Food dehydrators are a great way to prepare tasty snacks, but they can be expensive. When the time comes to replace your old fridge, don’t immediately send it off to the dump — you can give it a new lease of life.
Instructables member Willie Kruger’s dehydrator project can be used to product dried fruit, biltong (a kind of beef jerky), and all sorts of other goodies. Consumer dehydrators are available to buy, but they are not cheap and are usually quite small. Willie worked with a full-sized refrigerator, but the same could be done to a bar fridge.
After gutting the inside of the fridge, you can paint the exterior however you like, but dehydrators are usually black. Willie also sprayed the words Vleis Kas (Afrikaans for Meat Box) on the unit. He had to build a new door and added an inspection window. Heat in the dehydrator comes from light bulbs, and computer fans keep air moving around. Take care with the electrics, and keep in mind that you’ll need a 12V transformer for the fans.
You can hang meat from hooks attached to the shelves to create biltong, and Willie has other ideas for dried fruit on his website. Click the Instructables link below for full details.
Food Dehydrator [Instructables]
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One response to “Transform An Old Refrigerator Into A Food Dehydrator”
You can also use an old fridge to regulate temperature for home brew, or for making tasty salami.