Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 1 part 1 - Chicken
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ธ.ค. 2024
- Freeze dryer batch #1 - 10 lbs of cooked, diced, chicken. I started precooling the freeze dryer at about 1:50pm 4-24-2022 for this batch.
Link to the spreadsheet docs.google.co...
This list is about getting started on a 500 lb mixed pantry of freeze dried foods in 100 days.
(This may be a bit optimistic and perhaps it'll only be 400 lbs)
Goal of about 85 lbs per category. (100 lbs per category if we don't do the Meals/Dishes)
1) Meats:
2) Vegetables:
3) Fruits:
4) Dairy:
5) Grain / Starch:
6) Meals / Dishes:
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We have been buying oxygen absorbers and 7 mil Mylar bags from PackFreshUSA since early 2018. During all that time (1000's of bag and oxygen absorbers, and about 6 year before before we added this affiliate link) we have been happy with the products and service we have received from them.
I earn from qualifying purchases from the links provided. - packfreshusa.c...
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Before buying a freeze dryer, perhaps research to find out more about the downside of the machine; some people have problems with their machine and it's big and heavy and hard to return!
When trying to decide what to freeze dry you can start by asking why.
Start by asking yourself this question. Why are you freeze drying food? Knowing this should help you decide what you should freeze dry first.
I'm freeze drying because:
Just to freeze dry leftovers?
You want to make your own food for camping/backpacking?
For if/when the SHTF?
For a short term emergency?
You have your own garden and want to freeze dry the food?
You love Costco but don't have a family of 6?
You are good at finding the food sales but only have 1 freezer?
When you cook homemade chili just for yourself you make 10 gallons? Because you have 3 full freezers and are worried about power outages?
If I knew then what I know now, I would have freeze dried things in a different order. Or maybe not, because I started freeze drying because we had 3 full freezers, I was thinking of getting another one, and I decided I should buy a walk-in freezer instead. I started looking into walk-ins and realized they were expensive to buy (even used ones) AND expensive to own and operate. Then I found out Harvest Right was making home sized freeze dryers. One of my first thoughts was "I like Mountain House!" I have used their food for backpacking almost 45 years and we even kept some in our travel trailer, for just in case.
Freeze dried food will stay fresh for many years and be ready and waiting when you need it.
We do videos showing how we are using our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer to freeze dry food for long term storage. (We have the medium size machine that we got in August of 2017) We talk about how to load and unload the freeze dryer, how to know if the food is dry, is it better to freeze dry raw food or cooked food, and do a few taste tests. Freeze dried food is also great for prepping or just for camping and snacking!
First 500 lbs data spreadsheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ieekdk5aH_2OWLUealeOLurU9_zl03BfFEg_qhAgcaA/edit?usp=sharing
Batch worksheet link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13DCB2hXo9_ZYrhIUicLk2IrEaQGszwbaJTcEH8wJxk4/edit?usp=sharing
Want to support this work? Buy me a coffee :-) www.buymeacoffee.com/DanZm
thanks for all your incredible help and such detail.. after buying my large freeze dryer in June of 2022, having many issues, I have just encountered my first freeze drying food issue after forty hours of dry time Total run time. weighed all the trays, after two more hours of drying and switching trays almost the same as yo, center tray is just reversed, the problem , after the second dry time of one extra hour, all trays came out with the almost exact same weight, so figured they were all dry, big mistake the center tray with soup , 1/2 inch thick , the soup was not dry all around the edge and just the surface, the center two inches was still wet , i am saying wet.I have been in contact with harvest right over the issue as the m t does not go below 500 for at least 3/4 of the dry cycle and they told me this is normal, i am wondering in all your 500 loads , have you encountered any thing like this. i have only done fifty loads . Thanks in advance for your input. Ken Ames
@@carolames8805 Issues like this are a big reason why I use thermometers in my food. Because the food would still have been cold, I could have just added a bunch more time without having to even stop the machine to check it.
It is true that most of the freeze drying can/does happen at above 500 mTorr because of the way the heaters cycle on and off. (There can be pressure calibration issues too)
Some full batches of soup or stew (high water batch items) can easily take more than 40 hours. Next part is just a guess - if you get enough ice on the chamber walls it can get close to the rack and start re-sublimating and causing the process to slow down IMMENSELY.
So, if I'm understanding the facts correctly (and I my be missing something), I wouldn't have thought it was a problem - yet.
@@carolames8805 I was just re-reading your comment - Was it a mixed batch? (different foods on the different trays?) If so that would make it even more likely to have this kind of issue. The machine is stupid. To simplify it, it's looking for a time vs temperature vs pressure combo to tell it that it's finished. It is real easy to fool, and mixed batches (or unevenly loaded batches) fool it almost every time.
But, the MACHINE said it was DRY! Why isn't it? (Never trust a machine that's easy to fool!) th-cam.com/video/P0ST6fQuBWA/w-d-xo.html
You remind me of my uncle Marvin, he also had a wonderful sense of humor. Thank you for these videos. I am getting my feeeze drier next week and I want to start out with a plan. It could change as we go, but I have learned so much from you and feel better about starting on this journey.
Until I started making the "First 50 Batch" series of videos, I really hadn't given much thought to having a plan or goal for our freeze drying. (Except making space in our freezers) That was a big reason I started making the series; to tell other people to start with a plan or goal! Having a plan, _any plan,_ is better than no plan! It took us a _long_ time to start freeze drying to/with a plan. Close to 5 years. I learned a lot doing the _50 Batch_ series.
When I started freeze drying the only goal I had was to have less freezers! We had (and still have) 3 full freezers (I like cooking big batches of everything) and I was thinking of getting another one; I decided I should buy a walk-in freezer instead. I started looking into walk-ins and realized they were expensive to buy (even used ones) AND expensive to own and operate. And you still live at risk of power outages and freezer failures. With freeze drying, once it's finished and bagged, it can sit there for years without additional energy input.
If it wasn’t for these videos, I wouldn’t have known where to start or what to do. I need logical steps which you have provided!
Thank you for sharing. Your attention to detail is amazing!
1st off. Thank You for all of your videos and sharing your knowledge!!
And it is So nice!! To finally put a face to the videos!! Keep up the good work and everything you do!!
As a Prepper. I appreciate all the information that you've given!!
Thanks, you might get tired of the face with the next 3+ months of this series!
havent watched this vid yet, only watched the costco chicken one. but had to pop on here and say love the shirt... i need to find or have me one made... but thank you for these vids... i dont have a freeze dryer yet, but still love learning till i can get one
Thanks! (I assume you mean the "Defund" Shirt.
@@SchoolReports yes sir
@@stephaniavanvolkenburg5424 😁 When I was editing this video I had to go back and add the quick shot showing what should be defunded. I didn't want it to be misunderstood. I got it from Amazon.
In one of your other videos you use 7X7 pans with a magnetic divider. I am interested in getting some of those dividers if your willing to share where I could get them.
Thank you for all the time you put into researching what works and what doesn't and sharing your finding with us.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
The dividers are designed to fit the pans we got at a Dollar Tree store. They were called 8x8" but the bottoms are about 7x7", 2 1/2 pans are a perfect fit ** for our medium freeze dryer trays. (Turns out they have them online too www.dollartree.com/cooking-concepts-square-cake-pans-75-in/10065 ) The different batches of pans that we have bought (over the past 20 years) have had slightly different side slopes, which would require a slight change in the divider shape. That's why some of our pans have an "X" on them. I've updated the Thingiverse listing to include a new version of the divider that is slightly narrower at the bottom to fit more of the pans. (I hope!)
The divider is just something I designed and 3D printed to fit our pans. Here is the design and print video if you are interested; th-cam.com/video/3KLblPCTpHk/w-d-xo.html They were printed with ABS then vapor/acetone smoothed to seal them. The file is on Thingiverse. www.thingiverse.com/thing:3848619 (Some people feel that it's wrong to have food touch plastic - it's low on my personal risk list)
For those without a 3D printer, here's my best ideas for getting some 3D printed dividers. Lots of areas have Maker's places with people that would love to do it for you. Or, better yet, some schools have 3D printing labs. Check with a the local charter school that has junior high or high school age students. I taught 3D Design and Printing for 3+ years at a local 6th - 8th grade charter school. We loved it when we could find/were given a real-world project with a real need.
** Clarification on the 2 1/2 pans per tray; it only works IF the divider is the thickness I use. (or thicker) The freeze dryer trays actually fits about 1/2" less than 2 1/2 pans; that's one reason I made the dividers that thick, that and to fit the magnets
I've done multiple batches of Costco rotisserie chicken. My first 2 batches were a shredded whole chicken followed by the packaged meat that they processed. No difference in quality or flavor, the package that they deboned was wetter. Getting the whole chicken means you can cook the scraps to make a broth to freeze which is a bonus and it's cheaper!
Yes! Isn't their rotisserie chicken great?
Edit: Ours worked out to $2 per pound of meat, and as you said then you can make broth. We cooked our rice in the broth.
Thanks a lot. What an exciting series and thank you for letting us being part of it.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Not sure if TH-cam is levels of thinking or age, but I've been freeze drying for years. I search it regularly on TH-cam but, I have never seen this channel. I think I am smart rn but I think I've just unlocked the next one. Hello more advanced preppers!
Well, thanks for checking our our channel!
Yay for getting to put a face with the voice! I'm looking forward to this series. 🙂
Thanks, you might get tired of the face with the next 100 days of this series! I hope to do at least 50 videos, one for each batch, minimum. I hope to even livestream so I can answer questions while I bag.
I am in my first year if freeze drying. So far learning how to do the process and what actually wors. Just started an inventory to plan what gets done versus what's available. I am still doing catch uo from my garden this summer. But much has already been harvested abd in tge freezer. My foods are in quart mason jars.
I just discovered you and your videos! I want to thank you in advance for such detailed videos. THANKYOU!!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I just finished videoing for batch 585 yesterday (85 batches after this one) and it will probably be the must detailed one I've ever done. I'm trying to make it so complete that anyone here can do the whole process in case I can't. 🤣 I"m even going to show a bit of going to the store to get the food!
I got my machine yesterday. I will follow this as closely as possible
Congratulations! I hope you end up liking yours as much as we have ours.
Love the new series almost as much as I love your shirt! :)
Thanks. I had to add that roll-in bit. At first you could only see the "Defund" part of the shirt; I thought it was important to see the "what" was supposed to be defunded.
Thank you for going through the process times ! I appreciate your educational tips
Thanks for watching and commenting. 😀
*LOVE* your shirt in the intro!!! And thank you so much for sharing all this data!
Thanks! I had to redo that part because at first it only showed the "DEFUND" part and I didn't want there to be any doubt about defund what.
@@SchoolReports Good thinking! I gotta get one of those shirts for my husband. We couldn't agree more!
@@SchoolReports Love the tee shirts. I think you need to take photos of each one on laundry day. Add that photo at the end so I don't have to keep pausing and catching it to read it. I am joking of course but it would be fun at the end as a signature sign off. Love your videos, methods and messages.
I’d be interested in seeing a cost comparison between home freeze dried and buying the same quantity from a company like thrive, including food, electricity, and equipment costs
Thanks, I'm hoping to do most of that.
Also, are those milar bags you use good for 20 years with the packets or a different amount of time. I'm still new to this idea of freeze drying for longtime food storage. I've only stored food by pickling or jarring for a year or so in the past. This is very informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge💕
Well, I only know about 5 1/2 years from personal experience with our food in these 7mil Mylar bags. The supplier of the bags, PackFreshUSA, says on their website that the bags offer "Superior oxygen barrier provides over 100 years of protection." So, I'm assuming that 20+ years of storage life for most foods should be reasonable. I hope. 😁
What's that mean in real life? I don't know. Sometimes we have trust that we are not being lied to.😅 (That's hard after the last few years)
When using clear containers, be sure to keep them in the dark. Light can be a trigger to make food go bad faster.
From one of the rancidity papers I've look at: "Oxidative rancidity will always require oxygen to occur. Apart from that though, relatively little is required to start the reaction, it can already be initiated by light."
Love your videos. Could you share where to get the clear front disc and the detailed list of the filter pump filter setup you use?
The disc is just something I made. It's just a tight fitting disc I cut out of Acrylic. (I used 0.075" thick acrylic (1.9mm thick) I would probably use 1/8" (3mm +) next time) The disc seems to work better than the pad that came with the freeze dryer for lowering heat transfer. I'm basing this on the fact that the front of the door does not get as cold with the plastic disc in place as it did with the pad that came with ours. (think airplane window) I love how good of a job it has done and have not experienced any downside. Here is how I made it. Making an Acrylic Disc Front for a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer th-cam.com/video/erH1VDqNi80/w-d-xo.html
If your freeze dryer is like ours, the opening is not quite round. For my first test piece I cut a very accurate circle out of a piece of foamcore and it had gaps of 1/8"+ (3mm +) around the edge.
The detailed list of the filter pump filter setup is still a while off, but I will get there. This video probably shows the most detail so far. Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Cleaning the Oil Filters Between Batches 5 & 6 th-cam.com/video/x0iU-Rd_Q2A/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much. Do you make and sell the half pan separators that you 3D printed?
@@wendealhagan1888 I'm not currently planning to get into selling 3D printed stuff (I wasn't planning to get into teaching 3D design and printing either, but ended up teaching for 3 years, so who knows.)
If I ever start making them to sell, I'll probably have to sell the pan with them because it seems like every time we bought a batch of pans they were a tiny bit different.
I did make a video of designing and printing the divider, with a link to the print files, in case you or someone you know was a printer.
Question.
Im not sure if this is the video where I saw it or not. I remember you using a tool that looks like a fry scooper to gather the finished product off of the freeze dryer trays and empty them into the bags. Do you know where I can purchase one? I have a medium freezer dryer.
thanks for your channel. videos take time to make. I appreciate your knowledge and work.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
😁 The scoop I use is one I "adjusted." After I bought the scoop I cut both sides off and attached 3D printed end pieces to the sides. This is how I changed the scoop - Food Scoop For Freeze Dryer Tray th-cam.com/video/trs26E42Zho/w-d-xo.html It could be done without a 3D printer by heating up the cut off pieces with a heat gun (could be done over a toaster or in an oven) and I was able to easily flatten them. It would then be very easy to sand them to fit the side of the scoop and glue them on.
This is an Amazon affiliate link to the scoop I used for the scoop project: amzn.to/3pdTB4J (I've seen right hand ones and left hand ones, (and dual) and most of the time the left hand ones were cheaper)
I have bought another one and plan to do a video changing it without using a 3D printer, for my sister and her new machine.
So many helpful tips in this series... thank you! We learned about the wonders of Instant Clear Gel from you - - do you think it should be added to sour cream or cream cheese powders, too? 🤔
That's a great question, but I don't know the answer!
After reading a bit about freezing and thawing sour cream, (and its texture shortcomings) I'm going to guess that it could benefit from some Instant Clear Jel. It might be the same for cream cheese. I'll have to try it some time. It seems like they both lose creaminess and can be grainy; Instant Clear Gel helps mostly for things that turn runny.
@@SchoolReports we actually had a container of sour cream freeze from being in back of the fridge - we tried adding a little of the Instant Clear Jel and it did help make it creamy again... made me wonder if you had tried it for FD. Another question to pursue 😁
@@MM-oc3sb That's great to know!
I’ve watched, learned and enjoyed a number of your videos. I’m confused about how you setup your times. Do you customize your freeze time down to -40 degrees before adding your trays then changing to dry time when it reaches that temp with trays added? Or is that something done with the older model? I’ve only used the default setups and add the trays after cooling for 15 min but it is only at about 49 degrees at that time! Most times my product turns out ok - I think! I don’t use the thermometers but wonder if I would get better results your way. Do you have a vid already explaining what / how you set this up and I’ve missed it?
This is one of the reasons I (to date) have chosen to stick with the old firmware. I won't put frozen food into the machine when it's above freezing. (49 degrees! Are they joking?!)
I have our freeze dryer set for a 6 hour freeze, then it has a main dry cycle of 30 hours before going to the final dry cycle. The machine jumps past the remaining main dry time if/when it "senses" that the food is almost done drying. (It's almost wrong by at least a couple hours.) I currently have the final dry time set for 11 hours and I hardly ever go less.
I have an machine from 2017 with older version (v2.4.3) of the firmware, I mention it on a regular basis. I have downloaded multiple versions of the firmware, I've just made the conscious choice to keep my old version. Mine could be "upgraded" to one of the newer versions, but not the newest version, and some of the intermediate versions had some (in my opinion) deficits/issues. I have copies of owners/operators manuals for the different versions so that I can know the differences for when people ask or have questions. I choose to keep the old software because I like the level of manual control it gives me and the information it will display.
That being said, the newer machine's firmware is better, faster and more accurate; it will do a better job assessing the dryness of the food. It still can be fooled. Personally, I wouldn't bag a single for long term storage without doing my "dry check." The exception to this would be if I were doing multiple batches of the same food, of the same amount, loaded on the trays in the same way, with no change in room temperature or humidity, then I might do subsequent batches giving them a couple extra hours and not do the dry checks.
I'm probably a bit neurotic when it comes to water activity levels in the food for storage. I'm using the fact that the weight of the trays of food should stop dropping when all of the water has been removed. After the freeze dryer finishes, I take the trays out, weigh them, put them back in for more final dry time, and then check them again for weight loss. (Dry check) When the weight loss stops, (no more water to remove) they should be dry. I don't bag the food if there is still water in it. I show this a lot in my recent videos. Freeze Drying Your First 500 lbs of Food - Batch 32 - Peas, Frozen th-cam.com/video/mKh9c9nTzgA/w-d-xo.html
My sister's new machine will have the new firmware (and I will probably do some videos with her machine) and she was more concerned with what she would lose than what she would gain.
Great job on these videos! What thermometer(s) are you using? Thank you.
Thanks. We're using these: amzn.to/3ez13qE
Thank you!
I'm sorry that I didn't see the links above when I asked about the thermometers. I have another question about the fan that you clipped to the door to defrost the FD. Do you have a recommendation for that? Thank you again.
@@lindamcham428 No problem! I tried the thermometer link above and it seems to be broken. 😢 There are probably lots of fans that would work. We happened to have a couple of these and it works. amzn.to/3Bs3Pai
I’m looking at these machines now so as a prospective buyer I’m a little concerned that you had to make a special door for it since it’s “out of round”. Is that necessary or are you doing something outside of the normal operation of the machine?
Thanks for watching and commenting! I did not add the disc because of an out of round issue. (The older chamber barrel seem to have been hand rolled (mine is about 1/8" out of round, unlike the newer ones which are amazing round)
The machines don't need the disc. However, for us it's a useful addition because of two related things: condensation and heat transfer. First, while it's cooling, but before the vacuum pump starts, it helps with heat transfer. Second, because I often (very often!) don't get to the machine right away when it finishes, it just sit there chilling. Sometimes it waits 12 hours or more. Very chill, -40 chill. By the time I get around to it, without the front disc and seal insulation, the entire door and seal would be covered with condensation, both liquid and frozen. And then it melts and makes a mess. For people that stay right on top the the process, ready to take it out and check it the minute it beeps, all this is much less needed. All home freeze dryers of similar design, and almost all of them are, will have the same issue under the same conditions.
Here is the list of Freeze dryers I've heard of: (If anyone knows of any others, please add to the list) (updated July 23rd 2023)
harvestright.com/ (The only one I've used. We been very happy with it - affiliate link in description) All the others might be great, I've just never tried them.
p4lfood.com/ "The Cube" Same machine as the 4Patriots one? (Facebook page only a few months old?)
4patriots.com/products/4patriots-home-freeze-drying-system - Maybe built by Prep4 Life?
stayfreshfreezedry.com/ - One person start-up import business? (Judging by the corporation papers listing a home as the Registered Address)
www.cuddonfreezedry.com/products/ - Big - Probably not really a home unit. At least 20 times bigger than medium HR
wmmachinery.com/products/freeze-dryer-for-home-use - Lower priced. Shipped direct from China?
www.labrotovap.com/portfolio-item/large-home-freeze-dryer-lyophilizer-for-sale/ - Knockoff? Even used some of Harvest Right web page photos.
www.usalab.com/freeze-dryers/ - Two models? Do they make or rebrand.
freezedryco.com/equipment/food-cannabis/ Freeze Dry Company - more commercial
www.hudsonvalleylyomac.com/stratus-mp3-series-floor-model.html Hudson Valley Lyomac - not really home size units
d-freeze.com/ D-Freeze - Not out yet, being built in Canada
www.freezedryfood.de/en/ FreezeDry® German
bluealpinefreezedryers.com/ Blue Alpine Freeze Dryers - Idaho - Very new/Start-up - Looks very promising! (If I were buying one today, I'd at least look into this one)
Is it possible to freeze dry seeds and have them rehydrate and grow? Sorry if this is a silly question. I will also try to Google but it might be a question others are interested in?🙄 I hope😁
Thanks for reminding me about this! I'd forgotten that this was one of the things I want to try. Yes it can/has been done and was reported to have worked great.
harvestright.com/blog/2016/freeze-dried-garden-seeds/
What is the clear plastic cover and what is its purpose, over the control panel? I noticed you have one on your sisters machine too. Thanks
🤣 It's just something I added after someone (sister!) saw dust on my screen (before she had her own machine) and wiped it off while a batch was running, not knowing it was a touch screen, and canceled the freeze drying. Oops.
I would like it very much if you could somehow track the volume of the bags when done...As storage space is a big factor for some of us.
I am going to show the bins that they fill as I go, that might give a good idea of storage space. (volume in gallons?)
👍👍👍👍👍
Do you have reflectix around the door opening?
I don't know "reflectix" it could be. I just know it's metalized film bubble stuff. We got our bubble stuff when it arrived wrapped around some frozen food, (a cake, I think) with frozen cold packs, from Harry & David. I saved it knowing that a use for it would show up. And Voilà! There might be even better things to wrap around it, but we had this and I'm cheap!
If your machine is a new one like my sister's then it's going to be a little different than what I did for mine, because of space. We are working on adding these things to her machine and will be posting about in the near future.
Adding Front Seal Insulation To A Harvest Right Freeze Dryer th-cam.com/video/LA1sHVUqKts/w-d-xo.html
Making an Acrylic Disc Front for a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer th-cam.com/video/erH1VDqNi80/w-d-xo.html
sorry new to this stuff, what size Freeze Dryer are you using?
The one I have is a 2017 medium machine.
Are you happy with the medium or do you wish you had bought the large FDer?
When we got ours, the large machine needed a 240v outlet, so without making some wiring changes we couldn't put it where we wanted it. If we were to get one now I still think we would get the medium size. (or perhaps 2 medium ones)
What power meter are you using? I have one, but so believe the wattage is too low for my Med FD
I recorded the power meter a bit on batch 28 of the 50 batch series, and the power usage on my 2017 medium machine peaked at about 1514 watts for a few seconds. The sustained top power usage was less than 1300 watts. (On my sister's 2022 machine the peak and sustained is lower)
This is the power meter I've been using. We have one on each freeze dryer. Power meter amzn.to/3s4RVOr (Amazon affiliate link)
The Kill A Watt had a little better rating, but it didn't have a reset without unplugging the unit. (At least I couldn't find one)
It could be useful to add the price of the food before and then what a generic company would sell that amount of food freeze dried for.
Thanks! I was going to include the price of the food, but that's a great idea to compare it to commercial freeze dried food. When I bought this 10 lbs of cooked cubed chicken it cost $43 and it was 1392 grams after freeze drying.
On Amazon, Augason Farms Freeze-Dried Chicken was about $73 for 454 grams.
@@SchoolReports very nice, that's a huge savings
Over five times as much!
How many pounds of onions can I fit in a Medium FD? I looked at your spreadsheet but I don’t get it. Unless that’s the total pounds you started with for all the times you used the FD?
Column D shows the weight for each batch in grams. I try to do about 10 lb in each batch.
Do you have a favorite link for ordering your bags and oxygen absorbers?
The problem is that if we share the info it'll become even harder for ME to get the bags. 😊 It seems like they have been having a very hard time keeping the bags in stock lately.
We have been getting our Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers form PackFreshUSA.com and have been happy with the products and service we have received from them. --They are not a sponsor, we just like their stuff.
We have been getting our bags from packfreshusa.com/ for a few years; we get the 7mil bags.
The pint bag with OA's packfreshusa.com/pint-seal-top-gusset-7-mil-stand-up-mylar-bags-sets/
These are the ones we get the most: packfreshusa.com/quart-7x-9x3-7-mil-seal-top-gusset-mylar-bags-1000-wholesale/
And these are the 2 quart ones packfreshusa.com/two-quart-7-mil-seal-top-gusset-mylar-bags-500-wholesale/
300cc Oxygen Absorbers in 10-Packs (1000) packfreshusa.com/300cc-oxygen-absorbers-in-10-packs-1000-wholesale/
I appreciate you sharing. I have come to really enjoy your videos and have learned a lot from you. Our machine comes on Monday. The options for bags is overwhelming, so I wanted to know from someone I have come to trust through your shared knowledge. 😊
Are you using the latest software patch? Also, what is that around the door gasket?
No, we have an older version, which allows for more user control in the custom mode. Some foods seem to do better if VERY cold before starting. I made the decision to NOT upgrade to a newer firmware. It's not as good as the newer firmware for automatic use, but that's the trade-offs I've made.
The stuff around the door seal is metalized bubble wrap to help insulate the seal area th-cam.com/video/LA1sHVUqKts/w-d-xo.html
why the meticulous measuring of each tray? Does each tray have a weight limit? or is it for something else?
The reasons for the weighing the food. (In no particular order)
1) To find the weight before and after freeze drying in case we want to rehydrate it to the same level as before drying.
2) Because people have asked.
3) The trays do kind of have a weight limit, in the sense that if you overload the trays it will take much longer to dry.
4) The goal of this series is to freeze dry 500 lbs in 50 batches, which is a push for the medium size machine. So, I'm trying to maximized each load.
Where did your purchase your chicken? Do you have a link?
It was from a restaurant supply store called Chef'Store. We've been shopping there for many years. (It was Smart Foodservice until recently, and before that it was Cash And Carry) They claim 82 locations in 13 states, (as of 4-11-22) with most of them in the upper half of California and the Northwest. www.chefstore.com/locations/ It was branded "FOOD CART" and was packed by the company "BrucePac"
@@SchoolReports thank you!!
replace the bad pop rivet please.
That's funny! You're the first person to ever notice/mention the rivet. I drilled out the front two rivets on that shelf so I can raise it up about an inch for getting videos of things on the tray below it.
@@SchoolReports bothers my A.D.D.......lol
@@shrconstruction I'll change it out for a small bolt. 😀
@@SchoolReports stainless steel 8x32 nut-zert and stainless 8x32 machine screw😉.
I'm a little concerned I didn't process my turkey, beef and pork right. It only took about 18 hours. That's a far cry from the 35 hours showing on your spreadsheet. Did I do it wrong? It seemed very dry and broke apart easily. I did weigh it initially and then weighed it when it was done. Just occurring to me that I didn't put as much chicken on my trays so maybe that's why?
Eighteen hours is blazing fast, but not impossible if the batch were small enough.
Almost all my batches (especially for the 500 lbs of food series of videos) were 10 pounds, with 2 1/2 pounds per tray, and that would make a difference. Mine is also an older machine. With the newer, 5 tray medium machines, I would only be putting 2 pounds on each tray instead of 2 1/2 lbs.per tray. A smaller amount of food spread in a thinner layer will dry much faster. Also the newer machines are a little faster, assuming everything else being equal.
If the _Dry Check_ weighing shows no weight loss, it should be good. Being very dry and breaking apart easily does not really confirm whether or not a food is dry.
So I have an XL Pro which has longer trays. Given what you have said I'm thinking it would be okay. My initial weight before FD was about 4 lbs. per tray. My chicken was shredded and was spread very thin. My sirloin was sliced about 1/4 inch thick and not layered. I guess I'm being too conservative with my initial FD portions.? Thanks so much for your help. @@SchoolReports
@@robynkaye2375 Probably fine. But nothing else matters besides the _Dry Check._
28 pounds for a XL machine probably is conservative, (the new XL has about 4 times the tray space as mine - about 2200 sq in vs about 540 sq in) but it won't hurt anything to be light either. Better than too heavy.
If I want something with many( 10 layers or more) and large layers, where I can find? And what is the best brand?
Do you mean a freeze dryer with 10+ large trays? I think for that you currently have to go with a commercial freeze dryer costing many thousands of dollars.
Yes I know but there are some company that produce big and large freeze dryer cheap and useful. Space inside is 1m×1m×1m. Something that doesn't pass 7000€
@@pintchigawza6496 That sounds great! Let me know which one you end up getting. Thanks.
@@SchoolReports i know it existe but i cant find, only only Chinese products which I dont know if they are good.
Where did you get the chicken I haven't found any diced
It was from a restaurant supply store called Chef'Store. We've been shopping there for many years. (It was Smart Foodservice until recently, and before that it was Cash And Carry) They claim 82 locations in 13 states, (4-11-22) with most of them in the upper half of California and the Northwest. www.chefstore.com/locations/ It was branded "FOOD CART" and was packed by the company "BrucePac" (and wow the prices are sure up everywhere right now)
For this series, we just went there on Saturday and got 100 lbs of food for freeze drying. Frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, and shredded cheese.
(Edit: We got 50 lbs not 100 lbs. It was 10 five pound bags)
Where did you get the inside door
It's just something I made. It's just a tight fitting disc I cut out of Acrylic. (I used 0.075" thick acrylic (1.9mm thick) I would probably use 1/8" (3mm +) next time) The disc seems to work better than the pad that came with the freeze dryer for lowering heat transfer. I'm basing this on the fact that the front of the door does not get as cold with the plastic disc in place as it did with the pad that came with ours. (think airplane window) I love how good of a job it has done and have not experienced any downside. Here is how I made it. Making an Acrylic Disc Front for a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer th-cam.com/video/erH1VDqNi80/w-d-xo.html
If your freeze dryer is like ours, the opening is not quite round. For my first test piece I cut a very accurate circle out of a piece of foamcore and it had gaps of 1/8"+ (3mm +) around the edge.
My FD only freezes to about -20°. Would it help the FDing process to lower the freezing temperature on my machine? And if so, how would it help? Thanks
The food going down to -20º should be fine for almost all foods, but the chamber wall should be getting down to -40º The newer machines like my sister's prevents the trays from getting below about -20 during the freezing process. If you want to find out how cold your machine is/can get, at the end of a batch you could just not stop the machine and let it sit there freezing. It will get very cold. Or put a thermometer inside touching the chamber wall.
I'll put this on my - videos-I-should-make list. I'm finding it hard to explain, but I think it would be easy to show.
@@SchoolReports I have a newer machine, bought in 2023. I changed the setting to -20°. It was actually only set to -10° from the factory.
@@judyjohnson1012 Cold is nice! The -20 and/or the -10 is still (I believe) measured at the tray, not the chamber wall temperature. The chamber wall should still be -40. (or lower)
Defund the media, we wish, quality doesn't exist when almost everyone consumes fast food media, if people were looking for quality channels like this would have the million subscribers, instead we have Kardashians.
Thanks.