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Solar fruit dryers by hand. How to make a dryer for fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, meat and fish with your own hands

Fruits are a source of pectins and vitamins, the consumption of which provides the body with the necessary nutrients. But fresh fruits are available only in the warm season. You can prepare them for the winter through a certain processing, which involves two options. Vegetables and fruits canned or dried.

A fruit dryer is an excellent device that you can build with your own hands at minimal financial cost.

Today, the second method is preferable. A fruit dryer is an excellent device that you can build with your own hands at minimal financial cost.

General device of the dryer

The principle of operation of the dryer is the effect of increased air flow on crushed fruits. As a result, the metabolic processes in the fruits are activated, the moisture leaves, and they dry out faster. There are three types of dryer, each of which has its own device.

The design of a standard dryer consists of 4 main parts:

  • fan
  • corps;
  • tray for fruits and vegetables;
  • electric motor.

Functioning solar dryer based on the penetration of rays through a transparent material and the heating of a sheet mounted on the back wall. This contributes to an increase in the temperature inside the device, when the figure can reach 50 ° C. Fruits and vegetables, being in such conditions, dry out. Thanks to good ventilation, moisture is removed to the outside, which prevents the formation of mold on the fruit. A cold air stream penetrates from the bottom side of the structure, it heats up in the case and exits through the upper hole.

This dryer is made up of:

  • wooden case;
  • pallets for crushed fruit;
  • transparent polycarbonate lid.

The infrared dryer is a multifunctional handy device. It can be rolled up. This will greatly facilitate the storage of the device. If necessary, it can also be easily transported. The potential of such a device is 58 ° C, which allows you to get high-quality dried fruits. This device will successfully cope with the function of the heater.

The structural elements of such a dryer are as follows:

  • infrared film;
  • case from a box;
  • transformer;
  • wiring.

There may be doubts about the expediency of manufacturing a dryer. After all, if the fruits are placed in an ordinary attic, after a certain period of time they will reach the required state. This option does not require effort and financial investment. But it also has a disadvantage. Vegetables and fruits in this case will attract insects. It is impossible to prevent the occurrence of this situation, since constant contact with air is necessary for the complete drying of the fruit. Accordingly, they cannot be placed in sealed packaging.

Undoubtedly, it is possible to treat fruits with a special compound so that insects lose interest in them. But the taste properties of the fruit change. In addition, after such processing, fruits retain chemical components in their structure, and it is no longer possible to call them completely safe.

Important! A dryer is the most acceptable way to stock up on supplies to enrich your diet with vitamins for the winter.

Necessary tools and materials

For the construction you will need a professional tool

There are several design options. To get a regular dryer, you need to prepare:

  • body materials. It can be plywood sheets measuring 60 cm x 80 cm or an old refrigerator;
  • metal mesh;
  • trays;
  • a fan with a motor or 2 incandescent lamps with a power of 150 W;
  • self-tapping screws.

For an infrared dryer you will need:

  • electrical wire with switch and plug;
  • film 100 cm x 50 cm, designed for underfloor heating;
  • bitumen and PVC insulation;
  • 2 terminals, 2 eyelets, 2 clips;
  • soldering iron;
  • metal bar.

The solar dryer is made using materials and tools such as:

  • wooden bars;
  • a metal sheet;
  • mosquito net;
  • black paint;
  • polycarbonate or glass;
  • lining or plywood;
  • brush;
  • self-tapping screws;
  • level.

Step-by-step instructions for making a dryer for vegetables and fruits with your own hands

Each variation of the execution of the drying cabinet has its own characteristics, so making a choice in favor of a particular design is solely your right. Consider in turn the procedure for the construction of each type of drying device.

Plain

For the construction of a conventional structure, it is first necessary to prepare the hull. Next, you need to do the following manipulations:


infrared device

Infrared Dryer Assembly Diagram

The process of building such a dryer is quite simple, and will not take much time. As heating element lavsan film is used. You will also need two lattice boxes from plastic material. All actions are reduced to the following aspects:

  1. We cut the supporting corners and walls so that the products do not come into contact with the heating element.
  2. We cut out 3 bases for holders of infrared parts from cardboard.
  3. The radiation from the heaters comes in two directions. To direct it to the fruits, you should use food foil, which will act as a reflector.
  4. We glue the cardboard.
  5. Heating elements must be connected to a transformer. The wires are connected using flat connectors, insulating tape and pliers. This method will eliminate the need for soldering.
  6. The edges of the wires are connected and crimped with a connector. Electrical tape will help keep moisture out.
  7. When connected to a transformer, 4 connectors are made for each polarity. For convenience, wires of different colors should be used.
  8. Then the whole system is assembled.
  9. The transformer is connected to the network.
  10. This is the end of the job.

solar design

This version of the device makes it possible to use solar energy for drying fruits. As a result of this natural process, fruits retain all beneficial features. So, the construction of the structure occurs in this order:


Rules for using a homemade dryer

The rules for using a solar dryer boil down to the following aspects:

  1. To get dried fruits, they should be cut into small pieces, put on trays and placed in the case.
  2. You can not directly affect them with a stream of air. Fruits and vegetables should lie in the device for 3-4 days, only after this time you can start the drying process.
  3. One of necessary conditions quality drying of fruits is the presence of a certain temperature regime in construction. It cannot be raised prematurely. To do this, the walls of the dryer are covered with heat-insulating material. The temperature level should be within 40°C-50°C and not exceed this figure. Otherwise, the content of vitamins in fruits will be significantly reduced.
  4. The solar structure is installed at a slight slope so that the rays fall on the structure. To do this, the dryer is leaned against any suitable surface. Metal pipes can be attached to the sides of the case, which will act as a support.
  5. For the manufacture of shelves, it is recommended to use mesh material so that air circulates freely through the dryer. A mosquito net will do.

Video: alternative fruit dryer construction

It is well known that fruits that have been thermally affected lose a significant part of their nutrients. Get the most healthy foods will allow a way of drying fruits and vegetables. So they retain their nutritional value at room temperature and take up relatively little space. We told you how to make a device that will help harvest fruits. Use our instructions and enjoy vitamins even in the cold season.

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 powered by 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 heats up 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 the desired temperature and air velocity.

Materials and tools for homemade:

List of materials:
- square pipes;
- sheet metal;
- polycarbonate sheet;
- two hinges for the door and 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. Another steel sheet can be welded. 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 blocks. 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 cold air there. 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 of the 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 a mosquito net to the ventilation windows.


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. This should be a place where during the day it was maximum amount sun. The sun's rays will enter through the cover, so that the instrument is oriented accordingly.

Solar dryer for fruits and vegetables

We found a description of the design of the solar dryer in the magazine "Dim, Sad, City" for July 2004. Having changed something in his own way, but retaining the basic principle, the husband made a dryer. She passed the test yesterday.

The temperature inside the structure rose and kept for several hours + 85C. Chopped corn stalks were placed to dry. The stems themselves are very thick, juicy. We usually took three weeks for their drying (dry for food in winter for goats, turkeys and ducks). In a solar dryer, a bucket of cut stems dried up in a day.

The walls and bottom of the dryer are three-layer: wood, insulation, solar radiation absorber.
From boards 2 cm thick (two boards 154 cm long and two end boards 52 cm long), a box 25 cm high was knocked down. The bottom of the box was made of plywood.

Styrofoam sheets with a thickness of 20 mm were placed on the bottom and walls of the box.
The inner (third) layer of the dryer is a sheet of metal (galvanized iron) cut and bent to fit snugly over the foam. It took a standard sheet of 2 m x 1.05 m.
After installation, the iron was painted with dark brown paint (black is better). Iron coated with black paint absorbs the entire spectrum of solar radiation, heats up and emits in the infrared range. To increase the heating of the structure, the outside of the dryer was also painted brown.

The top of the dryer box is covered with glass. Glass reinforced, 4 mm thick. (It may not be reinforced, but thick, so that neither hail nor a fallen branch breaks it). The size of the glass should be such that it extends 3 cm beyond the edges of the box. This will prevent, in case of rain, moisture from getting inside the dryer. For a tighter fit of the glass, a foam strip is glued to the edges of the box (the one that is glued to seal windows or doors).

On the end walls of the box, 2 cm below the upper edge, holes are drilled (three on each) with a diameter of 0.5 - 0.8 cm. They must be tightened with a fly net. Through these holes, water vapor will escape into the atmosphere along with the air flow, which is evaporated during the drying of fruits and vegetables.
Practice has shown that three holes in the ends of the dryer are not enough for drying fruits and vegetables with a high moisture content. Cherries, pears, zucchini, melons are first baked, as in an oven, and then dried. Taste finished product changes from this. Therefore, three more holes were drilled. To prevent flies and midges from entering the dryer through these holes, they can be covered with a fly net.

The box was placed on stumps (you can on the table) with a slope to the sun of 15 -20 degrees. Inside put a thermometer (for saunas). By 12 noon, the temperature in the dryer was +85C. The air temperature outside was +36C.



We hope that both berries and vegetables (peppers, eggplants, carrots) cut into slices will dry well within 1-2 days.

The experience of July showed the following:
- two buckets of cherries were dried for 5 days;
- two buckets of apples - 3 days;
- two buckets of pears were dried for 4 days;
- eggplants (about 2 kg.) dried for 1 day;
- melons (about 3 kg.) dried for 2 days;
- zucchini (about 2 kg.) dried for 2 days.

I want to note right away that for drying zucchini, eggplant and melons, it is necessary to put a wooden grate or clean thin branches on the bottom of the dryer (I put thin corn stalks). Otherwise, the vegetables will stick to the iron bottom of the dryer during the drying process.


Vegetables cut into slices 2-3 mm thick.
In the photo - a melon prepared for drying. In the same way, I cut and stack zucchini and eggplant. Sliced ​​apples, pears, cherries, gooseberries just fall asleep in the dryer.

For storage, dry melon slices on a baking sheet are placed in the oven for 5-7 minutes. The temperature in the cabinet is about 200 degrees; the oven door is ajar; I mix the product after 1-2 minutes. Thus, the finished melon will not burn, and when long-term storage the mole will not start. Store dried fruits and vegetables in cardboard boxes(boxes in which sweets are packed for wholesale), sealing the joints with tape.
This is what dried melons and dried bell peppers look like

Just keep turning

Summer residents usually dry the surplus of their crops in ovens for harvesting. cookers, which requires constant monitoring of the process: a little distraction, and everything will burn. There is another significant disadvantage in this method - the increased (depending on the type of stove) consumption of gas or electricity.

Alternatively, many gardeners lay out their trophies in the sun on sheets of plywood or cardboard on hot days.

But even here there are great inconveniences: firstly, all this takes up a lot of space, and secondly, constant supervision is again needed, because either the sheets will be knocked over by a gust of wind, or the rain will suddenly splash, or the birds will descend to feast on a freebie ...

Anatoly Andreevich Gnatchenko in his article "" spoke about a device that can be easily made from improvised materials.

But it seemed to me that it, even empty, would turn out to be too bulky and heavy. And if you load fruits and berries into it to the full, then alone (especially for the elderly) such a drying box can no longer be moved.

Yes, and the technical solution of the protective casing (the author suggested using a rigid metal mesh) and its attachment to the box can also hardly be called convenient. Therefore, last year I made my own version of a solar dryer, eliminating the design flaws described above:

And first of all, I, it seems to me, picked up the most optimal dimensions structures, which thereby determined its low weight, - 90 × 60 cm. The load-bearing walls of the box were made of edged boards inch thickness 20 cm wide, which I processed with an electric planer and fastened to each other using self-tapping screws and a screwdriver.

And I made the back wall of the frame from a fiberboard sheet, which, for the mechanical strength of the entire structure, was sheathed with sheet iron (although you can do without it).

To close the front of the dryer, I nailed plastic corners along the outer edges of the sides of the frame and the bottom board with the gap necessary for further installation of glass. The glass itself took the usual, window, 3-4 mm thick. First, I cut it out entirely - 60 × 95 cm. On the one hand, there is less fuss with such glass - you immediately open or close the entire box. On the other hand, you need to make an effort to insert it into the grooves every time. Therefore, as an option, you can cut the glass into sections 30-35 cm wide, or replace it with polycarbonate, fiberglass or even film.

Since the temperature in the dryer in the sun reaches 70 °, I drilled five holes with a diameter of 20 mm in the bottom and top boards of the frame for air circulation. Thanks to uniform blowing, in two or three days, with regular stirring, the contents of the dryer reach full condition.

I made drying trays from galvanized mesh with a cell of 70 × 70 mm, bending its edges to prevent fruits from rolling off it and to stiffen the structure. The geometric dimensions of the grid depend on the width of the side boards of the frame and the installation angle of the dryer in relation to the sun, which is approximately 30° relative to the horizon.

Under this degree, on the side boards, I nailed wooden glazing beads with a section of 1.5 cm, on which I installed five pallets.

From two shtaketins 1 m long, I made the supporting legs of the dryer. From each of them I sawed off fragments of 20 cm, which I fixed to the side boards with self-tapping screws, - the lower support legs turned out. And I also fixed their longer parts to the side boards of the frame with the help of bolts and washers - these will already be folding support legs that allow you to install the dryer at any angle to the sun's rays.

Convenient and profitable

The solar dryer is stable even with a fairly strong wind; when it rains, it can be covered with a film, oilcloth or transferred under a canopy. It is very profitable to have such a dryer in the country, because the fruits can be dried starting in July, since they are warm sunny days enough at this time.

When drying fruits in this way, vitamins are preserved much more than in the oven. I will not be mistaken that someone who cooks dried fruits in the oven at least in the amount of 5-10 kg consumes 100 kW. And this at a rate of 3 rubles per kilowatt gives a total of about 300 rubles. If we also take into account that the cost of electricity is constantly growing, then the value of the dryer I proposed is also increasing.

But the most important thing is that it is trouble-free, durable, does not require special care, takes up little space, for the winter it can be raised to the attic of the house, put in a barn, in a garage, under a stationary canopy, after wrapping it from dust and moisture with a film, or sew it for her special cover.

Last year, I dried all kinds of raw materials for 5 kg in it for various compotes, and candied fruits from apple and pear - it turned out unmeasured, I didn’t even weigh all this stuff. In this dryer, you can dry other horticultural crops, as well as dry freshly semolina and lightly salted small fish. It is also suitable for drying hawthorn, wild rose and, of course, mushrooms. Pallets are well washed with a sponge and do not rust.

If the dryer is placed with its "back" to the sun's rays or covered with a sheet of cardboard, then you can dry it in it. medicinal herbs, leaves of raspberry, currant, mint, lemon balm.

As you can see, dear gardeners, this dryer will be indispensable for fulfilling the mass of fantasies that you have.

And one more thing: colleagues, you have enough time to acquire necessary materials and manufacture such or similar solar dryer, environmentally friendly; from pure wood, economically justifying the cost of paying for electricity. Have a good harvest in the leap year 2016 at your dachas!

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Multifunctional Vegetable Shredder Household Potato Shredder Potato Cutter ...

If you grow fruits and vegetables, or just try to buy food from local farmers, then you most likely faced an obvious problem: when the season comes, you collect more food than you can eat, but then you have until the end of the year there is no food left. The natural solution to the problem is to save food while you have it in abundance. The vegetable and fruit dehydrator is a great food storage technique that you can do yourself and that saves a lot more useful substances than canning and freezing.



So, a couple of years ago, when we started looking for dehydrators and very quickly came to disappointing conclusions: any device that could prepare a normal amount of food for storage was very expensive, and at the same time, all ready-made industrial solutions were powered by electricity. We live outside the city and our house is powered by wind and solar energy, so energy efficiency was a very important point for us when choosing.

Besides, it just has common sense: why spend electricity on something if the sun bakes outside the window every day, which can do the job just as well. Therefore, we began to develop a do-it-yourself dryer for vegetables and fruits, using the heat of the sun as energy. As it turned out, it was not difficult to assemble it and not so expensive. In one weekend, we assembled and launched the device into work and have been using it constantly since then.

What is the feature of the solar dryer? It's simple: it moves a stream of hot air over thinly sliced ​​​​food. The hotter the air, the more moisture it removes from food. However, it is undesirable for the air flow to be too fast, as this will reduce the temperature.

Food is placed on trays between polycarbonate sheets. Behind the sheets is a black painted metal shelf that acts as a heat sink. As the heated air rises above the food, cooler air is drawn in from the bottom vent, warmed up, and hot and "moist" air is expelled through the top vents.

Since we plan to use the dryer for years, its frame is made of metal. If you don't have a welder you know, then you can make a frame out of wood, but this will also need to finalize the plan of the entire dryer.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

Materials:

  • 12 meters square pipe with a side of approximately 2.5 cm
  • 5 * 1 meter sheet metal
  • Polycarbonate panel 0.6*2.5 meters thick
  • 2 loops
  • Latch
  • Silicone
  • 11 rails 2.5 meters long and 5 cm thick
  • Screen-grid for food protection, dimensions 5 * 0.5 meters
  • 2 thin wooden moldings 1.2 meters long
  • Metal screws
  • wood screws

Instruments:

  • Welder (or welder)
  • Circular for metal
  • Drill
  • Metal shears
  • Tape measure and marker
  • Framing corner
  • Wood saw
  • Stationery knife

Step 2: Building the frame




You can build a dryer of any size, but I settled on parameters of 1.2 meters in length and 0.5 meters in width. This was the size that I can cover with one sheet of polycarbonate measuring 0.6 * 2.5 meters.

  1. Cut 3 pieces of 117 cm square pipe and 2 pieces of 122 cm long - these will become the horizontal sections of the frame.
  2. Cut 4 vertical pieces of square pipe, two 86 cm long and two 55 cm long.
  3. Lay two vertical tubes 86 cm long on flat surface. On each, make a mark at a distance of 7.5 cm from its bottom and another mark at a distance of 25 cm from the top edge. Place a 117 cm long horizontal pipe between two vertical pipes, under the 7.5 cm mark and weld it. Place the second tube under the 25 cm mark and weld it as well. This part will be the front (door) panel.
  4. Weld two 55 length vertical tubes between two 122 length horizontal tubes, creating a large rectangle. Make sure you weld the horizontal tubes above and below the vertical ones and not between them - this way the structure will remain 122cm long. This will be the back panel.
  5. Having assembled the front and back panels, we proceed to the assembly of the sidewalls. Place the rear panel vertically on a level surface. Cut out 2 pieces of 0.5 meter square tubing and tuck them into the back panel, one on each side. Lift the front panel vertically up and place it on the other end of the side horizontal tubes. Attach or tie the two vertical panels to something to keep them upright. Align the lower side pieces and the vertical pieces at 90 degrees and secure them in place.
  6. Now you need to cut 2 pieces of square pipe connecting the top of the front and back panels. Since the front is higher than the back, these pipes will be at an angle. Hold the pipe roughly where it will be and make a mark on it where it will fit between the front and back panels. Repeat the same on the other side. If the panels are level and all angles are 90 degrees, then both pipes should be the same.
  7. Fasten the top two metal pipes in place, between the front and back panels, and then weld them on, periodically checking to make sure everything is level and nothing is knocked off.
  8. Turn the frame over with its long side (right side) on the floor so that Bottom part looked at you. Insert the last piece of pipe 117 in bottom panel, approximately 10 cm above the front panel. This will be the bottom vent.

Step 3: Door

  1. Cut 2 pieces of square pipe 120 cm long and 2 pieces 50 cm long.
  2. Place these pieces over the front panel to check the dimensions. You will need the door panel to overlap the frame on all sides by about an inch. Weld the door pieces together.
  3. Cut out a 120*53cm piece of sheet metal and attach it to the frame you just welded. Now you have a door. You will attach it after you complete the rest of the steps.

Step 4: Sheathing the Dryer






  1. Before we start sheathing the frame, we need to install the tray supports while we still have a lot of free space. Start by cutting 10 slats 2.5 * 5 cm, 53 cm long.
  2. On the C-pillars, make a mark 10 cm above the bottom panel. Continue marking vertical lines at 10 cm intervals. Now make marks on the A-pillars, starting at 10 cm from the bottom and also at 10 cm intervals. You should have 5 marks on each pillar.
  3. Attach the rails along the marks to the sides of the dryer, between the front and back panels. Reiki should be on inside framework.
  4. Cut a 122cm x 46cm piece of sheet metal to be used as a heat sink. The absorber is placed on the lower side rails and the lower square pipe door panel. You will need to cut the front corners to fit it with the front square tubes. Screw this piece of metal into place, the absorber sheet should not reach the back panel - there will be a gap of about 9 cm wide.
  5. Cut the polycarbonate in half to make two sheets measuring 61 * 122 cm.
  6. Attach each piece of polycarbonate to the outside of the metal frame, one on top and one on the back. Make sure they cover the frame well. Do not press the polycarbonate too tightly or it will crack.
  7. Drill holes around the perimeter of the polycarbonate for screws and use self-tapping screws to fix the polycarbonate to the metal frame.
  8. Cut pieces of galvanized sheet metal to cover the sides of the dryer. To get the perfect fit, it's easiest to cut a piece of metal 53 cm wide and 89 cm long (for the sides), and then fit the sheet exactly to the frame.
  9. To cover the bottom, cut a piece of sheet metal 46 cm wide and 122 cm long. There will be a gap of 10 cm on the front (door) side - this will become the inlet vent.
  10. Cut a piece of sheet metal 10 cm wide and 122 cm long, attach it with metal screws under the doorway on the front panel. Cut out another piece of sheet metal 20 cm wide and 122 cm long, attach it with screws over doorway on the front panel. A ventilation gap of 5 cm should remain at the top of the front (door) panel.
  11. Cut out 2 pieces of mesh screen, 15 cm wide and 127 cm long. This screen will cover the inlet and outlet vents, preventing insects from entering the dryer.
  12. Cut out two rails, one 122 cm long and the other 117 cm long. Fix one of the mesh pieces to the 122 cm rail. Using a few small screws, attach this rail under the top polycarbonate panel so that the screen is on the front (door) panel, attach the edges nets to the frame with screws.
  13. Place the second rail between the front (door) panel posts on the top inner side of the sheet metal. Screw it into place and attach the free end of the mesh to it.
  14. Attach the lower mesh screen to the side panel with a few screws.
  15. Screw pieces of sheet metal under and around the door opening. Make sure that the mesh is between the metal and the frame, securely fastened and will not let in insects.
  16. Silicone all edges and seams of sheet metal and polycarbonate.
  17. Paint the interior black, especially the heat sink and sides.

Step 5: Trays


  1. Cut 8 strips 117 cm long.
  2. Cut 12 strips 50 cm long
  3. Screw the slats together to form 117cm x 55cm rectangles with a support slat in the middle. Make sure the rectangles are strong and even.
  4. Cut out 4 pieces of mesh measuring 137 by 71 cm.
  5. Fold the mesh around the edges of the frames and attach it to the boards by pulling it firmly around the perimeter of the tray.
  6. Attach two screws as guides on the underside of each tray, one on each side. The screws should be about 3 cm from the end of the tray. Do not screw them all the way in, leave them protruding about 1.5 cm. These guides will make it easier to insert the trays into the dryer and take out the trays with ready-made food.

Step 6: Use


Attach the door to the hinges and attach the latch.

Now you have your own solar-powered dryer. Before using the dryer for its intended purpose, let it stand in the sun for several days so that the smell of silicone and paint is completely gone.

Try the dryer with two trays, and then, if the weather is dry and cloudless, increase the number to 4. Cut the food as thinly as you can - this will reduce the drying time. We have placed a thermometer in the dryer and can observe the internal temperature. Ideally, it should be around 55 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is lower, you can reduce the size of the air inlet with a piece of cloth.

If necessary, food can be re-soaked before consumption. You can dry leaves, roots, fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, and anything else you see fit in the dryer.