 2.2 m. It does not make sense to do it higher, it will be inconvenient to maintain it.
• from the inside, slats for retractable mesh shelves are stuffed onto the frame.
• outside the dehydrator can be sheathed with clapboard or plywood. It is better not to use polymers and other NOT eco-friendly materials
• behind the dehydrator do hinged door
• from the front side at the very bottom make a cut for the solar panel

Roof

• Hot air needs to be vented
• Rain protection

Shelves

• mesh shelves knock together from a bar 20 * 30 mm, fit with any mesh you have.

The solar panel

• an ordinary box covered with glass, at the bottom of which is located black material(can be painted, but you need to choose a paint that will not give off harmful fumes when the dehydrator works) with a good indicator solar energy storage on the surface (heats well, holds heat well, gives off heat well to air)
• the top and bottom end of the box is drilled for air passage.
• the sun heats the panel through the glass and the air from it begins to rise.
• you can think of various designs inside the panel, accelerating the heating of the air and improving its upward movement ( share your ideas in comments)

In this option, aluminum cans are added to the solar panel

It seems to me that painting the workspace in black light is superfluous.

Important:

• Do not use materials that can give off harmful fumes and thereby spoil the air that will pass through the working area of ​​the dryer

Unresolved Design Issues(write suggestions in the comments):

• Flow Uniformity warm air in the drying area
• Adjustable tilt angle solar panel
• Adjustment of position relative to the sun
• Dew in the evening and morning hours. Consequence - drying time limit by daytime hours
• Works only in dry sunny weather
• Dimensions. Required a lot of space for work and storage
• Insects
• Materials (what is better to use, what not to use)
• Adjusting the temperature in the work area (to save useful properties products must be dried at a temperature of 30-70 degrees Celsius, depending on the product)

For mushrooms, apples, berries or even medicinal herbs.

With the onset of summer, the season of home preparations begins. There are many ways to preserve food, among which drying occupies a prominent place. Drying can be applied to products such as fruits, herbs, berries. The advantage of this method is that the products do not require any further processing. It is only necessary to observe the storage conditions. To do this, you need a dry, cool room. Then their shelf life can be measured in years. Of course, after drying, the products will no longer take their original form. However, this is not required. After all, dried foods are good on their own.

If you decide to make part of the homemade preparations by drying, then you need to think about how to carry out this process. The first thing you need to decide is the volume of dried products. If you need to process a small amount of food, then you can do this simply by spreading the sliced ​​\u200b\u200bfood on a horizontal surface. If the volume of dried raw materials is significant, then it is necessary to speed up the processing process.

This requires a high performance dryer. It must be able to handle large batches of products quickly enough. Making such a drying chamber with your own hands is not so difficult. The design is quite simple.

Of course the best way– . Its principle is that when the pressure decreases, water begins to evaporate at much lower temperatures. All useful substances in the product are preserved almost completely. Making such a dryer on your own does not make sense. This will require a lot of money and therefore it will not be beneficial for use at home. Our task is to produce a simple and inexpensive design that meets the needs of the household.

The design of such a drying chamber consists of several boxes with a mesh bottom and four guides. The boxes themselves are pretty simple. They consist of four boards with a width of 50 to 70 mm and a slatted bottom. Mesh cell size 8-15 mm. Larger meshes may cause food to fall through, while smaller meshes will result in too much airflow resistance. Although, if possible, you can use a grid with different size cells for various products. You can simply make boxes in which the grid will have different cells. Make the required number of different boxes in advance. The main thing is to endure them. dimensions. You can choose the specific dimensions yourself. To attach the mesh to the box, you can use a stapler or furniture nails with a wide hat.

The bottom drawer needs to be made a little larger. Make it 5 mm longer or wider than the rest. Attach it permanently to the guides, which will be 4 boards. Their length is determined by the number of boxes you have (although it is not advisable to use more than 10-12 boxes). The width of the guides does not matter. The bottom drawer should be placed at a height of 30-40 cm. Larger bottom drawer allows you to create a gap that prevents other drawers from jamming between the rails. A plywood roof is attached to the rails on top. It is made 10 cm larger than the overall dimensions of the boxes. The roof provides shade, as drying in the sun is unacceptable. Select the height of the rails so that there is a gap of 5-10 cm between the top drawer and the roof.

Now you need to make an air intake. Everything is quite simple here. A sheet of plywood is installed at an angle under the fixed bottom drawer (from the bottom edge of the drawer to the opposite bottom edge of the rails). Attach plywood sheets to the side. That's all. The airbox is ready.

It is enough to put such a hand-made dryer "face" to the wind. The wind will enter the air intake and pass through the boxes as if through a pipe. Creation of draft necessary for drying is guaranteed. Thus, the air will dry the products placed in the drying chamber. In calm weather, you can use a household fan. It would be nice if you paint the air intake matte black on the inside. The sun-warmed air will rise up, speeding up the drying process. But most effective way is the use of a fan heater. With his help

Since ancient times, people have been stocking up on mushrooms, berries, fruits and herbs for the winter. One of the most simple ways workpiece is drying. But if earlier it was necessary to lay everything out in the sun, guess with the weather, hide the plants from the rain and take them out again when it clears up, now the situation has changed a lot. In order to make vitamin, tasty and healthy supplies, it is enough to buy a fruit dryer.

The reason for the popularity of dryers

Each type of workpiece has its own positive points. Jams and marinades certainly have a refined and piquant taste, but dried fruits, herbs, vegetables and mushrooms also have their own advantages, and very numerous ones.

Drying benefits:

• The product retains the maximum amount of trace elements and vitamins.
• When added to cooking dishes, the taste of fresh herbs and vegetables, fruits and mushrooms is preserved.
• Dried products at right conditions can store multiple
• seasons.
• Storage does not require a lot of space, as well as special containers.
• The preparation process takes a minimum of time.
• When using modern dryers, harvesting is minimally troublesome.

Supporters traditional methods often appeal to the fact that the apparatus cannot provide the same drying as in the sun. But this is not so, innovative methods are so progressive that they give an identical and even better result. You don’t have to choose the ideal place with low humidity, you don’t have to deal with annoying insects, you don’t need to lay out plant products every day, and collect and hide them in the evening. What used to take several days can now be done in a few hours, and in some situations - minutes.

For urban and rural residents who care about tasty and healthy food prefer natural products, but do not have their own land and sufficient sunny areas for drying, purchasing an electric dryer is the most convenient option.

There are quite a few options for such a technique, let's look at the most common varieties.

Types of dryers for fruits and vegetables

Everything existing species dryers for herbs, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables can be divided into two large categories according to the principle of operation:

• Convective.
• infrared.

Each variety has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered separately.

Convective dryers: principle of operation and nuances

Convection machines were the first to appear. The principle of operation of such household appliances is based on the circulation of hot air. This leaves its mark on the finished product. Dried fruits or vegetables are covered with a dry crust, a kind of film, since the first thing moisture evaporates from the surface, and only after that the pulp begins to dry. Thus, the dehydration process is quite long.


If we compare fruits dried in the sun with fruits dried in a convective dryer, then differences are noticeable to the naked eye, color, and taste characteristics are different. Special mention deserves the fact that hot steam "kills" vitamins, respectively, only part of the nutrients is preserved.

Electronics experts also note that convection requires impressive energy costs.

Infrared dryers: features of work

Infrared dryers came later, but almost immediately became the most promising option for working with fruits, vegetables, herbs and mushrooms. The principle of operation is similar to the work of the sun. The impact is carried out exclusively on the water component of the products. Infrared radiation treats plants in a gentle mode, usually the temperature does not exceed 60 degrees, which is incomparable with hot steam.

The biggest advantage of IR drying is that the finished product retains most of the nutrients, including vitamins, which are destroyed at high temperatures.

Specialists in household appliances focus on the low power consumption of such devices.

Key Parameters of Vegetable and Fruit Dryers

Whatever the type of household dryer for products of plant origin, its feature invariably remains quite compact in size. Equipment that is suitable for drying 3-5 kg ​​of vegetables or fruits takes less space than a microwave oven. For drying in natural conditions, that is, in the sun, it would take several square meters flat surface.

The plot, then, as a rule, the problem arises of where to put the entire crop. Of course, you can simply eat a lot of things during the season, and some can be preserved for the winter. But there are still many different fruits and vegetables that have to be thrown away, because they have nowhere to go.

The best way to stock up for the winter is to dry. So the maximum of vitamins is preserved in the products, and this process is much simpler than canning. In addition, dried fruits and vegetables take up little space and are not heavy.

Today we will look at how you can make a simple dryer powered by solar energy. This will be especially convenient for those who like to save money, or for those whose house has long been working on alternative energy using the power of the wind or the sun. In addition, the construction of such a dryer will be much cheaper than buying an electrical appliance.

The basic principle of a solar dryer is to make hot air circulate inside the device. The more actively it circulates and the hotter it is, the faster and better the products will dry. The air in the homemade product is heated by a special panel, which is painted black with heat-resistant paint. Cold air enters through the bottom, then is heated by solar heat, expands and exits through the top of the dryer. Here it is important to correctly calculate the diameter of the inlet and outlet holes in order to obtain desired temperature and air speed.

Materials and tools for homemade:

List of materials:
- square pipes;
- sheet metal;
- polycarbonate sheet;
- two hinges for the door and a locking mechanism;
- screws, screws and more.

List of tools:
- welding;
- Bulgarian;
- drill;
- marker and tape measure;
- scissors for metal;
- stationery knife;
- hacksaw.

Manufacturing process of solar dryer:

Step one. We make a frame
It all starts with the manufacture of the frame. The author used square pipes as a material. Everything is assembled with the help of a grinder and welding. As for the sizes, you can choose any, depending on the needs and availability of materials. The author was guided here by the size of the polycarbonate sheet.

What shape the dryer should be, you can see in the photo, but you can come up with your own.

Step two. Door manufacturing
The author makes a metal door, here sheet metal and square pipes will be needed. First you need to cut four pieces of a square pipe and weld a rectangle out of it, which should fit under the dryer frame in shape. The door must fit snugly against the frame, as in the event of gaps, the effectiveness of the device is reduced.

Well, in the end, the frame is sheathed with a sheet of metal. Here you can use self-tapping screws, screws with nuts and so on. More steel sheet can be boiled. The door is installed after sheathing.

Step three. We sheathe the dryer
Before sheathing the dryer, you will need to make fasteners for baking sheets. For such purposes, you can use wooden bars. You can fasten them with self-tapping screws, and preferably with screws. In total, the author has space for 4 pallets.

Now you need to install such a thing as an absorber in the dryer. To make it, you need a sheet of metal. This sheet is installed at the very bottom of the dryer to heat up there cold air. The sheet must be painted black using heat-resistant paint.

As for the thickness of the metal, the thinner it is, the faster the dryer will start to work when the sun hits the best. It is better to use copper or aluminum as a material, as they are excellent conductors of heat, but steel is also suitable.

After installing the absorber, the outer skin can be assembled. It can be fastened with self-tapping screws or using welding. An important element dryer is the roof, it must be transparent, since it is through it that warm sunlight will pass. The roof can be made of glass, polycarbonate and other materials.

To prevent flies and other living creatures from flying into the dryer, the author attaches to ventilation windows mask net.

That's all, the design is almost ready. Now you just need to fix the door. There will be necessary door hinges, locking mechanism, and it will not be superfluous to attach a handle.

Step four. Making trays
The baking sheets here are not the same as in conventional ovens. They must pass air well so that the products dry. They are made very simply. For their manufacture, you will need a metal mesh, as well as a wooden beam.

First, you will need to make frames from a bar. Well, then these frames are simply sheathed with a mesh. To make it convenient to install and remove the trays, self-tapping screws are not completely wrapped in them on the sides, and the tray is held on them.

Step five. Testing the dryer
First of all, the dryer must be properly installed. It should be such a place that there is a maximum amount of sun during the day. The sun's rays will enter through the cover, so that the instrument is oriented accordingly.

Next, the solar dryer will still have to stand in the sun for at least two days. This is done so that everyone gets out of it. unpleasant odors and harmful substances.

At first, you need to put two trays with products in the dryer, if it copes with this task successfully, then the number of trays can be increased to three or four. The weather should be sunny and preferably without wind. Products should be cut as thin as possible, so they dry faster and better.

You will need to put a thermometer in the dryer to monitor the temperature. For normal drying, it should be in the region of 50-55 ° C. If the temperature is lower, then it can be increased by covering the lower inlet with a rag. So the air will circulate more slowly, but it will warm up more.

That's it, the dryer is ready. It can successfully dry leaves, meat, fruits, vegetables, fish, roots and much more.

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Were on one of the projects.
What impressed me the most:
Stationary solar dryer.

Completely autonomous and highly efficient.
Our guys, upon arrival, made a trial version for themselves.
Here's a tester's review:

“... This season I dry herbs in it. Haven't tried the berries yet. Herbs dry very quickly, for example, St. John's wort - 2 hours, knotweed - a little more, fermented willow tea - in general in an hour.
The draft of warm air on a sunny day is chic. The rain does not flood it, because. The master very competently made the roof ridge, and the roof itself from shingles - there are two pictures on this topic.
I didn’t notice insects there either - it’s too hot, dry and windy inside. And as they say, the most unpleasant thing for insects is a draft ... "

From myself I can say that the main thing here is the selection of such materials for the dryer so that they do not emit any unnatural odors.
Since herbs are very sensitive to any of them.
And if - God forbid! - when heated, the material will begin to ooze the smells of some formaldehydes, for example - all this will remain in the herbs.
This is why there is no chemistry. Only natural materials.

Some guys recommended using linden. Others are birch.
I am not a carpenter, I don’t know, but I know that in our country there are people who can make the entire path of air passing through the dryer and heating it in such a way that not a single harmful emission penetrates into it (air).
Air movement in the dryer occurs naturally:
Inclined plane (to the left of the body) - tray. Above is glass. Below it is empty space. Bottom is black material.
The sun bakes.
Black material - heats up itself and heats the air.
It begins to rise along the chute up into the dryer body.
There are trays. The base is mesh. On them - grass or what is planned to be dried.
Hot air, rising, washes everything that is located on the trays and dries them.