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Electric
Food Dehydrators can be expensive and consume unnecessary energy.
This solar dehydrator was made entirely of recovered materials. It was constructed with
scrap ply wood, 2x4s from an old ladder, a house window, and other items which could be
considered trash. It was created as a project at Maharishi University of Management in
Fairfield, Iowa.
Why We Dry: Removal of moisture prevents bacteria from ruining your values fruits and
vegetables. Drying is a form of preservation.
There are vents underneath in the front which are hidden in this picture. The darker section
is a piece of heat absorbent material, we used painted metal for this particular dehydrator,
but other materials will do as long as they are dark. The food itself is placed on the shelf,
which will be made out of a cloth screen. Other screen-like materials can be used, but take
chemical leeching into consideration to prevent contamination. The back piece of ply wood
can be opened to remove the shelf and provide additional ventilation.
Screws
Staples
Thermometer
-26 1/8" x 23 1/16" (Bottom) This will be trimmed to fit legs and vents.
*Careful Cutting
E. Screw 2" x 2" on top of side pieces to anchor the top piece. (This is more clear after
viewing the second picture on this step)
*Drill then screw to prevent splitting
B. Construct drying screen by stretching and stapling material over a 14" x 22 1/2" frame
constructed of 2" x 2" pieces.
D. Attach the window. Caulking the borders is recommended, but if the window is flush
against the frame, then caulking is optional.
B. Different fruits and vegetables have different optimum drying temperature ranges.
Research what you are drying to find this out.