Solar Power & Energy

Requirements:
- Plywood
- 2 inch by 4 inch boards
- 1 inch by 2 inch boards
- Steel wire or other food safe mesh material
- Screws, nails or staples
- Small door hinge
- Glass or plexiglass (optional)
- Lightbulbs (optional)
- Small fan (optional)

Step 1
Cut your plywood into five or six pieces with equal widths and heights. A solar dehydrator that is two feet wide by two feet tall needs five pieces of two foot by two foot plywood, and an electric one needs six pieces. To make a dehydrator that is taller than it is wide, cut four pieces wood into rectangular pieces and the remaining one or two to match the length and width of the box.

Step 2
Measure the one by two inch boards into lengths that fit the width of your plywood sides minus room for the two by four corners. Cut the boards to length.

Step 3
Attach the one by two inch cut pieces to two of the plywood sides, at even intervals. These small boards will be your dehydrator tray supports, so space them far enough apart to accommodate the trays and food. If you’re building an electric food dehydrator, leave enough space below the bottom tray for a light bulb and fan.

Step 4
Screw or nail three of the side pieces of plywood to two by four inch boards, keeping the tray support sides opposite each other. The two by four inch boards are the corner pieces of your dehydrator box.

Step 5
Paint the bottom board black if you plan to create a solar food dehydrator, and allow it to dry for several days before using it to ensure no paint toxicity will get into the food you’re drying.

Step 6
Screw or nail the bottom board onto the bottom dehydrator box assembly. If you plan to use the food dehydrator as a solar dehydrator, drill or cut a one to two inch opening in the bottom plywood board, and cover it with wire mesh screen. Also drill or cut a one to two inch opening at the top of the back wall of the dehydrator and cover it with wire mesh screen.

Step 7
Screw or nail the top board onto the top of the dehydrator box assembly if you plan to create an electric food dehydrator. For a solar food dehydrator, place the glass sheet on the top instead.

Step 8
Attach door hinges to the fourth dehydrator side piece, and attach the hinges to the dehydrator box assembly. This is the dehydrator door that allows you to move food in and out.

Step 9
Measure four one by two inch boards to fit the inside of the food dehydrator. The longest board pieces must overlap the built in board tray supports.

Step 10
Staple or nail the four boards together into a frame, then stretch wire mesh or other food safe mesh screen across the frame. Staple the mesh securely onto the board frame.

Step 11
Place evenly spaced food onto the mesh screens, and insert them into the food dehydrator. Close the door and put the glass top onto the dehydrator for sun drying. For electric drying, place one or two light bulbs under the bottom food tray to generate heat. Optionally add a small fan such as those used to cool computer CPUs, to circulate the warm air and speed up the drying process.

Tips
Sit a solar food dehydrator onto a stool or leg assembly so that fresh air can enter the bottom vent. Sun enters the glass top and is heated by the black painted bottom. As the warm air rises it can escape out the top vents, creating continuously moving air flow that helps speed the food drying.

While there are several variations on this design, the basic concepts for solar or electric food dehydrators is the same: The air needs to circulate freely and be warmed so that it can extract the moisture from the food quickly enough to keep the food from spoiling.

Warnings
Solar food dehydrators may not work well in areas that have high humidity.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Mother Earth News: Build a Solar Food Dehydrator