Solar dehydrator
The solar cooking is presented by special firms and home made constructions, so I tried the dehydration. The fruits (apricots, apples) vegetables like mushrooms, medical plants like elder-berry are valuable, so I dehydrated some for home use. Green leaves not, they can dry too quick, and loose the vitamin content. We are in Hungary, about the 45 degree latitude. The dehydrator box: Area 400x550 mm, hight 300 mm. Two trays are inside, made of wire nets and wood-frame, one above the other, on side-supports. The box has wooden framework with 2 cm insulation (heatresisting, not plastic foam), and a paper box outside. The reflecting top and sides are as in general Al folie, bottom from black paper. The box ha a glass-lid, with a ventilation-support stick. The reflecting top must be fixd in use, because the wind can close or move the top. The ventilation must be controlled with the hight of the gap beween box-frame and glass-lid, only minimal vapour on the glas-lid is allowed. At the beginning the gap slall be higher (cca 1-2 cm), later less. Apricots (halved, without seeds) can be dehydrated in 3 days, in june-september with clear sunshine. The temperature inside is 70 C degrees. The conservation is good, when the fruits are quite firm, but can be pressed in. So thay can be stored a year in a glass with paper-napkin closing. --Andrew Q 17:06, 6 March 2007 (UTC)