How to Make a Freeze Dryer

How to build a cheap-ish freeze dryer. It can make astronaut ice cream, instant coffee, mre's and all sorts of freeze dried foods.

The freeze drying process turns the water in frozen foods into a gas without it ever being a liquid. This sublimation phase shift maintains the foods structure. While that's cool and all, Freeze dryers are't the most useful things unless you do a lot of camping or long trip without a fridge stuff.

You could easily make it for around $200 starting from nothing


I bought the materials at
Mcmaster.com
amazon.com
and various local stores
dry ice can be purchased at most grocery stores
I found the water bubblier at my local dump

There are many different sorts of design options, this is just a more basic one without much automation.

Various warnings:
Dry ice will give you frost bite if you hold it too long. If your glass bowl is too thin it can shatter/implode and shoot glass all over the place. Change your vacuum pump oil if/when it gets cloudy. Use oil when you drill holes in metal. Isoropanol alcohol is flammable. Don't be stupid.

Music: KOAN - Starlite
The still images aren't mine.
Thanks to Ben Krasnow for the insparation

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