Oster Dehydrator with a twist

[Longbow]

I bought one of these at Wally world today ($40.00) & as I was going down the isle I spotted a plastic cake plate with a large dome like cover & the little brain started clicking. So I thought self, instead of hoging out the trays to accommodate width & height, the cake lid would allow for lots of height & still maintain the integrity of the unit. I ran a temp comparison with both lids using a digital thermometer & they came out with a 5 to 8 degree difference. There is no other switch on this unit but the on & off switch. I tested a plastic spoon by painting it with a rattle can so we'll see. My main concern is the temp & how long should one leave it in the dehydrator and what temperature does plastic melt anyways?

Edited February 28, 2010 by Longbow

[Blake Rogers]

neat idea man

[MADmodelDOCTOR]

Great eye, man! I've got an old junky dehydrator. That looks like a pretty cool modification.

It seems to be a perfect fit. So, what temp does it run at?

later,

[LDO]

Am I the only one who read the subject line as "Oyster Dehydrator..."? Who wants dehydrated oysters??!!

[Smart-Resins]

No your not! I wanted to know what the difference was between this supposed oyster dehydrator and my Ronco I just puchased! LOL. Now I have a simular problem. My Ronco is a convection style dehydrator, so I do not know what tempurature it runs at? I have been told not to run them over 110 degrees. I can turn the lid on my from smaller holes to larger holes to let more air out. Downfall is my instructions tell me nothing about these or how to use them! No wheres can I tell what temp this thing runs at and no I do not have a neet little thermometer like that one! LOL. I will be doing a spoon test for 24 hours here soon before I put a body in it! That I can tell you! LOL. Jody

[Blake Rogers]

Am I the only one who read the subject line as "Oyster Dehydrator..."? Who wants dehydrated oysters??!!

ur funny man

[Longbow]

I do not have a clue about the right temp for drying plastic but I'm hopeful that someone with working knowledge chimes in .I read your post on the Drastic plastic web site & was inspired to run out to Wally world & pick one up LOL :lol:For my spoon test I spray painted a spoon with krylon paint heavily & let it dehydrate for one hour & it was dry to the touch .No finger prints. The temp was 145 degrees.I have not read any info on dry time periods or temps.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Longbow

[LDO]

No your not! I wanted to know what the difference was between this supposed oyster dehydrator and my Ronco I just puchased! LOL. Now I have a simular problem. My Ronco is a convection style dehydrator, so I do not know what tempurature it runs at? I have been told not to run them over 110 degrees. I can turn the lid on my from smaller holes to larger holes to let more air out. Downfall is my instructions tell me nothing about these or how to use them! No wheres can I tell what temp this thing runs at and no I do not have a neet little thermometer like that one! LOL. I will be doing a spoon test for 24 hours here soon before I put a body in it! That I can tell you! LOL. Jody

http://www.pexsupply.com/Johnson-Controls-A419ABC-1C-Single-Stage-Digital-Temperature-Control-120-240v-SPDT

I have a Johnson Controls thermostat on a chest freezer in my garage. It's set at 68degrees for fermenting beer

[Smart-Resins]

WOW, that thing is like $20 more then I spent on the dehydrator including shipping! LOL. The concept of too much heat, if you will be leaving the model in there is that it could warp the model body. Since I use laquar I will be wanting to leave mine in there longer for it to gas out properly before I do the next layers of paint. Thus why I am so concerned. I do not want to go painting a body for someone else and be half done and find the body in the morning warped Jody

[Jon Cole]

You don't want to run that at over 105 degrees. The cheap way is to drill a hole and use a food thermometer to determine the temp inside. Then start drilling more holes until the inside temp is within range. I assume this will make your dehydrator looking like a block of Swiss cheese.

Better way, build a regulator. I knew squat how to do this, and it took several trips to the hardware store to seperate the employees who thought they knew about wiring, from those who actually did. They advised me to use a fan speed regulator. Here is some pics:

BTW, for full disclosure, the above two pics are not mine. I too took advise on a hobby board on how to do this. If I knew who took the pics, I would give them credit.

Below are my photos of what was used:

If you do go to the hardware store, either bring someone who knows something about wiring, or find an employee who does.

Notice I drew a line on the switchbox so I know where to run it at 105º

I wish I had a pic of the unit as it stands now... it must have at least a dozen or more 3/8" holes drilled for venting besides the regulator to run it at that temp.

Hope this helps.

[Smart-Resins]

You know, I have done electric wireing and never gave a fan or dimmer switch a thought! LOL. Cool. Thanks. Now my questions answered on how I will regulate that! Now just to find a thermometer as I dont think we even have one for meat? We do the fork test. LOL. Jody

[MikeMc]

OK some dehydrator basics.

First , thanks to Spyder for the pix...Glad you found them helpful! He added the inside!!

105 degrees will work perfect. If you look at the pix Spyder posted you can see all the vents and holes. I use a cheep(2@9.99) refrigerator thermometer. I lift off the "adj"ring and put the therm in one of the slits.....keeping it towards the edge.

I find lacquers are dry for repainting/taping in 3 hours in and 1/2 hour cooling time Enamels I would reccomend 8 to 10 hours, unless cut with lacquer thinner

The beauty of the dimmer setup on this style is when you add or remove rings you can dial in the temp ...so you do not melt anything.

I do NOT know what temp works best for resin parts....just styrene

[Smart-Resins]

Terrific! thanks. Jody

[MikeMc]

follow this one.......

http://www.modelcars...h=1&#entry51109

and this one...........

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18901&st=0&p=165404&hl=dehydrator&fromsearch=1&#entry165404

Edited March 1, 2010 by MikeMc

[Longbow]

Thanks a ton Syder & Mikemc for the info.Syder I 'm going to try that switch idea.You are wright about the lid looking like Swiss cheese.I have managed to bring my temp down to 123 degrees but have run out of places to drill holes.It looks like you wired the dimer switch to the the receptacle & then to the power supply ,right?

[Smart-Resins]

In those pics, the power cord would go from the wall to the dimmer switch, then wires to the outlet. You can if you wish, cut the cord on the dehydrator and run the plug end into the dimmer switch, then from the dimmer switch to the dehydrator. Then the only investment you have is on the box, the switch and the cover, about $8 at most! I already have the box and the cover, so all I need is the switch! LOL. Hopefully today maybe I can try to figure out what mine runs at. Wife says we do have a meat thermometer, its just a matter of finding it. LOL. Jody

[Longbow]

Yea I got my meat thermometer from Wally World for smoking meats.I have had it for a long time ,it works great & I calibrated it with a heavy duty professional temp gauge that I bought for a more permanent gauge for my smoker.The meat thermometer from Wally World was not expensive.