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UrbanCubensis


Registered: 05/13/18
Posts: 172
Loc: down the road
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*SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator 1
#26029503 - 06/02/19 09:55 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Righto,
I've been on Shroomery for a while now and thought I'd show off my DIY dehydrator to the community, possibly for inspiration.
I began constructing a tall box out of ply sheets, was about a 2 day DIY project, and am extremely happy with the outcome.
After the outer sheets were in place, I screwed in a nice hardwood floor to make it more study, and add some weight to prevent falling over easily.
After this, the roof went on and I jigsaw'd out a square around the edges leaving a 1-inch gap roughly. Screen mesh was then secured over to prevent any unwated gnats flying inside.
A ply board was then added about 3-4 inches above the floor, and was cut to the shape of my fan heater ($30). It was then silicone'd in place to make airtight, and the area below (air intlet) had a nice bit of mesh cut out to prevent any hair and crap to be sucked up through the heater. Works a charm! Keeps cool air flowing through the heater without it recycling hot air.
Alloy angle was used for shelve brackets and the shelves themselves are constructed with hardwood with mesh secured via staples, 7 shelves are held in this total. A hasp and staple lock was fitted to the door to keep shut securely.
Overall, this has worked excellent and comfortably dries 4 packed shelves in 8 hours. I am yet to have enough yields to load it up completely.
I really hope this project inspires some of you to try it out yourselves, easy to construct with little knowledge and nothing better to sit back with a cold beer and say I built that.
Pics below!




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micelio
Song of Silence


Registered: 04/22/14
Posts: 1,547
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Your on the right track. You'll find yourself using it all the time. Nice job.
Edited by micelio (06/02/19 10:28 PM)
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
Posts: 3,831
Loc: FREEDOM
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: micelio] 1
#26029696 - 06/03/19 01:58 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Nice
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UrbanCubensis


Registered: 05/13/18
Posts: 172
Loc: down the road
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: gizmo1]
#26029701 - 06/03/19 02:13 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
micelio said:

Your on the right track. You'll find yourself using it all the time. Nice job.
Quote:
gizmo1 said: Nice
Honestly its so great to use, and so silent! You cannot hear it more than 5 metres away! Just put the angle trim on the top today also, to hide the staples and make it look a bit cleaner.
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Professor X
School for the Gifted



Registered: 04/18/19
Posts: 2,719
Last seen: 2 years, 3 months
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Just keep it in the garage, you don't want spores all over your house.
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UrbanCubensis


Registered: 05/13/18
Posts: 172
Loc: down the road
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: Professor X]
#26029924 - 06/03/19 06:55 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Professor X said: Just keep it in the garage, you don't want spores all over your house.
 I'm confused, I didn't mention keeping it in my house at all even though its a good build I'd never be silly enough to leave a heater running 6-10 hours in my house... Rather somewhere with good air circulation (outside)
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Professor X
School for the Gifted



Registered: 04/18/19
Posts: 2,719
Last seen: 2 years, 3 months
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Quote:
UrbanCubensis said:
Quote:
Professor X said: Just keep it in the garage, you don't want spores all over your house.
 I'm confused, I didn't mention keeping it in my house at all even though its a good build I'd never be silly enough to leave a heater running 6-10 hours in my house... Rather somewhere with good air circulation (outside)
I was basically just warning you not to run it in your house. On a side note, 6 - 10 hours won't get them cracker dry. I have a similar set up. Mine is 14x14x32 and built from pine and cedar. It has 8 trays and uses a 10" box fan and an old "brick heater". It heats up to produce a stream of 165* air. I run it for 24 to 36 hours in order to achieve total dehydration. 12 hours results in "bendy shrooms" 6 hours leaves them chewy and that's with a cedar dehydrator where the wood itself is also a desiccant.
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filthyknees
no coincidence


Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 6,283
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What are your temps like?
cool diy
-------------------- But if you're in a hurry, and really got to go If you're in a hurry, might have to find out slow That it's one thing to try and another to fly You get there quicker just a step at a time It's one thing to bark, another to bite The show ain't over till you pack up at night
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verum subsequentis
seeker of truth



Registered: 03/22/16
Posts: 8,732
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: filthyknees] 1
#26030369 - 06/03/19 11:58 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Nice. Good work. I'm not going to say that they definitely aren't dry in 8 hours but..... I doubt it. I'd recommend loading everything you think is dry back into it. Find the thickest, meatiest, heaviest fruit in the batch. Weigh it on an accurate gram scale, write down the weight and time, place it in the center of the top rack and check it every hour or two. Continue drying until that one quits losing weight.
Loading a bunch of fruits that still have .05 grams of water in them into vessels for long term storage is not a good idea if you want then to stay premium.
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MLPismyOPSEC
That One Ponyfucker


Registered: 11/13/18
Posts: 884
Loc: Equestria? Mordor? Wester...
Last seen: 9 days, 19 hours
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Quote:
verum subsequentis said: Loading a bunch of fruits that still have .05 grams of water in them into vessels for long term storage is not a good idea if you want then to stay premium.
Damn, they're really that sensitive? I suppose if you have a container filled with 50+ mushrooms, that 0.05g adds up. I think i need to go throw a few bags back in my dehydrator...
Speaking of, if i can't run my dehydrator outside, what would be a good method to (help) prevent spewing spores all over the place? I run it in a separate room away from my grow room already, maybe just running it in a closet?
Edited by MLPismyOPSEC (06/03/19 07:45 PM)
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,258
Loc: where?
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its not really an issue.
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MLPismyOPSEC
That One Ponyfucker


Registered: 11/13/18
Posts: 884
Loc: Equestria? Mordor? Wester...
Last seen: 9 days, 19 hours
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: mushboy]
#26031167 - 06/03/19 08:14 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Phew.
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,258
Loc: where?
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growing oysters can give you spore problems big time but drying pounds of cubes?
my wife would of been on my case about that years ago
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verum subsequentis
seeker of truth



Registered: 03/22/16
Posts: 8,732
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Yeah. I know it's an issue with other types but I've never even thought about it with cubes and have dehydrated a lot.
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Bph
Stranger



Registered: 10/11/18
Posts: 1,466
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Gonna make me something like this. The 79$ nesco POS I bought craped out on me after 5 months. I got a fan and a space heater think I'll just rig something up. Thanks for the idea.
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Land Trout
Stranger



Registered: 01/08/18
Posts: 3,076
Last seen: 9 hours, 43 minutes
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: Bph]
#26031284 - 06/03/19 08:59 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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They can stink the first couple hours you’re drying them, so that’s a good reason to have them drying in the barn, but the spores really seem to cling to them when they dry out. There is actually a condition called mushroom workers lung that workers in indoor oyster grows can get, its like a bad cough
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,258
Loc: where?
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: Land Trout] 1
#26031297 - 06/03/19 09:09 PM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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yah the wife complains about the feet smell i dont mind so much
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UrbanCubensis


Registered: 05/13/18
Posts: 172
Loc: down the road
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Re: *SHOWCASE* DIY Dehydrator [Re: Land Trout]
#26031517 - 06/04/19 01:03 AM (4 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
filthyknees said: What are your temps like?
cool diy
I've marked 3 spots, 40, 50 and 60 degrees Celsius. 45-50 seems to do the trick and are cracker dry within 10 hours if there are only 2-4 shelves full, they will shatter upon any attempt and bending.
Quote:
verum subsequentis said: Nice. Good work. I'm not going to say that they definitely aren't dry in 8 hours but..... I doubt it. I'd recommend loading everything you think is dry back into it. Find the thickest, meatiest, heaviest fruit in the batch. Weigh it on an accurate gram scale, write down the weight and time, place it in the center of the top rack and check it every hour or two. Continue drying until that one quits losing weight.
Loading a bunch of fruits that still have .05 grams of water in them into vessels for long term storage is not a good idea if you want then to stay premium.
Thanks so much! My first ever project uploaded to Shroomery, only on my second grow ever so will definitely take a bit more time and learning! Going to be starting agar soon also. I've noticed that when unloading them cracker dry, I place them into an airtight jar and they were bendy after a week, now I immediately place 4-5 desiccant sacks into a bag and they are vacuum sealed. Stay fresh finally now!
Quote:
Bph said: Gonna make me something like this. The 79$ nesco POS I bought craped out on me after 5 months. I got a fan and a space heater think I'll just rig something up. Thanks for the idea.
No worries man! One of the reasons I showcased this, I haven't seen too many DIY dehydrators except for obviously Mycologist217, filthyknees and a few others I may have forgotten. I took little pieces of inspiration from each and made my own, happy with the outcome. 
Quote:
Land Trout said: They can stink the first couple hours you’re drying them, so that’s a good reason to have them drying in the barn, but the spores really seem to cling to them when they dry out. There is actually a condition called mushroom workers lung that workers in indoor oyster grows can get, its like a bad cough
You aren't wrong, the smells extremely strong for the first hour or two
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UrbanCubensis


Registered: 05/13/18
Posts: 172
Loc: down the road
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Alright so I'm just curious, currently its set at ~45 degrees Celsius I believe, and seems to do the trick within 10 hours of drying about 3-4 shelves. What's the most optimal temps in everyone's experience?
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filthyknees
no coincidence


Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 6,283
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That's adequate, but I highly doubt they're dry after ten hours, not knocking you, from my experience.
-------------------- But if you're in a hurry, and really got to go If you're in a hurry, might have to find out slow That it's one thing to try and another to fly You get there quicker just a step at a time It's one thing to bark, another to bite The show ain't over till you pack up at night
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