Dehydrator RIP
The batch the Machine Couldn't Quite Finish
I just checked my tomatoes and found my dehydrator had stopped running. Maybe 17 hours straight is just too long for these machines, but many juicy items require a lot of time to finish drying. Alas, perhaps when it cools down, it will work again, but I have my suspicions that it is finished. Fortunately, only one tray of tomatoes wasn’t quite done by the time the machine pooped out. I guess this means I’ll be making a pizza, tapenade, sandwich or snack out of this last batch that’s not quite done.
And, I guess I won’t be buying another box of tomatoes at the farmer’s market tomorrow to dry!
Sadly, I wonder how long the machine was really designed to work. Though I’ve had it for a few years, I think I’ve used it less than 10 times to dry a few batches of tomatoes, a couple of peaches and a couple of apple batches. Hmmm…certainly not a machine that’s made to keep up with a serious food preserver!
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Well, you’ll have the weekend to build the Solar Dehydrator @ http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2008/10/build-solar-dehydrator.html .
As they say, “We built our dehydrator several years ago and have used it each season for tomatoes, figs and for making dried zucchini chips.”
October 6th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
robert, thanks for posting. I just checked this out and would love to build one. Have an inquiry in to see if it would work here in rainy, grey Seattle. The sun has already gone elsewhere for its winter vacation and the rain has returned…