   Eraupe (Eraupe) New member Username: Eraupe Post Number: 6 Registered: 06-2004 |
This is the setup I use for drying large amounts of mushrooms:  I got the muffin fans off of ebay, they push a heck of a lot of air around. The reducers, ducting, totes, dessicant and diffuser grating were all found at Home Depot. The "desssicant cakes" were an accidental discovery I made when trying to dry out some used dessicant in the microwave. Instead of drying out for reuse like it does in the oven, the dessicant kind of melts together to make a little rock-hard cake. I made about 30 of them and placed them in the chamber on a fluorescent diffuser grating. The cakes slowly melt as they absorb water, resulting in dripping/accumulation of a slimy water/dessicant fluid in the bottom of the chamber. Since the tote walls are tapered a little, the grating can be carefully cut to size and just pressed down into the tote. With careful measurement and a little tweeking the grating can just rely on the taper of the tote for support. Several layers of grating completely covered in fruit bodies are layered above the bottom grating that has the dessicant cakes. The duct/fan system is sealed up and held together with silicone sealer and duct tape. The system dries the mushrooms incredibly fast, I can't give an accurate # of hours because I was constantly taking dry fruits out and putting fresh picked ones into the chamber when it was in use. | ||
Hippie3 (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 31165 Registered: 02-2001 |
archive material  Namaste |
