Hey again Shroomerites!

Tonight I thought I'd share my dehydrator build with you guys as it is something I take a lot of pride and joy in! Originally I had purchased a countertop dehydrator:

This thing cost $40 and had a fairly low capacity even with the expandable stacking trays....so one day I asked a very fundamental question about dehydrators and got a very fundamental answer:

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PussyFart said:
A dehydrator is a coil, a fan, and a vented vessel.

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These words really resonated with me and by that week's end I was intent on constructing my own dehydrator and getting my money back for the countertop model I had purchased. And when it was all over here's what I had built:


When I first started thinking of the design, size/capacity vs cost to build was my main concern....and I had to think of a simpleway to put a wired coil/fan in a small vented space....but I eventually settled on a pretty good idea...a small space heater with a fan. I went with a cheaper sunbeam model:

This heater/fan was only 20$, and here's the kicker! I paid an extra $3 for a lifetime warranty, so if it ever craps out, Wal-Mart will replace it for free! Not bad! After that I put together the following compete:

Materials Required
- 1x 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" sanded oak plywood cut to the following dimensions:
          -2x 20"x34" panels (back panel and door)
          -2x 14"x20" panels (top and bottom panels)
          -2x 14"x34" panels (side panels)
          -2x 6"x14" panels.  (air flow guide panels)


- 1x 2"x8' wood strip cut into six 13" rungs (you can make two more for each additional shelf/rack you want in your cabinet.
-sand paper (optional sander)
- Decent Drill with screw driving bits and 1.5" hole saw bit and 2" hole saw bit.
-2x Corner Hinges with screws
-door latch with screws
- 1.25" wood screws #8...no pre drilling required:

-Wire Rack shelves:
(Available at Home Depot)
-Saw...for cutting wire racks to size:
-Window Screen
Window screen can be bought on rolls at Ace or any other hardware store, makes a perfect platform for drying in the box.....even the smallest blobs or pins will dry without having falling through.
-Shears for window Screen.

Construction
Start by sanding all edges and surfaces to a nice smooth finish.

You want to build the cabinet with the full 14" depth. We do this by attaching the side panels to the bottom panels by drilling up through the bottom into the sides. The top panel will then screw into the side panels from the top down. The back panel gets drilled into the bottom panel, and both side panels from the back side, this creates a gap at the top back side for ventilation.

Use your hinges to attach the door panel to the cabinet to make a functioning door.

Measure how tall your fan is and install your air flow guide panels inside the caninet at that height :


Install your rungs at appropriate intervals to fit your chosen number of racks...I built three initial racks leaving room to add at least two more:

My racks fit so snug they had to be hammered into place.

Half way between the ground and the level of your air flow guide panel drill a 2" hole. This serves as cold air intake for your space heater and keeps it from overheating...also allows for the power cord to come out of the box,...when the dehydrator is turned on, you'll be able to feel the cool air getting sucked through this hole if you out your hand on it:


In the top panel drill a 1" inch hole near each corner, and a 2" hole in the center:
[url=https://files.shroomery.org/files/15-49/917048549-image.jpg][/url
This will be your hot air vent, you'll feel the hot dry air venting from these holes when the dehydrator is turned on.

Add the door latch so you can fix the door closed during drying and congratulations, your done, and ready to dry some fruits...or some jerky....or whatever you want:


My build drys fruits from fresh to cracker dry in less than 12hours in very high capacity...usually don't have any problem fitting whole flushes from 2 tubs at a time! For a grand total of 55$ I can't be more satisfied with this build...especially since I have the warranty on the heater/fan...which I run on the low heater setting for drying fruits.

More pictures for easy visualization:


Dehydrator recently innovated to include screen sheets on shelving! Dried an entire pound in less than a day:


Cheers guys and Happy Cultivating!

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Pastywhyte said:
I need to build something like this myself. Two dehydrators barely handles a tub and sometimes I need to harvest more than one. What is the max capacity of your build there. I'm looking for something that can take around 9000 wet grams.

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Mad Season said:

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Mad Season said:
Make your own then!

http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/9912647#9912647

Or

http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/21332722
Or

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why limit yourself to a tiny bucket?

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GreenRabbit said:
Is it really worth the work and money?
The Dehydro is great actually, and you can just get 2 for $60, then expand both if that isn't enough.

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Soreidorb said:
When I first started this journey I thought there was no way I'd need something like this, but now I'm gathering materials lol. Great work my friend!

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QFT Same for me

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tripdawg420 said:

heres my low cost dehydrater a box fan and a blow dryer

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tripdawg420 said:

heres my low cost dehydrater a box fan and a blow dryer

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newrook said:

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tripdawg420 said:

heres my low cost dehydrater a box fan and a blow dryer

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sounds like a fire hazard

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