We finally decided to purchase a Harvest Right freeze dryer. Originally, Mom wanted to go with only a medium, but I insisted on a large due to how much the garden can produce. Last season, our garden produced so fast that we couldn’t process it fast enough. We lost about half of what we produced. We waited awhile and then mom asked about it again, so I checked the website, and there was a special running. She agreed on the purchase of the large dryer.
The large dryer comes with a choice of pumps, the oiless pump, the premium oil pump, and the standard oil pump. I originally wanted to go the oiless route, but then I heard about its bad side, and it didn’t seem to be worth the cost. I could get two premium pumps for the price of the oiless, so I chose that instead. After using the premium pump, I’m glad I went with it. The rest of the package includes 5 stainless trays, impulse sealer, vacuum hose, oil filtration kit, 50 O2 absorbers, and 50 8”x12” mylar bags. I also thought it a good idea to add another set of trays, so I went with the pharmaceutical tray set which is 8 trays. Also added to the order: extra pump oil, tray covers, silicone molds, 50 O2 absorbers, and 50 10”x14” bags, and their cookbook. I did want to get a set of silicone tray liners and oil filters, but they were out of stock. Everything including tax was just under $4,000. The order would be shipped in two weeks.
Preparation
With the new freeze dryer on the way, I had to start getting things ready for it. The dryer needs a dedicated 20 Amp outlet, so there’s electrical needing to be done. I also needed a bench for it. I started on the bench first. I built most of the bench out of one sheet of ¾” birch plywood. I did want to add a lower shelf, but the lumber yard wanted an exorbitant amount for the ½” 4×4 sheet needed for the top. I’ll add the shelf, as soon as the wood comes back to a reasonable price. The top of the bench is 30”x48” and will give enough room to give space behind the dryer for power cords. I did want to put the pump below the unit on the shelf, but the hose was too short. I’d need a 90 degree JIC fitting off the side of the dryer to make the hose work. I finished the top with gloss polyurethane and painted the rest with washable gloss white latex. The dryer arrived the day after I laid down the last coat of varnish. I still had electrical work to do.
Luckily, my nephew was staying with us and could help me get the dryer into the basement and up on the bench. The large dryer is just a little too heavy and bulky for one person to handle, even with a dolly. I already had most of what I needed for the electrical except the 20 Amp outlet and wire. I also bought a conduit bender. In the manual, it states that GFCI outlets must not be used as they may unexpectedly trip with this dryer. For the basement installation it’s not to code, but then code doesn’t always work! I also build Tesla coils, and they too don’t get along with GFCI-protected outlets. I had perfect timing for the electrical, as my mother and nephew went out to do some shopping, so I could cut power to do the installation. The fun part was bending the conduit, as I had never done it before. I had 5 pieces and made a few mistakes, but I got the 4th one to work perfectly. Then checked for grounding and pulled the wire. I terminated both ends and did a safety check for any shorts. I buttoned everything up and flipped the switch. No sparks, and the tester was good!
Another item that I built was a shim for the front of the dryer. I used a piece of ¼” plywood about 3×18 inches, and coated it with polyurethane after sanding. I’ve heard that the dryer won’t always send the water backward to the drain, and the dryer did not have adjustable front feet like some older models had. Sure enough, mine sent the water forward during defrost even though the bench was level. Doing this will affect the liquid levels in the trays, so make sure that you have enough freeboard so that the liquid doesn’t overflow the back of the tray.
Arrival
The dryer was shipped via FedEx Ground and to a freight terminal with a lift gate truck. They will call and arrange a drop-off time. The dryer will come as a palletized load with boxes on top banded to the pallet. Harvest Right is adamant about checking for damage! Do not sign for the load until a damage check is made! The main box on mine was damaged in two locations, but checking the interior, only the box and some styrofoam was damaged. Everything else was good. I transferred the pallet to a 4-wheel dolly and pushed it up the driveway to the front door. There I unpacked the load and transferred the dryer to a 2-wheel dolly to get it into the basement. Unpacking the accessories, I found another 5 trays that I didn’t order! After checking the website, I found out there was a coupon for 5 free trays with the purchase of a dryer! That put me at 18 trays total!
You need to wait a day or two before powering up the dryer to let the oil in the refrigeration system settle. This was fine as I didn’t have the electrical done yet. I then washed all the trays and covers and gave the machine a wipedown with a wet rag to help get rid of any oils or other contaminants that might be present.
There are some pretty good sized cardboard boxes that the dryer comes in. Big enough for silhouette targets, or will make great stock for building boxes. Custom Cardboard Box Making
Assembly
Assembly was pretty simple. Attach the vacuum hose to the dryer port and pump port and torque hand tight. You have to make sure that the O-rings are in place and not damaged in the hose before fitting. Plug the pump into the outlet on the back of the dryer. Next switch the pump ON and set the gas ballast knob of the pump to the off position. Next, check that the pump drain valve is closed and unscrew the demisting filter off the pump, and fill the pump with oil. I used a small metal funnel that I dedicated for this. Watch the sight glass on the pump while filling. Ideally, the pump is full when the oil is in the middle of the sight glass. There is an O-ring on the bottom of the demister that may fall off, if it does, put it back on before screwing the demister back on. After running the pump on the first run, I noticed the oil level dropped about an 1/8th of an inch below the midpoint, so you can overfill by an 1/8th. When pouring the oil, slow down once the oil is seen in the sight glass as it rises quickly, and stop before the midpoint and let the level settle before adding more to top it. I haven’t had problems running the level at 1/8” above the midpoint. Next, you can plug the unit into the wall.
On the other side of the dryer, pull the drain valve out of the hole and route the hose into a bucket. On my unit, the vinyl tubing was emitting plasticizer. It had a real strong chemical smell and would transfer to your fingers. This was something I’ve seen before with chineseium vinyl products. You don’t want this around your food! I replaced the vinyl hose with food-grade vinyl hose that didn’t stink. I added two barbed T fittings just below the drain valve to act as an anti-syphon system. Y fittings would be better, and can be found at FreezeDryingSupplies.com. I routed the hose to the cover of a 2 ½ gallon bucket that sits on the floor. I added a barbed fitting to the cover. The hose will not touch the water in the bucket unless the bucket is about to overflow. I do not seal the lid to the bucket. If you do not install an anti-syphon system empty your bucket after each defrost. If the hose is in the bucket full of water, when you crack open the drain valve on the next run, it will suck water up the hose and flood the vacuum chamber ruining your food. One run can put a gallon of water or more into the bucket.
When unboxing the impulse sealer, check the box for a spare heating element and Teflon cloth. I almost tossed mine out into the fire! It is almost the same color as the cardboard and easily missed! With the sealer, you may need to reseat the fabric by unscrewing the 3 screws on each side plate and pressing the fabric under the plates and tighten the screws. You can plug the sealer into the same outlet circuit as the dryer, since both will generally not be in use at the same time. Setting the sealer on “3” will be good for resealing the oxygen absorber packages, but you’ll have to go to a setting of at least “6” for the bags. Sealing the absorber bags at 6 will make a gooey mess!
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 2.)