How to make your own solar food dehydrator | DIY Garden Projects | Gardening Australia

Costa is upcycling some found materials into making a DIY solar dehydrator. Dehydrating fruit and veg is a great way of preserving excess. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
What you need:
An old table
Hardwood timber planks for edging
Timber and metal saws
Clamp to secure timber
Galvanised corrugated iron base
Dark paint, if needed
Galvanised screws
Screwdriver
Drill with large bits for drilling aeration holes
Flyscreen offcuts.
Stapler or glue to hold flyscreen in place.
Smaller, thinner timber offcuts to support drying racks inside the frame
Flyscreens or similar to act as drying racks
Glass cover
Wheels on an axel for one pair of table legs.
Angle grinder
What you do:
- Costa uses the old table as his base.
- He has found some planks of 4x2 timber to form a box frame on top, which will act as the edging. Because some pieces are not straight, he clamps them into place to keep them straighter.
- Screw the frame timbers together at the corners.
- To ensure good airflow inside, Costa lines the base with two pieces of galvanised corrugated iron, cut to size. The pieces he has found are dark coloured so will heat up well in the sun; lighter-coloured pieces can be painted black.
- These are simply laid in place, not fixed, so they can be taken out for cleaning.
- Drill ventilation holes into the side of the frame to maintain good airflow in the frame.
- Line the top of the wood where the holes are with fly screen to keep hungry insects out. Costa staples his in place with an upholstery stapler, but you could use suitable glue.
- To sit the drying food on, Costa has used old fly screens that he’s cut to size, replacing the old netting with new, clean netting.
- These sit just inside the frame, so he props them up on two pieces of offcut architrave placed at either side of the frame. Any thin timber with a wide about half the height of the frame would do.
- He has found an old window to cover the whole box. It’s quite heavy, so he’s fixing it in place with heavy-duty hinges, which have to be carefully attached to the window frame to avoid damaging the glass.
- So the table can be moved around, he attaches wheels to one set of legs.
- Finally, he uses the angle grinder to cut down the other set of legs so the table can be positioned to face the sun, catching the sun’s rays at a better angle.
Using the frame:
- Place thin slices of fruit on the netting, cover and leave in the sun until the fruit is flexible but leathery. It can be stored in glass jars and stored in a cool, dry place.
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[@kasession]

I absolutely LOVE it when I see repurposed items. The longer they're kept out of the landfill, the better. 👍🏿

[@Luc59]

I love his enthusiasm! He really gets me excited!

[@gigglesmcgee2052]

Love this man! Me and the kids watch everything he does! He gives me such motivation and enthusiasm for my yard! Don't ever change Costa!

[@orionlottering7349]

I love you too. Lovely spirit!

Thanks for your sharing, finding an used glass door matching exactly size with the table was amazing!

[@StreetMachine18]

my wife is gunna love this after i build it!

[@Kayenne54]

2:44 Yep. I once sat under a corrugated iron roofed patio with a corrugated iron wall behind me. Got sunstroke in the shade. Can verify corrugated iron radiates heat. Thanks so much for this useful "how to" ;-)

[@justinamontgomery2618]

Amazing! Loved this project!

[@belindawang4433]

Smart way to do it! Thanks for sharing.

[@ronaldkigula1649]

Perfect.welldone Mr.

[@bushgirl62]

Brilliant as I currently dry food in the oven so need to be home as it dries. This I can load then go to town, to buy other items I can't produce, and check it when I come home :).

[@TheVerdictMusic]

Absolutely amazing. Thank you!

[@GemstonePhilosophy]

Hey its my doppelganger from down under! Nice dehydrator. I was looking at designs for a solar dehydrator with the exact same concept in mind as what you have presented. It gives me the confidence to move forward with the project. I honestly hadn't thought of using corrugated metal as a heat shield/ drip tray.

[@deniseward002]

This was awesome. Very inspiring.

[@marymitchell2014]

Thank you for making this video!!!! You are amazing, and being cute just makes it even better!!!!!!! I've been trying to figure out the best design to make a sun dehydrator. After seeing this my search is over!!! Love, Love, Love your genius !!!!!! I have subscribed and bell for all of your vids!!! 😘😘😘😘

[@margareth1504]

Wonderful

[@dirtdiggerjerry]

Excellent!

[@taopheeqogunkunle8256]

This is amazing! Have been looking for a simpler design like this. Thanks

[@GardeningAustralia]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vmfamilylife]

Great idea. Thank you for sharing 🥰🥰

[@tedl178]

Chong in the garden...nooice!✌😁

[@patrickrevelo6568]

very good amigo thank you for the knowledge

[@ShirleiBarnes]

Great!

[@tonyrod4388]

I like this mate! Great project! Subscribed!

[@ManfredTaege]

Marvellous

[@marisolherrero1197]

Gracias Amigo from Mexico

[@mada658]

Thanks moses.👍

[@patricktcrowe]

I’ll be making one of these. I think I’ll add a thermostatically controlled fan.

[@pootlingalong8928]

Amazing, love this. Unsure whether our UK weather would help, although this summer (2022) we could dry out anything in our 3 month long heatwave!

[@pilotgundul]

Thanks.. that is awesome :)

[@amankubuy]

good job brother,,thank you for sharing How to make a solar dehydrator ..you are very creative,,

[@thatswhatisaid8908]

I wonder if it would work on a smaller scale? I love the idea but don't have the room it.

[@myunknownland9272]

Love it. If only we had the same resources of free stuff. I saved it to make it in the near future. Thanks so much. Very interesting. Xo

[@gigglesmcgee2052]

If you have a car or a friend who can help you could check out the tip or your local green shed.

[@azzamattaz]

Costa did well finding an old table, glass and fly screens all the perfect size for each other

[@myunknownland9272]

@@gigglesmcgee2052 sadly no. But great idea. Stay safe, thanks for replying

[@haylijonas2215]

muito Top vc e Dez cara .

[@staceyclark158]

Thank you!

[@GardeningAustralia]

You're welcome!

[@brooksrussell5695]

I just want to follow this guy around and here what he has to say

[@tosstoness]

would slate roof tiles be as absorbent as tin for heat ?

[@shreeramshirodkar]

Wheels on Axle please give the link

[@tasost2161]

Can you dehydrate juice in a natural dehydrator?

[@walf2]

how deep is the frame ?

[@shamshersinghfarmernews884]

👍

[@leighriah5295]

How long does food last?

[@akhilach]

Can this method will protect from birds as well??

[@claire0985]

Could you use this for dehydrating mushrooms?

[@HGCUPCAKES]

Yep

[@nil0bject]

should mention that collecting rubbish can be dangerous

[@kevinjamiesonbelou]

Thanks for sharing how you cut and reshaped the screen. As well as how you found a piece of glass that fit your design perfectly. Ridiculous.

[@carolyns99]

Yes, perfectly fit the table that he found "on the street". 🤣

[@rong-jiechew1565]

wassup people doing DES 2D

[@yaksmowing]

Might have to give this a crack

[@cassieoz1702]

I LOVE repurposing stuff but I'm obviously not living in the wrong place cuz I've just never seen these materials lying on the verge.

[@drpk6514]

Very suspicious that whatever he found were right size fit each other ;)

[@mickdodd8538]

Yes mabe ,but it works,

[@tootstweet]

Using paint?! painted table top, side timbers, corrugated iron .... think of the off-gassing. Sorry, no way do I want to vape my fruits. Really concerned about this clip😮