Heat Pump Food Dryer

MEMPHIS91 · 06-15-15, 10:12 PM

So far this project is in the research phase.
Goals are to create a food dehydrator that uses less than 450 watts of power with out heating up the air as much in my house. My current one pumps out 140F air for 10+ hours a day.
First thoughts were to simply hack a window unit making a box on the condenser coils to push the hot air through the box therefore drying what ever was in it. After doing some digging I found I might be able to make one even more efficient that circulates its own air. Plus a window unit compressor is much to big. I'm on the lookout for an old fridge compressor now.
This article on page 8 has a great picture for what I'm thinking though this one uses a clothes dryer as an example (I am thinking I will need to build a clothes dryer next).
http://www.wasteheat.eu/HP4Drying/Pr...rying_info.pdf

This article I also found very interesting.
Heat pump dehumidifier drying of food - ResearchGate

So far that is all I have. Has anyone seen one of these commercial dryers?
Knowing that this is possible is very encouraging.
I plan to use my current dehumidifier with some ducted taped hoses and drying chamber to see what kind of results I get. Its 76F in the house and my dehumidifier is push 95F air out.

06-15-15, 10:12 PM	#1
MEMPHIS91 Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Oxford, MS USA Posts: 496 Thanks: 69 Thanked 87 Times in 61 Posts	Heat Pump Food Dryer So far this project is in the research phase. Goals are to create a food dehydrator that uses less than 450 watts of power with out heating up the air as much in my house. My current one pumps out 140F air for 10+ hours a day. First thoughts were to simply hack a window unit making a box on the condenser coils to push the hot air through the box therefore drying what ever was in it. After doing some digging I found I might be able to make one even more efficient that circulates its own air. Plus a window unit compressor is much to big. I'm on the lookout for an old fridge compressor now. This article on page 8 has a great picture for what I'm thinking though this one uses a clothes dryer as an example (I am thinking I will need to build a clothes dryer next). http://www.wasteheat.eu/HP4Drying/Pr...rying_info.pdf This article I also found very interesting. Heat pump dehumidifier drying of food - ResearchGate So far that is all I have. Has anyone seen one of these commercial dryers? Knowing that this is possible is very encouraging. I plan to use my current dehumidifier with some ducted taped hoses and drying chamber to see what kind of results I get. Its 76F in the house and my dehumidifier is push 95F air out. Last edited by MEMPHIS91; 06-30-15 at 08:00 PM..