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How to make your own solar food dehydrator | DIY Garden Projects | Gardening Australia



Costa is upcycling some found materials into making a DIY solar dehydrator. Dehydrating fruit and veg is a great way of preserving excess. Subscribe ๐Ÿ”” http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

What you need:
An old table
Hardwood timber planks for edging
Timber and metal saws
Clamp to secure timber
Galvanised corrugated iron base
Dark paint, if needed
Galvanised screws
Screwdriver
Drill with large bits for drilling aeration holes
Flyscreen offcuts.
Stapler or glue to hold flyscreen in place.
Smaller, thinner timber offcuts to support drying racks inside the frame
Flyscreens or similar to act as drying racks
Glass cover
Wheels on an axel for one pair of table legs.
Angle grinder

What you do:
– Costa uses the old table as his base.

– He has found some planks of 4×2 timber to form a box frame on top, which will act as the edging. Because some pieces are not straight, he clamps them into place to keep them straighter.

– Screw the frame timbers together at the corners.

– To ensure good airflow inside, Costa lines the base with two pieces of galvanised corrugated iron, cut to size. The pieces he has found are dark coloured so will heat up well in the sun; lighter-coloured pieces can be painted black.

– These are simply laid in place, not fixed, so they can be taken out for cleaning.

– Drill ventilation holes into the side of the frame to maintain good airflow in the frame.

– Line the top of the wood where the holes are with fly screen to keep hungry insects out. Costa staples his in place with an upholstery stapler, but you could use suitable glue.

– To sit the drying food on, Costa has used old fly screens that heโ€™s cut to size, replacing the old netting with new, clean netting.

– These sit just inside the frame, so he props them up on two pieces of offcut architrave placed at either side of the frame. Any thin timber with a wide about half the height of the frame would do.

– He has found an old window to cover the whole box. Itโ€™s quite heavy, so heโ€™s fixing it in place with heavy-duty hinges, which have to be carefully attached to the window frame to avoid damaging the glass.

– So the table can be moved around, he attaches wheels to one set of legs.

– Finally, he uses the angle grinder to cut down the other set of legs so the table can be positioned to face the sun, catching the sunโ€™s rays at a better angle.

Using the frame:

– Place thin slices of fruit on the netting, cover and leave in the sun until the fruit is flexible but leathery. It can be stored in glass jars and stored in a cool, dry place.

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45 Comments

  1. Giggles McGee

    Love this man! Me and the kids watch everything he does! He gives me such motivation and enthusiasm for my yard! Don't ever change Costa!

  6. amank ubuy

    good job brother,,thank you for sharing How to make a solar dehydrator ..you are very creative,,

  7. Karen Session

    I absolutely LOVE it when I see repurposed items. The longer they're kept out of the landfill, the better. ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฟ

  11. Dr PK

    Very suspicious that whatever he found were right size fit each other ๐Ÿ˜‰

  15. Kayenne54

    2:44 Yep. I once sat under a corrugated iron roofed patio with a corrugated iron wall behind me. Got sunstroke in the shade. Can verify corrugated iron radiates heat. Thanks so much for this useful "how to" ๐Ÿ˜‰

  19. Cassie Oz

    I LOVE repurposing stuff but I'm obviously not living in the wrong place cuz I've just never seen these materials lying on the verge.

  23. bushgirl62

    Brilliant as I currently dry food in the oven so need to be home as it dries. This I can load then go to town, to buy other items I can't produce, and check it when I come home :).

  24. Kevin Jamieson

    Thanks for sharing how you cut and reshaped the screen. As well as how you found a piece of glass that fit your design perfectly.
    Ridiculous.

  26. Just Me

    Using paint?! painted table top, side timbers, corrugated iron …. think of the off-gassing. Sorry, no way do I want to vape my fruits. Really concerned about this clip๐Ÿ˜ฎ

  31. Pootling along

    Amazing, love this. Unsure whether our UK weather would help, although this summer (2022) we could dry out anything in our 3 month long heatwave!

  32. Crystal Dragon

    Hey its my doppelganger from down under! Nice dehydrator. I was looking at designs for a solar dehydrator with the exact same concept in mind as what you have presented. It gives me the confidence to move forward with the project. I honestly hadn't thought of using corrugated metal as a heat shield/ drip tray.

  44. Mary Mitchell

    Thank you for making this video!!!! You are amazing, and being cute just makes it even better!!!!!!!
    I've been trying to figure out the best design to make a sun dehydrator. After seeing this my search is over!!!
    Love, Love, Love your genius !!!!!! I have subscribed and bell for all of your vids!!! ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ˜˜

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