I honestly think putting a thermometer inside the unit is an excellent idea. I sent the following note off to Harvest Right Support in an effort to gain a little better understanding of the process.
Removing the ice from between the chamber wall and the insulation (hopefully will never have to do this again)
My husband has been contemplating cost effective alternative ways to get oil-less vacuum happening... what would the specs needed be, since I don't have a pump to look at. Hopefully I asked that in a way that makes sense.
I have one of those hand held heat guns (inexpensive from HF), but I was afraid of accidently burning the insulation. My gun gets very hot! I do the same technique with a fan, shock the ice and listen for the cracks as it separates from the chamber wall.
April 22, 2025 by Lily James Freeze-drying, also known as lyophilization, is one of the most important processes in the food industry and the pharmacy sector, as it allows for long-term storage of a product without losing its value. Currently, this method is extensively employed for the preservation of active pharmaceutical ingredients, biologics, and food products as moisture is extracted without deteriorating its quality.
It’s super simple, if you aren’t running an Oil Free pump (which we strongly suggest), you should change the vacuum pump’s oil every 20-30 runs (approximately once every month or two with daily use) and ensure the interior chamber as well as your trays are cleaned frequently.
My son is a teenager who is starting to date. He was asked to a school dance last year and the group ate dinner at someone’s house. The host of the dinner contacted me to find out what would be safe for my son to eat.
The system records and maintains a log of the pressure and temperature during all parts of the freeze-dry cycle.
This is why so many people are buying their own freeze dryers to use at home. The market is essentially cornered by Harvest Right, which isn’t a bad thing since their quality and customer service are both superb.
We have two freezers in the garage as well. All of these machines generate heat and humidity. Our FDer front regularly sweats up an storm and water drips off the door and from around the entire chamber perimeter down the front of the unit. website It got so bad that I taped a plastic shield above the display to route the water around it. You can see the water on the door and on the stainless steel front past the 4 screws on the unit.
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.
Modern advancements in technology and product engineering have enabled the use of precise temperature and pressure controls to improve the quality of the product as well as productivity. Collaborating with reputable pharma machinery manufacturers is the surest way for companies to acquire modern technology that suits particular industry needs.
Why? Because many of the meals we cook are intended to be eaten now AND freeze-dried to store away for the long haul. We don’t do it for chicken finger night but by golly we do it whenever she makes her freeze-dryer-appropriate meals like beef stroganoff.
It's hardly the most exciting GoPro video for sure, and some may think it's about as interesting as watching website a tree grow, but if you really want to see the Harvest Right "in action" in order to understand what's happening (not that there's much to see), this provides a "speeded-up" way to do that!