Freeze dryers? Any suggestions or tips on purchase?

[ne kid]

Thinking of buying one or two possibly. Anyone have any experience with them? Any likes dislikes? There doesn't seem to be many brands available just thinking of upping my game from dehydrators. Just wondering if they are worth it?

[KFhunter]

You gonna go commercial?

What do you want to freeze dry?

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[suga]

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[ne kid]

No not commercial, unless I should. Mainly fruits a and veggies i have 2 large dehydrators going almost all the time, just thinking of stepping up my game.

[KFhunter]

I would do a single large unit first, and don't upgrade the pump to oiless, they been having problems.

Before you buy a FD though start working with mylar bags and o2 absobers.   Instead of a 2nd freeze dryer I'd get a nice vacuum chamber sealer.

Find and old brita filter pitcher, yank out the charcoal filter, and stuff TP rolled up tight in the hole, makes a great oil filter, which you need to filter the pump oil every batch or every other depending on the food.

Prefreeze everything in a -20 freezer before you freezedry, eliminates the vast majority of issues people have with foods expanding under vaccuum then drying into a hard lump - epic mess, looks like a bomb went off, but if its frozen rock hard it'll hold up better when the intense vacuum is applied.

Enough vacuum to boil cold water.

They're neat, it'll take ahwile to make it pay off.



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[ne kid]

Thanks for the response KF maybe I will wait a bit. Sounds like there could be improvements made just hope the world holds out long enough. Guess I will go back to reloading ammo, and stuffing the dehydrators.

[KFhunter]

Working on breakfast this morning

This is one package shy of a full load, medium freezedryer.

Can do 8 meals at a time. I use a chamber vac to seal. No extra air.  100cc o2 absorber but prolly needs 50cc

[KFhunter]

Hard to find low carb options, this is keto, paleo whatever

1lb 6oz each before FD, prolly 2 meals per bag 
I like to eat one big meal per day, figure this will be ate around noon, nap, then out for evening hunt. Few snacks here and there but usually not a big dinner production back at camp after dark.

My sausage
My eggs
Tilimook cheese
Green chili's
Red pepper flakes and some other spices

[KFhunter]

Next up wife made a killer keto lasagna! 

My tomato sauce
My sausage
My hamburger
Lots of cheeses
Cauliflower rice instead of noodles

Also I'm doing hashbrowns so I can mix it in a breakfast from above for daughter or whomever ain't keto.

[boneaddict]

I was all excited about doing it, to better utilize our harvest, but when looking into it, the cost seemed tremendous. 

[KFhunter]

I was all excited about doing it, to better utilize our harvest, but when looking into it, the cost seemed tremendous.

This seems expensive to me

[KFhunter]

It's about 233 meals roughly @ $12 ea (not counting ingredients and supplies) to buy a medium freeze dryer

My bags are like .40c ea bought in bulk a few years back, 7 mil mylar quart size with stand up gusset to mimic mountain house bags.   

Electricity is like $3-4.00 a load according to some youtuber with a killawatt

pump oil $20/gal but you reuse it 3 or 4 times, or more.  A gallon will fill the pump like 5 or 6 times so it will last a long long time recycling it. 


I don't know how to price my ingredients, I would be eating it at home, a lot of it I made or produced.   


I really like knowing exactly what's in the bag, and I can do zero sugar low carb meals. 


I also do a garden produce, I got salad "croutons" that I made from seasoned cherry tomatoes that are fantastic in a salad to replace breaded croutons for example, very crunchy.   

[buckfvr]

I was all excited about doing it, to better utilize our harvest, but when looking into it, the cost seemed tremendous.

This seems expensive to me

EVERYTHING diy/survival/prepper market focused has been blown way out of reality price wise.  Thank all the EMP and other SHF books that are very abundant and close enough to be viable, for having driven this market way way way over the top.  Never hurts to be prepared, just be prepared to spend a bunch of money. 

[Stein]

If you are looking at stacking stuff in the closet, buy it in the large cans instead of the individual mylar packages.  Even if you plan to use it backpacking, it's way cheaper and you can portion however much you want in a zipper vac bag.

[KFhunter]

I'm just trying not to get diabetes, I got an A1C that wasn't real promising a few years ago and freaked out and went keto 


now I'm just making sure my A1C stays where it should, so I don't drink much booze, don't eat candy or cakes, and I try not to eat highly processed crap food, which mountain house is full of.  I was doing peak and other higher end meals, and that added up quickly and still had too many carbs and processed crap. 

screw it, make my own

and that's how I landed on this expensive purchase