Freeze Dryer Door Seal Insulation - Adding This To My Sister's Machine

[@SchoolReports]

Want to support the channel? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm Oops! I forgot a clip in this video - Ice on Door Seal and Condensation on Door - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX6xp6mXbtqHmtU If you are thinking of buying a freeze dryer, please consider supporting us by purchasing through our affiliate link. It helps us and costs you nothing! affiliates.harvestright.com/995.html Before buying a freeze dryer perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; like with any big machine, some people say they have had problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return! Here is the list of Freeze dryers I've heard of: (If anyone knows of any others, please add to the list) (as of July 23rd 2023) harvestright.com/ (only one I've used) All the others might be great, I've just never tried them. p4lfood.com/ "The Cube" Same machine as the 4Patriots one? (Facebook page only a few months old?) 4patriots.com/products/4patriots-home-freeze-drying-system - Maybe built by Prep4 Life? stayfreshfreezedry.com/ - One person start-up import business? (Judging by the corporation papers listing a home as the Registered Address) www.cuddonfreezedry.com/products/ - Big - Probably not really a home unit. At least 20 times bigger than medium HR wmmachinery.com/products/freeze-dryer-for-home-use - Lower priced. Shipped direct from China? www.labrotovap.com/portfolio-item/large-home-freeze-dryer-lyophilizer-for-sale/ - Knockoff? Even used some of Harvest Right web page photos. www.usalab.com/freeze-dryers/ - Two models? Do they make or rebrand. freezedryco.com/equipment/food-cannabis/ Freeze Dry Company - more commercial www.hudsonvalleylyomac.com/stratus-mp3-series-floor-model.html Hudson Valley Lyomac - not really home size units d-freeze.com/ D-Freeze - Not out yet, being built in Canada www.freezedryfood.de/en/ FreezeDry® German bluealpinefreezedryers.com/ Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers - Idaho - Very new/Start-up - Looks very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd look into this one)

[@evapavlovic7049]

Thank you so much for the backer rod tip. It's so much easier to operate now and I hope this will extend the life of our gasket.

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks, and thanks for watching and commenting.

[@larrycenter6360]

Thank you for all the great advice and techniques for freeze drying. Of all the channels we have observed you are by far the easiest to follow and understand. We will be following you lots in the future of our venture into freeze drying. THANKS AGAIN 😊

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@tesshomestead8019]

Thank you

[@Judten1]

Hello. I’ll be watching for your clear disk videoI think these are good ideas. I’ve already bought the small backer rod. Thank you.

[@SchoolReports]

I still haven't finished making her disc. (Head hanging in shame.🤣) Please don't tell her! I cut out the disc more than a month ago and I just need to sand/finish the edges and add the handle and spacers to it. I haven't managed to cram those few minutes of work into a month. "Procrastination: The key to flexibility" 🤣

[@Judten1]

@@SchoolReports Your doing a great job! Take time to heal your wrist. I still have projects waiting for me up to 3 years to finish! 😵‍💫

[@CHEFTECH86]

I have been wondering what you had around your door. Thank you! Off to the building supply store!

[@SchoolReports]

Another viewer, torea26, said they used "flexible white foam material which was used as packing material." I wonder if that might work even better than the bubble stuff?

[@torea26]

We have the same machine as your sister. After seeing your machine's foil bubble wrapped seal last year when we purchased our machine, monkey see monkey do. I looked around the house for some foil bubble wrap. Didn't have any but did use a flexible white foam material which was used as packing material. Wrapping the seal certainly helps with condensation. Your sister's 'backer rod' is an excellent idea too! Love the "Bad" sign t-shirt.

[@SchoolReports]

The white foam stuff sounds like a great choice. I think it might a better material for the job; I wish I'd thought of it!

[@gigihenderson8567]

What I did was just make the piece of bubble wrap that goes behind the door flange narrower, so it would fit behind the metal bar. Even though it’s not quite as good as the rest of the door, it’s better than just the mylar, imho.

[@SchoolReports]

🤣 My sister added a piece of the bubble wrap in that space on hers too after I had finished. You can see it tucked in there on the latest video. Definitely better than just the Mylar. I noticed it the next time I went over for the apple cube video and was a bit ashamed I hadn't thought to do that!

[@kerry1963qld]

Brilliant thankyou for sharing , i didnt use that many layers so ill add some more OH and I did add some sponge around as well

[@SchoolReports]

Thanks! I couldn't believe I forgot to include the video clip of the frozen sea in this video! That was kind of the point of the video, and I left it out. 🤣Oops!

[@kerry1963qld]

@@SchoolReports 😂

[@MP-un5oe]

I just added 10 extra hours for drying to give me enough time to get back to the machine.

[@cherri_p]

I added 12 hours of extra dry time in the event I could not get to it in time or if I knew it would complete sometime in the middle of the night. Would be nice if it would just stay toasty when it finishes instead of freezing.

[@SchoolReports]

Our machines are already permanently set for 12 hours extra dry time! Sometimes that's still not enough for us to get around to taking it out. 😁

[@cherri_p]

@@SchoolReports I work from home and am home most of the time. I tend to be around or it finishes in the middle of the night. I live in Idaho which is pretty dry, so probably have not experienced that level of condensation. My machine is also new, with the 5 tray (not sure that is a better thing as I cannot pile on as much as you can), so possibly something changed since your sisters FD was purchased. Still I love your vids, so much good information for a newbie like me.

[@SchoolReports]

@@cherri_p The 'being new and 5 tray' part shouldn't make a difference for condensation, but being there in a more timely manor, and being in a lower humidity area will! I think the 5 trays versus 4 is a great idea. It shouldn't change the total amount that can be dried in a batch, but the total can be spread across the 5 trays instead in should speed up the drying. Thinner layers = faster drying. I'm on the west edge of Greater Idaho! 😇 (or the upper-middle of the State of Jefferson) Did you happen to consider one of these? bluealpinefreezedryers.com/ Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers - Idaho - Very new/Start-up - Looks very promising!

[@cherri_p]

@@SchoolReports I did consider the the blue alpine but the amount of time to get one was quite long and I was impatient. Makes sense about the faster drying times.

[@kimbrunstudio]

I am interested in creating a plexiglass cover similar to yours. I have perused all your old videos, but failed to find one addressing the construction of the cover. Could you help explain how you made it? Really appreciate it.

[@SchoolReports]

Here is how I made it. Making an Acrylic Disc Front for a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6OrYol6prOcbpI With my older freeze dryer (2017), the opening is not quite round. For my first test piece I cut a very accurate circle out of a piece of foamcore and it had gaps of 1/8"+ (3mm +) around the edge. My sister's new (late 2022) machine (in this video) has a chamber that is very round. I'm in the process of making a disc for her machine and I think the fact that it's actually round will make it easier. 😁 Video coming soon.

[@kimbrunstudio]

Thank you!

[@monicaricher8248]

Mr School Reports, I love watching your posts. You do some amazing things. I was wonder if you make and would sell me one of those disks for my large 5 tray machine that I love. Do you have a site to sell on ? Please advise.

[@SchoolReports]

Sorry, I'm not currently planning to get into making/selling items. (I don't have the time and definitely don't need the headaches!) 😁I wasn't planning to get into teaching 3D design and printing either, but ended up teaching for 3 years a few years back, so who knows. Do you happen to know exactly how big the discs would need to be large machine. In this video I show how I figured out the disc size for my machine. (with my older machine the chamber was not exactly round. With my sister's newer machine the chamber is _very_ round! - Disc Front for a Harvest Right kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6OrYol6prOcbpIsi=Yjh9Ko3cbSeVgKsL I'm wondering if, with the newer machines, we could just order a precut disc on Amazon. They have them precut in one inch increments. I haven checked for custom sizing in inches plus fractions. (I assume when you say 5 tray large, it's the large machine from before they switched the tray number on all the machines a couple months ago, and now the 5 tray is the medium)

[@kerry1963qld]

Hi Dan , the Backer Rod you used , is it sticky on one side ? how does it stick to the machine ?

[@SchoolReports]

This is the one she used. We wrapped it around the barrel snugly, cut the ends square, and then glued the ends together so it's like a giant O-ring. mdbuildingproducts.com/product/backer-rod-fgaps-joints-38x20/

[@C-Culper4874]

This is interesting. I dont have any issues with this. Is the room warm its located in? My dryer is in a room that is air conditioned. Low humidity.

[@SchoolReports]

Having very low humidity will help a lot, but the biggest "problem" for us has simply been that we are often not there when it finishes. It's often waiting for 10 hours or more. In that amount of time there is almost always at least a little condensation on the seal and door front. If you are always there when it finishes, it's probably not an issue, but I've heard from a large number of people who have experienced the same issue. Oops! I forgot a clip in this video - Ice on Door Seal and Condensation on Door - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX6xp6mXbtqHmtU

[@C-Culper4874]

@SchoolReports I am usually close on being home. I try to time it out by the amount of a specific item I put in , etc. The seal on my door to the drum does sqeeze against the sheet metal case. I did miss the batch I'm doing now. It is damp but not frozen. My machine will hold the vacuum and keep the seal squeezed against the housing. Could that be a difference?

[@SchoolReports]

@@C-Culper4874 The seal touching firmly against the case does help. Our hold vacuum well after the pump turns off, but after sitting and waiting for many, many hours, it really doesn't matter. The -40ºf will still make the seal cold. Being there on time probably makes the biggest difference, and I'm _very_ bad at that! 🤣

[@jakestatefarm915]

Does the seal remove easily for cleaning? purposes

[@SchoolReports]

Very easy. It just is a slight friction fit so you just pull it off. Pull evenly and gently.

[@danhandke5012]

👍❤️👍❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@hydej1667]

🙂 🙃 😇 😀 🤪 😎 ❤ 🐸