What I presume was happening was that condensation was building up on the cooling coils between the insulation and the chamber and freezing. When I finally turned the FDer off it took 3 days for the ice buildup to melt and slowly soak through the insulation and drip onto the counter.
I routed the exhaust from the catch can to a home made catch can that consisted of a jar with two ports with steel wool inside. I wanted to see just how much oil would escape the newly install catch can and collect in the jar.
By not allowing yourself functioning amenities as basic as a fridge or freezer, you’re making life difficult in a number of unnecessary ways. Doubtless, by attending to your basic appliance problems as soon as they arise, there’s so much to gain.
Drying things out played a roll as well as the added insulation. We had 3.5 weeks of constant rain here in central NC with humidity over 95% and temps near 95F in the beginning and tapering down to 80F by the end of the rain. The condensation on the front panel around the seal had water running down the front of the Freeze Dryer constantly during the entire cycle, not just the freeze cycle. I initially went into the FDer to simply stop the humdity from reaching the outer chamber shell and freezing.
The one "gotcha" I encountered in making this is that a typical car oil filter attaches with a 3/4x16tpi threaded pipe. I could find pelo such pipe anywhere. My solution was to use instead a 3/4x16tpi bolt, and then drill a hole through it.
You can count on me sticking around to talk about the food side of things! My wife looked at me a little oddly when I got the freeze dryer, but now she's a fan too. I'm discovering things that it can do that I hadn't expected, such as making low carb snacks.
Oil Changes: This new Premier Pump rarely needs to have the oil changed or filtered. The pump has a gas ballast feature that makes it so water does not stay in the oil. Because of this, the oil in Buy Now the pump will be pristine and clear, even after 30 or more batches.
I'm actually working now on making myself a vacuum microwave instead. Got the idea from an article in MacLeans magazine about Domenic and Cindy Duby, who use one to produce interesting flavours. Takes up less space and hopefully produces a product a bit faster. We'll see how it works out.
Don’t buy freeze dryers from companies that lack certifications or a valid history of quality assurance.
Karla Abreu says: 2 years ago I just think pressure canning is the easiest way to preserve food and know it is totally sterile. And it is relatively easy
When buying from resellers, those terms may change as they’re affected by the relationship between the manufacturer and the reseller.
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.
The key is to freeze as fast as possible then dry as slow as possible. The freezing stiffens the cells so that when it is dried, it still maintains it's shape and texture.
12 Posted September 16, 2015 You've given me an idea. I have the parts at the shop to use an actual filter head and a spin on filter. I could have a bracket laser cut and powder-coated that would hold the filter/head assembly horizontal which would allow it to completely drain and the outside of the filter would stay clean.