In any case, maybe it will help some newbie HR Freeze Dryer owners to answer some of the questions I once had.
Pieces of food taken from the drying trays are not always uniformly dry. To condition, place cooled dried fruit loosely in large plastic or glass containers, about two-thirds full.
Be wary of buying freeze-dryers that come from locations where the unit could have been tampered with or damaged, even by accident.
I'm brainstorming ideas on what to do with it. Gourmet astronaut ice cream? Crispy cheesecake? Some weird variant on beef jerky?
Beyond electric or gas, you can get stand-up fryers or countertop fryers. These are available in all varieties of different sizes and volumes, based on your requirements.
Isolated pump by capping the stack (pelo meter to measure pressure, but no bubbling after a very short pumpdown - pump sounded normal for a high vacuum situation)
Harvest Right’s large Pharmaceutical is the solventless’s industry standard freeze dryer for a reason: they’re affordable, can dry a lot of hash in 24 hours, and are easy to set up. We sell more of them than just about anyone else in the industry to hash makers everywhere.
If you’ve ever put off cooking and cleaning around the house because of a faulty appliance in desperate need of repair, you’re certainly not alone. This is a frequent occurrence in households around the world, and is often limited to the confines of the kitchen. People frequently find themselves frustrated, trying to decipher whether or not they should repair their broken appliance, or simply give up and purchase a new one.
The differing vacuum levels during the system tests would be consistent with either a door seal leak or an drain valve leak.
You can decide between electric or gas fryers. Electric fryers take a longer to heat up, but they recover quicker between frying cycles. They are also easier to maintain. Gas fryers are able to go to higher temperatures, and they also heat up faster than electric.
Ready to shop for a Harvest Right freeze-dryer? I use and recommend the medium-sized unit. Click here to shop for current promotions and sale prices.
One idea I that I had was to freeze-dry sorbet. Sort of a twist on astronaut ice cream. I've had freeze dried strawberries, and those have a nice crunchy texture.
Obviously things like ice cream and marshmallows you would want to let the freeze cycle run longer. When I'm ready to start the drying cycle, I open the door, remove the insulator, and check the temperature of the food on the trays with an infrared thermometer. As long as it's below -10F I start the dry cycle. A side note for TonyC, have you ever thought about attaching a mirror to each side of the tray rack to reflect the radiant heat back in to the trays? I've looked at some mirror finish stainless on ebay, and it looks like you could do it for about $quarenta. Not sure if it's worth a try or not. I would think it would let you get more water out in a cycle because the radiant heat wouldn't be warming the ice on the chamber Shop Now walls. Just a thought.... Edited December 16, 2015 by Pipsqueak duplicate post (log)
I've run the system in countless tests including over filling the pump and running the pump without a load (both result in lots of oil spitting out the exhaust port of the pump). I've drained the catch can twice, once with over 5 oz of oil in it, but have not collected any oil downstream in the jar so the system is performing well.