DIY Dehydrator

>>1152098
Your PC will be blowing dust over your drying vegetables/magic mushrooms

Depending on the airflow through the unit, you'll be reducing your airflow through your pc, so just do some initial stress tests and check temps. also I didn't think dehydrators were heated, it may work faster at the expense of quality.
At that rate you're better off just mounting a pc fan to a box that way it's mobile and easier to use. Simple battery pack/switch for power

>>1152100
Could a filter solve this? I dont see how a little dust could ruin the product

>>1152102
Afaik dehydrators use a little heat such as a warm light bulb, although I have only seen those in biltong driers, not sure about the OP pic. I suppose I may as well make a seperate box at this point

>>1152106
For the sake of the project it would be cool to do, but for practicality I'd say focus more on a standalone unit and put more effort into shelving and such. But hey that's just me

>>1152098
You can buy them for 30 bucks, with temperature control. If you want to do drugs that badly, invest at least a tiny bit of money.

>>1152108
>on /diy/
>telling people to just buy shit
I thought the point of /diy/ was to get creative and make things for the pleasure of the process and eventual end goal

>>1152108
Half of the fun would be kinda the DIY though, plus I know I can make it for cheaper for may as well (got that student budget).

>>1152109
this.

>>1152100
>>1152103
If the PC is cleaned before this is done then it will be no worse than using a standard forced air dehydrator. You can use a filter, but it won't be needed. Just clean the PC with some compressed air before you dehydrate something then 1-2 times a month and it should be fine.

All you need is a box and racks/skewers to hold things. It will be effective and it will work. However, the type of food you are dehydrating will depend on temperature and amount of air flow. You probably won't be doing thick slices of pumpkin as they will putrefy before dehydrating enough. You'll be able to dry things like apple slices and some thinly sliced meats that have a rub applied to them.

Put a box over it with a thermometer inside. Measure the temp. If it is 100F or more, you are good to go with semi-moderate ability (depending on ambient humidity of your environment). If it is under 100F then you'll need to only dehydrate foods that are low moisture content in the first place. If there's not enough heat for the foods you want to dehydrate simply add a 50watt to 100watt light bulb in the bottom. Make sure it doesn't touch anything. You can adjust the temperature by the wattage of the lightbulb, by making airholes you can block off as needed, and/or insulating it with more cardboard pieces on the outside.

If you use cardboard, line it with aluminum foil for durability and heat reflectivity. Use a mixture of 1 part wood glue/elmer's glue and 1 part water to glue foil to cardboard.

Remember, for long term storage the moisture content needs to be under 10% in the food. That's usually cracker crisp for fruits/veggies. If you are doing it for short term, like making fruit jerky/meat jerky then eating it the same day it is done then it won't matter much what the moisture content is.

This is really easy and not much skill or thought is required. It is still pretty fun though.

>>1152108
>buyfag posts

ISHYDDT

>>1152123
I suspect it will be about 80-90F, I think I will add in a separate heat source

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>>1152123
Also get some mesh filters for the intake fans

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I used to dehydrate stuff all the time. Never used heat or air though. Instead, I got a large plastic bowl, put some pic related in the bottom, put a wire mesh screen over it, put another wire mesh screen farther up in the bowl, put some cheese cloth on top of that, then add whatever and seal the lid on top. 24-48 hours would make anything bone dry. Thick objects, thin objects, whatever. Bone fucking dry and ready to save for a decade. No heat required, no power required, totally portable, and a little bit of damp rid goes a long long way. You could probably build three of these and have them working for months for the same cost as one of what you are describing.

>>1152225
How does it affect taste? I feel like it would make it taste pretty bad

>>1152236
No effect at all. The chemical stays tightly bound to itself. Water is strongly attracted to it and will quickly move out of your food and in to the chemical. Eventually, when it has absorbed a lot of water, it will turn in to a thick liquid at the bottom of the container. Just dump it, wash the container, refill it, and go again.

>>1152259
Chances are that dust would effect the taste more than damprid would.

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>>1152263
>>1152100
If that was true all dehydrators would be shit to use since they all pull in dust. Perhaps you need to seriously think about cleaning your PC?

make a wire mesh box
put outside in sun
blow fan on it
wait

>>1152100
bingo

>>1152282
Retail dehydrators have foam screens over the fans...

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I'm disappointed /diy/... Why has nobody mentioned the boxfan dehydrator?
It's a much better option then a fucking PC.
There's nowhere near enough airflow,
way too much heat and a massive waste of electricity.

Here's what you do OP:
>get a box fan
>get an air filter (like this) --> [https://www.amazon.com/Thermwell-Products-15X24x3-F1524-Conditioner/dp/B000BO68BU/]
>get a bungee cord
>get some oven racks
>face box fan up, place air filter ontop, place ovenracks on top of filter, wrap a bungee cord around it all

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>>1152368
I own a commercial sized dehydrator. They don't have filters. You have to simply clean them.

>>1152372
I have one I made for drying herbs. I keep potatoes on it at other times when not in use. Pic fully related. I orient the fan in different ways. Sometimes on the side, the bottom, or top.

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>>1152383
>>1152372
I'm up to ten racks I think now.

>>1152384
>>1152383
Yeah, It's not strictly necessary. You are however absolutely disgusting if you don't use a filter.

>>1152098
>My plan was to build a mountable box that fits on the back of my PC. It uses the exhaust fan for airflow and heat.
Mhhh dusty.

>>1152394
It only takes a day to dry herbs in that. It doesn't get dust on it. I don't live in a city where air has a sootiness/dustiness to it.

Have an old reptile warmer pad lying around, how do you think this will do for just general ambient temp increase? Thinking now of making a rack design with a fan and foil/pad borders

>>1152720
A light bulb is really better. You also need to know the wattage of the reptile pad.

>>1152384
what is the electricity usage like on this? I'm looking for basically the most cost effective usage/drying ratio. Like I'd prefer not to buy a dehydrator but if it's cheaper to run one than buy a boxfan and fork out for juice I can't see the upside bar the fun of bungee cording a boxfan to pallettes.

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>>1152907
20" Boxfan: Low 55 Watts, Med 70 Watts, High 85 Watts

Pretty much nothing. Good for stuff like herbs and such. My big stainless steel commercial dehydrator($200) is 1,200 watts, but it can do literally anything (pic related).

Why is everyone dehydrating stuff? Unless, pick magic mushrooms, microwave until dry, crush into powder, 2 x teaspoons per trip.

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>>1153682
>Why is everyone refrigerating stuff?

>>1153682
Heat breaks down the psilocybin

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>>1152098
Alton Brown has a cheap way to dehydrate using a box fan and a couple furnace filters.

I use a heated unit. Using the exhaust on your pc is autismo ++.