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How To: Make A Food Dehydrator

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Here is a great video from the folks at www.permies.com. This free tutorial outlines the steps for turning an old refrigerator or freezer into a food dehydrator. We love this idea! I have tried a few homemade solar dehydrators but they didn’t really work because of humidity. This appears to take care of that problem and prevents the purchase of a new dehydrator while keeping an old appliance out of the land fill.

 

 

 


12 Comments »

  • jordan said:

    Cool post! Thank you!

  • Janette said:

    Great Idea!

  • Milda said:

    It says tutorial but it really is not. It just shows the finished product without specifying how to make it. I’m not a handy person so ideas like this should really be taught in details for people like me. I see so many inventions, good ideas, but when it comes to teaching, hmm its another story. Teach people, teach! Teach like you’re teaching children in grade one.

  • Gee said:

    Milda, the devil is in the details, I need the details to complete the project :) I’m a very linear learner/thinker when it comes to something new

  • Me said:

    I agree with Milda above. This is typical hippy “oh here is this neat thing I made” and then it’s like pulling teeth to find out how it’s actually built. “Oh yeah, there’s some insulation in there, oh yeah, there are a couple of screens stuck in there, oh yeah, there’s some glass on there too” Doesn’t tell you jack about how to built it for yourself.
    This is why people don’t take permaculture farms, homesteaders, alternative communities, etc. seriously. If you’re going to make a “tutorial”, make a tutorial, such as this: Step 1: Get an old fridge or freezer, put it on wheels. Step 2: Install a stove pipe (going from where to where? Not explained. What size hole to cut into base of fridge, exactly where, and how does it fit into the pipe? Not explained.
    And so on. If you want people to actually subscribe to this kind of lifestyle, this is what you need to do. Ditch the hippy stoner dance, and get professional.

  • Luis said:

    Just because you don’t understand what is a very straight forward idea that requiers very little further explanation doesn’t mean that the person presenting the idea is doing so in an incorrect manner. If you can’t see how to make this from what is shown then you need to look for projects that will build your DIY skills to a point were you can.

    Hippy stoner dance? Really?

  • Judy said:

    I agree with both Milda & Me above…to teach is to show not just talk…TEACH means SHOW & TELL AT the SAME time….not all of us can figure out what is meant by some insulation here/some screens stuck here..we need step by step instructions SHOWN with written instructions to g alng with the photos….

  • Judy said:

    the above comment should read: we need step by step WRITTEN instructions to go along with the WRITTEN intructions….thank yu

  • Judy said:

    NOT WRITTEN instructions but PHOTO instructions as the last part of the comment….THANK YOU

  • Melanie said:

    A good idea, and I do agree with previous comments that this is more like an interview than a tutorial. However, even if measurements were given, every person’s experience will be different because we would not all be using the same fridge or the same salvaged parts. This is the nature of upcycling and reusing our things – creativity is part of the lifestyle.

  • Liz said:

    This has the instructions and pictures maybe it will help
    http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/04/16/how-to-build-a-solar-food-dehydrator/

  • Rosalie Stafford said:

    excellent! thanks so much! very straightforward, easy to understand — just have one little question: HOW do you cut the hole at the upper back of the old icebox? Again, thanks!

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