I would prefer those fittings to have internal Este rings and knurled thread on ports (similar to R134a vacuum gauge sets) that do not require high torque compression fittings. Finger tight and you are good to go. You spot a leak, change the O ring and you're back in business.
After the 3rd cycle I had hit my 20 cycle oil limit so it was time to change the oil. This time I took the time to add a flush port to my pump. When I replaced the plumbing with larger diameter brass and a cutoff valve I did not think to add the oil flush out port.
We have to face one hard fact when shopping for home freeze dryers. That fact is, unlike many other purchases, freeze dryers aren't cheap. However, unlike many other purchases, a freeze dryer can provide a lifetime of cost savings that ultimately pay for itself.
With the combination of pharmaceutical and food products needing to be more shelf-stable than before, acquiring ideal freeze-drying machinery is crucial. Modern freeze driers have much more sophisticated control of temperature, pressure, and moisture which guarantees the quality of the product as well as meeting regulatory standards.
Most foods can be freeze dried; however, items with high fat content like avocados may not preserve as well as low-fat foods like fruits or vegetables.
22F, achieved by dividing nove hours by 110F (the difference in food temps). We both know that the FDer doesn't do linear as the temps fall faster early on and slowly peak to max low temps, but the food freeze time might be a tad more linear than the FDer as food is denser and must be frozen throughout.
Let’s be clear: there is no right or wrong answer. In the end, the decision to buy a freeze dryer is ultimately yours. Some people feel it’s best to buy freeze dried food and that’s good enough for them, while others find it an absolute necessity for their household.
Take care of it, change the oil regularly, maintain it, Shop Now and make sure to read the user manual carefully to keep it in good, working order. You might have to change a pump, change freon or general maintenance, but it’s no different than any other major appliance.
Drying things out played a roll as well as the added insulation. We had 3.5 weeks of constant rain here in central NC with humidity over 95% and temps near 95F in the beginning and tapering down to 80F by the end of the rain. The condensation on the front panel around the seal had water running down the front of the Freeze Dryer constantly during the entire cycle, not just the freeze cycle. I initially went into the FDer to simply stop the humdity from reaching the outer chamber shell and freezing.
adding insulation on the 3 ports on the chamber (One time thing - the drain and vacuum ports are very easy to get to)
Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) On 12/1/2015 at 0:16 PM, Jenipher said: 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? Hopefully I said that in a way that makes sense! As well, does it matter which port is used as "in" and which as "out"? Thanks so much, Jen Hi Jen, Sorry to be gone so long. I did exactly as you proposed. I purchased a brass reducer and pushed the blue hose over it.
Run full system test with no food in chamber (results, 630 mTorr lowest steady reading - looking through the oil level window, some bubbling seen in oil even after an hour of pumpdown - some "air" noises from pump)
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And they are so much more flavorful than what you buy at the store. Again, I like to powder vegetables and use them to thicken soups. My family doesn’t even recognize when I add powdered zucchini to spaghetti sauce!