HARVEST RIGHT Freeze Dryer Setup (and Test Run)

my Harvest Right freeze dryer is unboxed in position and ready to set up join me today as I show you the step-by-step process to set up your freeze dryer and to run your first test batch [Music] hi I'm Gardener Scott and the entire setup for the Harvest Right freeze dryer can be found in the owner's manual now I'm one of those kind of guys that likes to read an owner's manual from front to back and I'll also watch videos about it so I'll try to include all of the information that you need to be able to set it up with no problems at all first is finding a location that's got a nice sturdy and level base this is my basement and this concrete floor is nice and sturdy and level the range of operation for the Harvest Right freeze dryer is 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit with an ideal operating range of 45 degrees to 75 degrees now I know a lot of people will have their freeze dryer in their garage but I have an uninsulated garage with temperatures that get lower and higher than that operating range in my basement with indoor normal room temperatures this is an ideal spot for me with the ideal cool dry and clean location figured out the first step is to check the rubber gasket to make sure it's clean and it probably is after just arriving and you also check the inside of the acrylic door for cleanliness too you don't want to use any cleaners on this just a simple washcloth and warm water and so with a clean unit now we begin by filling the vacuum pump and we'll start by unscrewing the oil demister this doesn't require any tools but there might be some residual oil probably from a test run at the factory so I have some paper towels just in case there might be a spill I'm using the high vacuum pump oil that came with the unit and while this hole is pretty big I'm going to go ahead and use a funnel just to avoid any unnecessary spills we want to make sure that the oil drain valve is closed fully turned clockwise and then we're going to fill just above the center line of this gauge looks like there's a little bit of oil that's already in it so we'll pour slowly and it's taking more while than I expected it won't take all of the oil in the container but it does take most of it I was able to do that without any spill so it's pretty easy now we'll screw the D Mister back on and then we attach the pump to the freeze dryer with this hose we'll Begin by screwing the hose onto the freeze dryer making sure we don't cross thread it and then we just hand tighten you really don't need to use any tools we'll take the cap off of the vacuum pump and both of these ends are the same so really doesn't matter which end goes to which of these and then we'll hand tighten on the pump and the hose is connected next I'll connect the power cord and it's pretty easy to tell the difference between the part that goes into the freeze dryer and the part that goes into your outlet so I'll just plug this in to the back of the machine and then plug it into my regular household receptacle and then I'll plug the pump in to the back of the freeze dryer and there's a dedicated Outlet back here for that the plugs will be side by side and then the next thing to do is turn it on the vertical line is on go ahead and turn the switch to on for the pump as well on the back towards the top of the unit is the same kind of switch on the other side of the freeze dryer the left side is the drain valve and we need to make sure that is closed before we start a freeze drying process this black handle controls the valve if it's perpendicular it's closed and that's what we're looking for we'll make sure the door is fully closed it locks in place and you'll actually be able to see through the acrylic this black ring which shows that it's got a good seal when I push the power button the touch screen illuminated in the upper right hand corner now we're going to do a quick system check by pushing the leaf this takes us to functional testing we'll go ahead and click on freeze you should hear the system come on now we're going to let it freeze for at least 30 minutes it's been a little more than 35 minutes it's now minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit so the freeze portion is working now let's check out the vacuum pump so now I'll turn the vacuum switch to on and we'll wait 20 to 30 minutes this test is looking good too we want less than 500 militours and right now we're at 361. so we can go ahead and push the done button and the functional testing is successful now to relieve the pressure I'll go ahead and open up the drain valve I've attached the plastic hose that comes with the machine that's what water drains out of now I'll just open up this valve foreign lets any water inside drain out Harvest Right suggests a burn in period with a brand new freeze dryer by doing a batch with bread specifically moist bread so this is an old loaf of bread but I'm going to go ahead and Spritz it with water just to moisten it a little bit and then we'll put it in the freeze dryer with a good functional test now we can begin with our very first test batch in the freeze dryer I'll begin by making sure that the drain valve is closed and then we'll get it started it's as simple as pressing start the very first time you use the freeze dryer you'll need to select your pump type I have a premier oil pump I'll press save [Music] normally you can expect about a 15-minute cool down cycle when you start your freeze drying but because this unit is still cold from the functional test that's why it's telling us to go ahead and put the food in we know the drain valve is closed the door is locked so now we just push the continue button and the cycle has started getting the freezing going to get that temperature down and I will just wait just before an hour and a half it shifted from freezing mode to vacuum freezing mode the temperature is minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit and about the two hour point the bread has been drying for just over 12 minutes after 12 hours and 29 minutes of total time the process is complete so now it's time to open the drain valve and vent the freeze dryer so like during the test I'll just reach back and open the drain valve now I have a little tub for the water that's going to drain out at this point it's important that the tube is not resting in water when you open that drain valve because it could suck back in but because this is the first time because that little tub is dry it's not an issue I can open the door at this time and there's some good ice buildup inside I can either let it air defrost by pushing no defrost or go ahead and push the defrost button at which point as it says we'll keep the drain valve open remove the product from the dryer and then close the door the trays are very cold at this point just a couple minutes ago it was minus 40 degrees after the freeze drying cycle is complete the unit will then freeze the food again just to keep it safe until you can open the door and remove it so wearing something on your hands to protect them from the severe cold is a good idea with the bread removed now I'll push continue defrosting chamber at this point should have the door closed all of this ice inside the chamber will begin melting as it heats up so we close the door and now we just wait a couple hours and all the water should drain out by then during the manufacturing process there could be residue left behind in the machine so by doing bread first you basically soak up that new car smell as Harvest Right says and you can do future batches without any concern we're checking the dryness of this now and it's completely dry obviously when bread snaps you know that there's no moisture left in it the Harvest Right freeze dryer is completely automatic so if anything had gone wrong during this test patch it would have notified me of course I didn't get any notifications everything came out exactly as advertised this bread is freeze dried now it isn't recommended to eat this bread just in case there were any of those new car Vapors that were soaked up by it during the processing so I'm going to put this into my compost pile and once the defrost cycle is complete it's ready to do a whole new batch of my fresh Garden Harvest I'm Gardener Scott enjoy gardening and food preserving [Music]

Channel: Gardener Scott

Views: 36,086

Keywords: gardener scott, gardner scott, harvest right freeze dryer, harvest right, harvest right setup, harvest right premier pump, harvest right freeze dryer first use, harvest right freeze dryer setup test, freeze dryer, freeze dryer setup, harvest right freeze dryer setup

Id: iIuV3EkRFtU

Length: 13min 34sec (814 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 01 2022