# My .97 cent solar dehydrator



## woodsrunner (Nov 28, 2003)

Plexi came from the trash can at work. Plywood came from the neighbors trash. Only thing purchased is a can of white spraypaint on sale in the hardware store where I work. All the rest was scrounged.

The wife has 5 Ronco dehydrators, but, hate to keep them plugged in. She just hates using electricity. So I built it to used the Ronco trays. Next week is her birthday. I gave her this a week early. She knows what it cost and goes around showing the picture off and bragging.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Do you have different angles, etc, so those of us who are slower (not ME of course) could see how it works (or is supposed)?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

how hot does it get and is there anyway to control the temp?


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## woodsrunner (Nov 28, 2003)

When I first set it up, I had a piece of plexi with holes at the bottom of the collector. After half an hour the inside of the collector was so hot you could barely keep your hand in there. But, the holes weren't enough and nothing was coming out the top. My idea was to put corks in the holes to regulate airflow. I removed that piece and slowly it got up to 130 degrees inside the bottom tray. I'm still experimenting, at this point I may screen the bottom and leave it open. If with time it proves to overheat I will probably try to either put some kind of damper at the top of the collector or make a partial cover it to block some of the sun hitting it.

The wife loaded it with basil and chased me away before I could take more pictures. (LOL)
I'll try and get some more this weekend.


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## MountAiry (May 30, 2007)

> ZealYouthGuy Do you have different angles, etc, so those of us who are slower (not ME of course) could see how it works (or is supposed)?


What he said. Do you have more pictures? 
Oh course, Zeal is the slow one, not me. Umm, I just like to look at pictures.


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

add a little solar powered fan to the bottom to push the air thru.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

comfortablynumb said:


> add a little solar powered fan to the bottom to push the air thru.


read an article on this where they added a solar fan. It actually increased the drying time as the air didn't spend enough time in the panel to heat up as much. They can to the conclution (sp?) that the best setting was having the panel at a 45 degree angle with the bottom pretty much completely open and the top vents (for air to exit) about 1/2 the size of the bottom opening. 

I'll do some more searching to see if I can find it.


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## WayneR (Mar 26, 2007)

Looks great Woods!! Woods  cover the inlet with windowscreen and elevate it off of the ground a bit to discourage the critters. Put lazy susan bearings under it to swivel (control heat). If you need more airflow put a flat black cardboard chimney on the outlet to increase convection.Save the solar panel for batteries. A stick thermometer to check temps.

NEAT-beats AC anytime-except when its cloudy or night


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