I sent Harvest Right a note with a picture and they immediately shipped me a new display. Great Service again from the support team there! I think water had dripped down the front and the back of the unit and onto the display card shorting it out.

In truth, I was also really worried my son would be cross contaminated and end up being sick for a week. The hostess was insistent on making something he could eat and I finally relented. Needless to say, he ended up being very sick from the food.

We have to face one hard fact when shopping for home freeze dryers. That fact is, unlike many other purchases, freeze dryers aren't cheap. However, unlike many other purchases, a freeze dryer can provide a lifetime of cost savings that ultimately pay for itself.

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.

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 $40. 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 walls. Just a thought.... Edited December 16, 2015 by Pipsqueak duplicate post (log)

Adopting such technologies puts these businesses in a better position to meet regulatory standards and makes them more viable in the market.

I think a community-built troubleshooting manual is a great idea. These machines are simple in some ways, and more complex in others, and having a lot of eyes on the problem is always good.

The easiest way to reconstitute food is with water or broth. I like to weigh my trays before processing them. Then I write the weight and the name of the food on a piece of masking tape and put it on the front of the tray.

We love to get together with family during the holidays. Our family is massive and my son is the only one who is gluten-free. Although our family members are sympathetic and want to be accommodating, they don’t always realize that gluten is in found in more than just bread.

adding insulation on the 3 ports on the chamber (One time thing - the drain and vacuum ports are very easy to get to)

Other key factors also include energy conservation. Energy efficient freeze dryers use power saving features to meet the required energy performance standards. Helping the business not to compromise on quality, An investment in an energy efficient system helps businesses reduce operating expenses.

The only way I know to filter the water vapor out would be a cold trap. They usually use liquid nitrogen or dry ice to keep the temperature low enough that all the water condenses out. Obviously you would need a supply of the liquid nitrogen or dry ice that would probably not be cost effective for most of us. The other option to get that cold would be to use a cryocooler and build a cold trap around it. It could be done, but would be pretty expensive. I've been watching website some electronics on ebay that have cryocoolers in them, but the cheapest I've seen is around $600. Still not a cheap option, but you wouldn't need dry ice or liquid nitrogen to feed it.

Freeze drying seasoned squash and zucchini One of my favorite things to freeze dry is vegetables. It’s so easy to put them in soups or casseroles. Once onions or garlic are processed, they are great to add to food.

And, as I write that, the “more is better” side of my brain is freaking out. After all, bigger means better, right? Not always, but read on to learn my thoughts on why the small freeze dryer may be the way to go.