The shelf heaters can be set to automatically control the rate of sublimation during the primary drying cycle.

Furthermore, the development of vacuum drying and the control of temperature rise have increased the efficiency of the freeze-drying systems which leads to reduced cycle times and lower costs. The development of the industry gives a lot of hope for the future of freeze drying in both the pharmaceutical and food industry.

Our electricity was very high when we had it in AK because our electric company charged a lot, but in Texas, it’s very cheap to run. I don’t mind that I can’t freeze dry some things, as most of the things that you can’t freeze dry, you can purchase commercially or they shelf stable as is. For instance, I don’t freeze dry butter, but I do buy powdered butter. Oh, here’s one more potential con:

Tony, if you see this, I went ahead and purchased the catch can. Do you think it's okay to just purchase a reducer to go from the size of the exhaust to the size of the hose that came with the can?

If you store something with fats and oils in it, it can go rancid quicker than those without it. So again, something that has a higher fat content, it may only last about 10 years instead of 25 years.

Freeze drying lets you say goodbye to food waste by extending the shelf life of your food. Every dollar you save on groceries goes back into your pocket.

And once you have resolved your issue I hope you will stay around and talk to us all about what you have been drying in your machine, etc. 1

The pros and cons are easy to understand. In fact, there really is only one pro and it’s a huge one. YOU control the food you’re storing away for yourself and your family. Those who are willing to spend the time and money to freeze dry their own food should do so as long as they’re going to be committed.

Control of the amount of time a material is held at the ultimate freeze temperature before the drying cycle is started.

Freeze drying definitely saves my family money. We have a lot less food waste because leftover food can be freeze dried for later use.

And therein lies the cons to buying a freeze dryer. It takes time to make them cost effective. Depending on humidity in your area, a single run can take up to two days to complete.

5 Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks dsheidt. I was afraid that the AN8 fittings I could find might not be long enough to provide the space needed so that the oil could flow over the top of the filter, especially given my "disk" method of holding up the can.

Why? Because many of the meals we cook are intended to be eaten now AND freeze-dried to store away for the long haul. We don’t do it for chicken finger night but by golly we do it whenever she makes her freeze-dryer-appropriate meals like beef stroganoff.

I, too, get more info have noticed a significant difference when I defrost mid-cycle. I do that routinely now. I carefully use a heat gun to "shock" the surface of the ice, moving back and forth across it fairly swiftly, which causes it to crack and separate somewhat from the cylinder.