I cut a 4 x 4 at a 45 degree angle for the blocks that will be used to attach the wheels. This way, the surface that the wheel attaches to will be level when the whole box is at a 45 degree angle. I attached the the blocks to the main box by screwing through the main box from the inside of it. This wasn't easy but we managed after a few tries.
After the 2 blocks for the wheels were attached, we attached the wheels to the blocks. Since the provided holes in the wheels were to big for my drywall screws, I had to drill out smaller holes.
Now to attach the legs so the box will stand on it's own. There are a few variables here that will determine the length to cut the two legs. One is how deep the 1 x 2's were placed on the cover and the second is the size of the wheels that were put on. So this is what I did to figure out how long to cut the legs. First, I placed the cover on the box. The top of the leg has to be low enough as to not interfere with the cover. So with the cover on, I drew a line on the outside of the main box at the bottom of the cover. Then I took the cover off. Jen held the main box up at about a 45 degree angle. Putting the main box at a 45 degree angle makes the 1 x 2's that hold the trays on the inside of the box level. I put a level on one of the 1 x 2's used to hold the trays and Jen adjusted the main box until it was level. At this point, I took a 2 x 2, placed it against the box towards the top, leveled it vertically. Then I marked the 2 x 2 about 1 inch below the line that marks where the cover rests. Also, I drew a line where the 2 x 2 meets the main box (vertical) so I could put it back in the same spot after I cut it. I then cut two 2 x 2's exactly the same with the top of the 2 x 2 at a 45 degree angle. I then attached the 2 x 2 to the main box on one side. I measured out the placement of this board so I could attach the other board on the opposite side in the same position. Here is a picture.
After this was done, we painted the the main box and all the pieces for the cover. Now, we used a leftover black paint that we had used for another project so we wouldn't waste it. I admit it probably wasn't the best because it stunk pretty bad. I believe it was a Rustolium paint. Because of this, we let the box dry and air out really well. It just happened to be about 3-4 weeks before we needed to use it and by that time it didn't smell anymore. Looking back, I probably would have used an exterior latex paint or something like that. With a little research, you could probably come up with what's best to use.
So while the paint was drying, we moved onto building the four trays that hold the fruit. Here's the drawing for these.
I made the mistake of only giving 1/8" of play on both sides of the tray. This was too snug of a fit for the tray when placing it into the dehydrator. Especially after putting the screen on. I'd strongly recommend making one tray, see if it works, and then making the final three. This saved me from having to redo all of them. I used the miter saw to cut all the pieces. We set the pieces together on a flat surface, nailed them together with the brad gun, and then put the corner braces in each corner to add strength. I predrilled the holes for the corner brace screws because I was worried about the wood splitting. I just used a drill bit that was smaller than the width of the actual screw so it would still thread into the wood. After this, Jen attached the metal screen.
Now the trays were done.
When everything that was painted was dry, we finished making the cover. We removed the protective plastic on the plexiglass, put it into the cover, and used the brad gun to attach the final cover boards that hold the plexiglass in. Also, we stapled the bug screen over the two ventilation holes on the inside of the main box.
Solar Dehydrator FINISHED!!!! YEAH!!!
Here are some final pictures and a video of the finished product with some final thoughts. Please feel free to ask questions!!!
What about cleaning the trays? can you do it easily? How often do you need to wash it?
ReplyDeleteor do you just replace the bug screen after a while?
Thanks for the dehydrator series, it was a bliss to watch.
You rock!
Anonymous- Cleaning the trays ended up being really difficult. So what I do now is lay down some parchment or wax paper and place what ever I'm drying on top of that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment it's appreciated!
Howdy, Am part way through making a dehydrator based on yours; same so far, just smaller (2'x3'). Am a little stumped about what to make the trays from. I see you used a fine metal screening. I want more air-flow, easier cleanup (saw comment above), and something that can handle whatever heat and humidity will build up at times. I mainly want to dehydrate/slow roast soaked walnuts (my favorite snack), so the trays can have pretty open holes. Any ideas? One friend suggested I get thin stainless steel sheets and poke a ton of holes in them.
ReplyDeleteHow does your dehydrator work? Satisfied? Any other changes you'd recommend?
Thanks so much for posting the how to. Your design fits my needs so much more than any other I spied online!
Laura- Welcome! Our dehydrator is working great and so far we haven't made any changes to the design. As far as the metal screening goes, you could use hardware cloth maybe 1/2" x 1/2" would work. They make even smaller holes but you'd probably have to special order that online. I think the steel sheets might be too sharp but that might work too.
DeleteWe use our dehydrator all the time and really enjoy it. Good luck!!
Yay, thanks for your reply. What is the hardware cloth you used made of? Folks at Lowe's didn't think it would be good to eat things heated on galvanized steel. From what I can see online, at least some hardware cloth is galvanized... Glad to know you haven't felt any need for any changes. How hot does it tend to get in yours? I'm in Florida, so it'll only be partly relevant info, but I'm trying to figure out what the temp range for dehydration is as opposed to slow roasting. The soaked/dried walnuts we love to make usually sit in a 170 degree oven on and off for a day. Thanks again. So glad you're out there, doing what you're doing, and sharing the process here!
DeleteLaura,
DeleteThe hardware cloth is made of galvanized steel but we don't put the food directly on it. The only thing safe would be food safe plastics and for that I have no idea where to look. You could possibly use small wood strips, but that would take some engineering, but it would be food safe and you wouldn't have to worry about any chemicals. We don't put our food directly on the wire screen in our dehydrator, we use parchment paper and place the food to be dehydrated on that. I've never taken a consistent temperature of the dehydrator, I know one time it got up to 190* when it was 86* outside. That seemed to work well for us so I haven't checked it since. I've never tried slow roasting in the dehydrator so I'm no help there. If you have to turn the oven on and off for a day you might have to move the dehydrator in and out of the shade to cool it down so the walnuts don't just bake instead of slow roast.
I'd be interested to hear how hot your dehydrator gets, you guys get WAY more sun than we do so I expect it will be a hotter temperature inside it. Just experiment with the slow roasting, and if you can, report back here. I'd love to hear how it worked out for you!