I’m guilty of not digging into the Rosemary even after watching it.
The official freeze drying thread
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Burt Gummer
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In this box is at least
a dozen Costco rotisserie chickens.
At least 300 eggs
5.5 dozen ears of corn cut off the cob
Japanese stir fry
Smoked brisket and pork
Ham slices
All freeze dried
a dozen Costco rotisserie chickens.
At least 300 eggs
5.5 dozen ears of corn cut off the cob
Japanese stir fry
Smoked brisket and pork
Ham slices
All freeze dried
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Burt Gummer
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We also picked up 2.5 gallons of buttermilk today that was about to expire from the local food lion. Amazing what you can get if you ask for it. They gave it to us. One gallon of buttermilk fills up 4 freeze dryer trays, fyi
Hey, @Lil D when you contacted HR tech support, how long did it take to get a response? I filled out an online ticket two weeks ago and included the log files. You can see I them the tray heaters failing to heat when the signal is given. %I got the auto response to my ticket, #116,000 and some 
But so far nothing.
But so far nothing.
No. But the test mode has the tray heating intermittently. The logs show it calls for heating, the trays warms up, and then cools down while the outpost is calling for full heating it declares a failure and retries, the last few times it succeeded after a few tries. Intermittent problems are the worst to diagnose.
Hum, may be worth taking the back cover off the rack and looking over the terminal blocks for any visual issues and/or loose wires. The breaker there is not self resetting so I doubt that’s the issue.
What version firmware are you running?
What version firmware are you running?
We recently updated to the latest version. 13.4 or whateer it is, didn‘t help. I pulled the plug and looked at te puns, all looked good. That seemed to help at first, but it still failed. you can see in the logs, the heat command and thry warm up, and turn start cooling down, despite the command until it declares a failure. Very odd.
They were very fast with my response time. I was still under warranty at the time, not sure if that put me in a different customer service bracket. That Donald and Felix on the freeze dryer repair support group in Facebook help a ton of people if you want to try them. Not sure if they are still doing it for free now that they have so many followers but they are great.Hey, @Lil D when you contacted HR tech support, how long did it take to get a response? I filled out an online ticket two weeks ago and included the log files. You can see I them the tray heaters failing to heat when the signal is given. %I got the auto response to my ticket, #116,000 and some
I have a blueberry one that worked well…assuming you can keep your mitts off them long enough to freeze dry them!
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
You need only 7 simple ingredients to make these delicious blueberry oatmeal bars. They are perfect for dessert, a snack or even breakfast.
pastryandbeyond.com
Oh my that sounds amazing!! Definitely gonna try these!I have a blueberry one that worked well…assuming you can keep your mitts off them long enough to freeze dry them!
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
You need only 7 simple ingredients to make these delicious blueberry oatmeal bars. They are perfect for dessert, a snack or even breakfast.
Just had another thought… for you ranch lovers out there… you can’t do store bought ranch but you sure can do the buttermilk and the herbs that go in it! I will certainly be doing this with the next run especially if we can score buttermilk for free 😋
I’ve only done the blueberry but I’m sure you can use whatever.
Serious question, how do you tell if your buttermilk has spoiled? Does it become so thick it won't pour? Does that make it sour cream?
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I’ve made biscuits with year old buttermilk. I’m not sure it spoils. It gets thicker as it ages but that’s when it’s good.
Of course the stores have to have it gone by the best by date, as every food item has one. But most of them are dumb. We’ve had food lion brand milk be bad the next day with a couple weeks left on the bottle. And local milk from the dairy I worked at last a couple weeks after the date and still be good.
@Lil D can share her thoughts on bad buttermilk but I’ve never seen any
I had buttermilk go bad once. It got an off taste like regular milk does that’s not the sour tangy buttermilk flavor. It does last a long time since the bacteria have already cultured the sugars and made it acidic.
It’s like crisco, it can eventually go bad but it takes forever.
Been too busy and forgot to post lately. Did some pineapple fig bars. Then did some sweet peppers. Then did some fresh garlic, onions, sweet peppers, carrots and shallots in a “soup starter” mix All from the garden. Doing some cherry tomatoes from the garden right now and prepping black beans for the next batch. The black beans aren’t from the garden but the best by date is coming up so want to set those up for another decade or two .
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I ran a bunch of apple slices today they turned out really yummy. The teen made a face but I thought they were delicious.
Been too busy and forgot to post lately. Did some pineapple fig bars. Then did some sweet peppers. Then did some fresh garlic, onions, sweet peppers, carrots and shallots in a “soup starter” mix All from the garden. Doing some cherry tomatoes from the garden right now and prepping black beans for the next batch. The black beans aren’t from the garden but the best by date is coming up so want to set those up for another decade or two
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Several weeks ago, I put in an email help ticket to HR for mid batch heater failure. You could see the logs indicate it calling for heater and it heating and then cooling off. Didn’t get a response. Called, they had me do the heater tray reset and try again. Still failed. Called, paid the $45 fee and got a tech on a call a couple days later. Sent special software that uses the “drain” relay for the heater and moved the wires for the heater to the other relay. Going to try again. Fingers crossed. Probably need a new relay board, though they used Omron G5RV relays which are readily available and I have the repair tools.
The EE in me says it could also be the signal from the main board, but have no way to diagnose without more detailed machine information.
Oh, and my support ticket numbers are in the 161 and 171 thousand range. That’s a lot of tickets.
The EE in me says it could also be the signal from the main board, but have no way to diagnose without more detailed machine information.
Oh, and my support ticket numbers are in the 161 and 171 thousand range. That’s a lot of tickets.
Ugh that’s frustratingSeveral weeks ago, I put in an email help ticket to HR for mid batch heater failure. You could see the logs indicate it calling for heater and it heating and then cooling off. Didn’t get a response. Called, they had me do the heater tray reset and try again. Still failed. Called, paid the $45 fee and got a tech on a call a couple days later. Sent special software that uses the “drain” relay for the heater and moved the wires for the heater to the other relay. Going to try again. Fingers crossed. Probably need a new relay board, though they used Omron G5RV relays which are readily available and I have the repair tools.
The EE in me says it could also be the signal from the main board, but have no way to diagnose without more detailed machine information.
Oh, and my support ticket numbers are in the 161 and 171 thousand range. That’s a lot of tickets.
Tried running a batch and during the 15 minute cool down a the start it went into alarm saying overheat.
Also side project….cut bananas in half and put a popsicle stick in em and freeze for 3 hours. Heat peanut butter for 30 secs then dip bananas and straight back into freezer for an hour. Then dip is melted dark choc mixed with coconut oil and freeze again. Roll in sprinkles or chopped nuts also if y like before last freeze. Peanut butter step optional but Elvis approved. Then bag and seal and toss in the freezer. It’s like crack but healthier. Not by much tho.
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You’ve got me hungry now….what time will the samples be ready?
Where did you get your bags for them? I’m gonna have to try these. They look good.
They’re ready! I have some just bananas and chocolate with nuts, some with sprinkles, and the peanut butter chocolate ones. I bought some at Trader Joe’s and some at Target but geez $8 for 4 banana halves dipped in chocolate was too much. These are cheap-o. I get the bags at Amazon. Search for “heat sealed popsicle sleeves”
Like 6-13 cents a piece and nice cus nieces don’t have to keep up with them.
Ice Popsicles Bags Thick Frozen Pops Ice Cream Plastic Wrappers for Candy Food Grade Hot Sealing Packing Containers (200Pcs ,Clear)
https://a.co/d/9fnhAPE
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Carolinatlc
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We will definitely be trying these. I think I paid $10 or more for something similar while we were on vacation down in Florida a couple weeks ago. I didn't even get one but did have a bite of one of my daughters.
Yeah they also sell them at Aldi as “bites” that are regular round slices covered in chocolate but still expensive.
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What’s the reasoning for the coconut oil in the dark chocolate? What kind of ratio do you use?
Nummy!
The coconut oil “thins” the melted dark chocolate. I did a batch without it at first and the chocolate got hard fast with the frozen bananas touching it while dipping and kept having to remelt it and it was super thick so a pound only did 8 banana halves. I used 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil in a pound of melted chocolate chips and a pound did 16 bananas and the coating was much smoother and I didn’t have to remelt at all. I think you can use other oils the same way but I mean chocolate, banana, AND coconut!! Yea please!
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We have bags and popsicle sticks on the way. 😂
I felt bad putting that in the freeze drying thread but by now I have sensed you all in this thread are my spirit animals when it comes to goodies!! You will not be disappointed!
Oh no, share away. 😂
Good call 😉
Ok, so this is getting ridiculous. HR sent us a new relay board, which I changed out today. Put new board by old one, swapped wires one at a time. Moved “heater” wires back to heater circuit. Fixed burned 120vac terminal that had burned. Put it all back together, except top, dropped screws dealt with, all while on a damned ladder. Entered test mode, verified compressor - check, vacuum pump check, drain (normally on turns off) - check, heater turned on and it warms up - check. Put it all back together. Prep okra for FD. Start cool down cycle, 10 minutes later go out to garage and chirp, chirp chirp, turn power off excessive heat detected. Damned heater trays good and hot.
Tomorrow I’m going to check a few things like see if the 120vac switches with the heater relay and the on off led. From what I can tell, drawing on my experience as an EE it looks like one one control circuit turns on LED and relay coil. They’ve got some 3.3v control signals switching 13vdc relays via transistors with diodes across the coils. I can make a few other inferences, like see the 120vac circuits, etc, but without a schematic it is hard to say exactly what is happening. Damned frustrating to have the capability to better diagnose it, but not the understanding of the circuit.
Hard to imagine how the 120Vac may be shorted on downstream of the relay, but that’s what it’s starting to look like. However, he overheat started when I put in the special diagnostic software, too. I hate flying half blind.
Tomorrow I’m going to check a few things like see if the 120vac switches with the heater relay and the on off led. From what I can tell, drawing on my experience as an EE it looks like one one control circuit turns on LED and relay coil. They’ve got some 3.3v control signals switching 13vdc relays via transistors with diodes across the coils. I can make a few other inferences, like see the 120vac circuits, etc, but without a schematic it is hard to say exactly what is happening. Damned frustrating to have the capability to better diagnose it, but not the understanding of the circuit.
Hard to imagine how the 120Vac may be shorted on downstream of the relay, but that’s what it’s starting to look like. However, he overheat started when I put in the special diagnostic software, too. I hate flying half blind.
That sucks I kept getting brown coloration after batches at the drain hose and the more I cleaned it the worse it got. Seems the brass valve and fittings were reacting to me using vinegar to clean so I’m down a few days also u til my STAINLESS valve and fittings get here…
I kept getting brown coloration after batches at the drain hose and the more I cleaned it the worse it got. Seems the brass valve and fittings were reacting to me using vinegar to clean so I’m down a few days also u til my STAINLESS valve and fittings get here…
Try 151 proof vodka to clean it. Seriously. It does a real good job of eliminating any residual odors too. I heard that soaps and bleach, etc, will deteriorate the vacuum chamber too.
Update on my FD. It kept bugging me that the heaters were always powered when they shouldn’t have been. So today I took the top off pulled the heater wires, turned the relay on and off in diagnostic mode and saw 125vac at the one lug when I would turn it on. However, the heater temp was still climbing. With the supposed wires unplugged. WTH?
Yesterday, I put the new board beside the old one and swapped the wires one at a time. The only other time I messed with it was when their tech had me move the heater to the drain relay (normally unused) and gave me software to supposedly switch the heater to it by pressing the drain control on and off six times, which I did then. When I fired it up yesterday, the heater control operated the heater, not drain relay. Hmm don’t think it ever swapped the control and the drain relay is naturally normally closed, opposite the others. That would explain the initial overheat after swapping to the drain relay. But, what about yesterday and today. How is it getting power when it’s unplugged.
Would really like a wiring diagram, but found a YT video that explains what each wire does. DOH moment. Somehow I managed to eff up the wiring yesterday. I put the wires from the capacitor that go to ”Spain” on heater and put the heater ones on “drain”.
It’s running trays of frozen okra now. We will know in the AM.