Maintenance includes replacing vacuum pump oil if not using an oil-free pump. Then, there’s ongoing storage costs for mylar bags and oxygen absorbers.
Then there are other costs like vacuum pump oil ($16 per year) and any accessories you buy. We have purchased additional trays, tray lids and tray separators.
A reliable vacuum pump is essential for creating the low-pressure environment necessary for sublimation to occur. High-quality vacuum pumps designed specifically for freeze-drying can significantly impact the speed and effectiveness of the process.
We talked about the payback period for freeze driers above because capacity affects the price. If you plan on freeze-drying as a hobby or to stock less than a few hundred pounds of food, the small will probably do.
By using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer, we save money and get to use our garden’s excess produce. This means we have managed to build a reliable food reserve, knowing exactly what’s in each meal.
The Facebook Marketplace might look tempting with the good deals, but some risks come with it. However, buying from this platform comes with significant risks:
I contacted Harvest Right and worked with a tech to solve the problem. After providing the tech my information, he sent what I needed to get the machine up and running. The repair took about an hour and it has run fine since.
Purchasing extra freeze dryer trays has helped us to overcome this bottleneck to some degree. We can process large batches of produce in one go (while it is fresh and the kitchen freeze dryers in Texas is a mess) and put 12 trays worth of food in the deep freeze.
The easy-to-use and proven firmware, convenient modes like ‘candy mode’, and service track record of Harvest Right on the Home Pro models all push the quality to the top.
Growing a ton of fruits and veggies in our garden is rewarding, but we often have gluts of certain produce that means we can’t eat everything before it spoils.
Even canned foods do not retain their original texture and flavor. In each case their water content is to blame. Freeze dried food retains only 2% of its water. When stored properly, it should retain its taste for decades and will probably taste better than plain MRE’s.
Recent events have got a lot of people re-thinking their notions about preparedness. Those who never gave it much of a thought are beginning to think there might be something to the idea of having an emergency stash of food on hand.
While we’re very data-oriented, a freeze dryer does afford you much more flexibility than store-bought freeze-dried food. If you want more control over your food, then a freeze dryer will certainly let you make your food the way you want it.
Freeze drying food also does a better job of preserving the character of the food and its nutritional value. With so many people today concerned about long term preparedness for themselves and their families, a freeze dryer is a simple, common sense solution.