Culvert Pipe Food Dryer…
So I got me some leftover plastic Culvert pipe.
Plastic Culvert pipe has many uses…other than being for culverts.
What to do with this I thought to myself? Then it came to me… Make a food dehydrator out of it! So this is what I came up with…
Finished Food Dryer with old blower from a Christmas “Blow up Snowman”
So using a old blower fan I had from a worn out Christmas “Blow up Snowman” some plywood, some plastic window screen, and a couple of “Banned” 100 watt light-bulbs, I proceeded to build this little contraption.
Those are real 100 watt “Edison Bulbs” – Contraband these days in the USA…
Using two ceramic light bulb sockets and 2 100 watt light bulbs I first created the lower section that generates the heat for drying. Note that there are concentric ring of holes around the bottom of the pipe and where the plywood meet so that air is constantly moving, carrying heat upwards.
single sections of pipe-rings with window screen held in by zip ties.
The pipe is cut into “Rings” that are done ins a way so that can stack like plates on top of each other. Then using plastic window screen and plastic zip ties, you create the food holding trays. As these are all high heat plastic (they withstand up to 400 degrees) they are dishwasher safe!
Hot water heater thermostat turns off the bulbs if things get too hot inside.
The blower goes on the top to suction the air out of the dryer and keep a constant flow of air moving. The metal dissipation plate forces the air to move around the food completely so there are not spots where air is trapped. The hot water heater thermostat is there as a safety precaution to shut off the light bulbs if it gets too hot inside.
I have dried tomatoes, bananas, many spices, etc in this dryer and it works very well. I would probably make the stack-able rings a bit more stable if I were to do it again, but all in all this is a single day project that can really add to your food processing skills and give you a bountiful harvest of dried seasonings, “sun dried” tomatoes, and other dehydrated delicacies!