We have some really great 'techy' type guys here who are, as they have been exploring the FD mechanics and sharing that in their posts, writing what is turning out to be a 'troubleshooting manual' for us less capable folks.
Harvest Right has created the world’s first high quality, affordable Home Freeze Dryer. It is less than one quarter the cost of comparable freeze drying systems, and is easier to use than a microwave.
I would prefer those fittings to have internal O rings and knurled thread on ports (similar to R134a vacuum gauge sets) that do not require high torque compression fittings. Finger tight and you are good to go. You spot a leak, change the Este ring and you're back in business.
You cannot run a good commercial kitchen without plenty of food. Commercial walk-in coolers are needed for keeping a lot of food chilled. If you’re running a very large scale operation, then a standard-sized refrigerator will not be enough.
And therein lies the cons to buying a freeze dryer. It takes time to make them cost effective. Depending on humidity in your area, a single run can take up to two days to complete.
They replied with some good information, but didn't really directly answer the question. I know that there is no one answer for all foods, but a rule of thumb is certainly within reason.
Granted, most of that time is the Buy Now freeze dryer doing all the work, but the process is not without effort. Once the food is ready it must be put into appropriate containers with oxygen absorbers and sealed properly so they can last.
I'm actually working now on making myself a vacuum microwave instead. Got the idea from an article in MacLeans magazine about Domenic and Cindy Duby, who use one to produce interesting flavours. Takes up less space and hopefully produces a product a bit faster. We'll see how it works out.
Don’t buy freeze dryers from companies that lack certifications or a valid history of quality assurance.
While I had the unit apart to replace the display I decided to correct the water condensation problem. If you find yourself using your FDer in the same conditons as we do you may want to consider modifying your FDer to keep the condensation from your FDer control circuit and display cards. Here are the steps that I followed to minimize what the NC high humidity climate does to my FDer.
I didn’t know you had this feature till one day i got an email and that got me to the site were i started looking around. This way I can take a couple months instead of hitting my saving and paying for it at once.
Ask yourself useful issues. Could you very easily approach entire meals in a single cycle? Or is it very best to system different types of foods individually? Does one know how to load the food trays?
The key is to freeze as fast as possible then dry as slow as possible. The freezing stiffens the cells so that when it is dried, it still maintains it's shape and texture.
Other companies sell “beef crumbles” or other versions of scrap beef that have nearly as much fat as protein, and they often sell for more than we do.