Solar Dehydrators and Humidity

Has anyone tried using a solar dehydrator? Have you had much luck with it compared to the electric indoor ones? Is it handmade or bought? Does it have to be a certain size to be efficient? Is humidity a big issue?

The reason why I'm asking all these questions is that I'm permanently moving on a 30-foot sailboat with my husband this summer and am trying to find a way to dehydrate food. I'm new to rawism but I've got lots of granola bar and muffin recipes that I feel I could easily convert to being raw. I don't know if just leaving the stuff out on the deck would work at all. I'm limited in space and I don't think that having an electric dehydrator, even if it's low temperature, would be wise because it'd be on for so long. I'm also worried about the humidity and the salt in the air. Right now the boat's in Ottawa and we'll be sailing it out of the St. Lawrence River, but we will be going out into the ocean and south... We'll be in a variety of temperatures. Do you have any suggestions?

I found this dehydrator on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Food-Pantry-Hanging-Dehydrator-Dryer/dp/B001T426TE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1246231012&sr=8-2 Although pricey, it seems like it'd be PERFECT for us since it's not electric, it can take up little space and can hang on all kinds of things on the deck, as well as be used as a sprouter. But I don't know anything about dehydrating food. Is this idea a good one?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    This "dehydrator" looks interesting. I think it would work well for doing sun-dried veggies and fruits. I'm not sure about using this model for dehydrating while at sea. My guess is that the humidity of the sea air would prevent dehydration.

    Anyone have any seafaring experience with dehydrating foods?

    Banana-head, will you be doing a journal or blogging on your site about your travels and adventures? This sounds exciting.

  • Thanks for your thoughts. I doubt anyone here has seafaring experience with dehydrating foods, but who knows!

    As for the traveling we'll be doing, I think I did a poor job explaining our plans, which consists of NO plans! We won't be out at sea very often (An ocean crossing is in the far future!) and we'll be traveling at a slow pace, going with the nice weather, so I'd be dehydrating by the shore, but even then...

    And yes, actually I've got a blog up about my sailboat adventures. You can read up on it here -> http://thecanoe.wordpress.com/ =)

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