You’ll have to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons. For me personally, none of the cons outweighed the pros. The high price tag is an investment in my ability to preserve food for long periods of time for me and my family without relying on others. The noise doesn’t bother any of us and it’s like white noise.
Be aware that it is very important to drink liquids when eating freeze dried foods that haven’t been reconstituted.
Granted, most of that time is the freeze dryer doing all the work, but the process is not without effort. Once the food is ready it must be put into appropriate containers with oxygen absorbers and sealed properly so they can last.
I take trips to larger stores to stock up on gluten-free and lactose free staples. Then I can use those to make meals or freeze dry the individual components.
The pros and cons are easy to understand. In fact, there really is only one pro and it’s a huge one. Those who are willing to spend the time and money to freeze dry their own food should do so as long as they’re going to be committed.
I want my son to have great meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, just as the rest of us do. And it’s not feasible for me to cook the entire meal for a huge crowd.
And once you have resolved your issue I hope you will stay around and talk to us all about what you have been drying in your machine, etc. 1
Take care of it, change the oil regularly, maintain it, and make sure to read the user manual carefully to keep it in good, working order. You might have to change a pump, change freon or general maintenance, but it’s pelo different than any other major appliance.
And therein lies the cons to buying a freeze dryer. It takes time to make them cost effective. Depending on humidity in your area, a single run Buy Now can take up to two days to complete.
12 Posted September 16, 2015 You've given me an idea. I have the parts at the shop to use an actual filter head and a spin on filter. I could have a bracket laser cut and powder-coated that would hold the filter/head assembly horizontal which would allow it to completely drain and the outside of the filter would stay clean.
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.
Another best practice is to set up a station. This will take space. Having a freeze dryer, freezer, prep table, and processing area all together has been a good decision. It can all be done in a large kitchen, but the machines are noisy and a freeze-drying project can take up a lot of space.
Freeze drying has been proven essential throughout many industries where stability of the product is of utmost importance. The pharmaceutical field greatly benefits from freeze drying as medicines are rendered impotent for long durations without losing their potency, while in the food industry, freeze drying prevents decay of food without compromising on taste or texture.
And therein lies the best piece of advice I can offer on this topic: Keep your freeze dryer running. Downtime is wasted time. Some items take a while. Others are quick. But keeping the freeze dryer going almost non-stop is the key to getting the bang for the buck.