I sent Harvest Right a note with a picture and they immediately shipped me a new display. Great Service again from the support team there! I think water had dripped down the front and the back of the unit and onto the display card shorting it out.
Brian Nichols Albert was responsive, informed and efficient. Harvest Right freeze dryer and kit are as expected, arrived sooner than expected, passed functional test and initial "bread run". Highly recommend both the company and the product.
AI-enabled systems make the work of the freeze dryers more accurate, consume less energy, and generally improve management of the control processes.
Over night the FDer warmed up and the next morning we had a massive puddle under it - running off the counter onto the floor. I cleaned up the mess, but the next day the puddle was even bigger. On the 3rd day it was back again just as large even though I left a large towel under the FDer.
2. Space Requirements: Ensure you have adequate space for the unit since they need to be elevated for proper drainage and ventilation.
Freeze drying is a dehydration process that removes moisture from food while preserving its structure and nutritional value by freezing it first and then creating a vacuum around it.
Is it as cheap as buying at the store? No. But properly freeze-dried and stored meats can last ten years or more without refrigeration. The freeze-drying process can be challenging, but those who have the time and patience should consider doing it.
Agree entirely on the fittings! After many emails and phone calls to HR, some advice that didn't pan out, and some parts replacement, the unit is back in business! Turns out it was the wire passthrough for the heater wires.
In any case, maybe it will help some newbie HR Freeze Dryer owners to answer some of the questions I once had.
Pre-frozen food takes less time to process since the machine doesn’t have to completely freeze the food. Your climate (humidity and temperature) can also affect the cycle length. My average load takes around 24 hours, but it can be significantly longer.
The only downside is that the interior is now so cold that defrost time has doubled! I use a large high volume fan to defrost the unit, not the heat trays. It used to be a 15 minute job, now it is closer to 30 minutes.
You can freeze dry soy and almond milk as well as most non-dairy yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese substitutes. This has been especially helpful in avoiding food waste, as my son is the only one who uses the non-dairy substitutes, and he rarely is able to finish them before they go bad. I just throw them in the freeze dryer for him to eat later.
As I mentioned before, freeze dryers are more info an investment. They're an investment because of all the benefits they bring to you and your self-reliance.
Dehydrating simply removes the moisture by using heat to evaporate the moisture to dry it. Freeze drying retains more nutrition than dehydrating in general.