How much will this cost me to run?

Living_proof

I have a food dehydrator which is 600w and has a thermostat from 105F to 165F and is powered by a fan at the back of a cabinet lined with shelves for the food you wish to dry (9 tray Excalibur). None of the suppliers can tell me how much it is costing me to run.

I have solar so during the day I can safely run it without any cost but at night and in winter I can't seem to get an answer as to what it will cost to run based on my electricity costing 12p/kWh. I presume that the cost will be greater at a higher temperature or is it the fan which will eat the juice? I generally dehydrate at around 120F to retain nutrients.

Is there some sort of graph I can look at to explain this please?

EssexExile

The fan will be almost irrelevant, it's the heater that takes the power. How much depends on how long it has to be on which depends on what you put in it, what temperature you set, what the ambient temperature is & how well insulated the device is.

John_Gray

Since your device is rated at 600W = 0.6 kW, the calculation for the maximum cost is a simple multiplication sum:

0.6 x number of hours of expensive electricity x £0.12

for example: for 100 hours of use, 0.6 * 100 * 0.12 = £7.20 maximum cost
(you may have to add VAT to the 12p per kWh...)

Living_proof

EssexExile wrote: »

The fan will be almost irrelevant, it's the heater that takes the power. How much depends on how long it has to be on which depends on what you put in it, what temperature you set, what the ambient temperature is & how well insulated the device is.

That's great, thank you. I won't be using the maximum heat and I think you are telling me the power usage won't be linear. (Another Essex exile who spent too many physics lessons bunking off an sailing in the Estuary!) I am beginning to see that it's an expense I can probably afford to get the best use of my garden and allotment produce.

Living_proof

John_Gray wrote: »

Since your device is rated at 600W = 0.6 kW, the calculation for the maximum cost is a simple multiplication sum:

0.6 x number of hours of expensive electricity x £0.12

for example: for 100 hours of use, 0.6 * 100 * 0.12 = £7.20 maximum cost
(you may have to add VAT to the 12p per kWh...)

This is how I thought it would be but I am relieved to find that my lower temperature demands will mean the maximum cost will never be realised. £7.20 isn't much compared with all the dried food it will enable me to keep over the winter.

that

Living_proof wrote: »

This is how I thought it would be but I am relieved to find that my lower temperature demands will mean the maximum cost will never be realised.

Think you should be a bit carefull with this line of thought. By selecting a lower temp it will take longer to dry which mean it will have to be on for longer, so you still and up spending.


Think if you do not dry it fast enough and it may rot, go bad or mouldy??? Too hot and you cook them - just a guess here.


If you dry them too much like uncovered in a frost free freezer, won't they get freezer burn equivalent?

Living_proof

that wrote: »

Think you should be a bit carefull with this line of thought. By selecting a lower temp it will take longer to dry which mean it will have to be on for longer, so you still and up spending.


Think if you do not dry it fast enough and it may rot, go bad or mouldy??? Too hot and you cook them - just a guess here.


If you dry them too much like uncovered in a frost free freezer, won't they get freezer burn equivalent?

With an electric food dehydrator if you dry things too quickly and therefore hot, you can case harden the food and it will never dry properly but will mould at a later date. Also to retain enzymes and goodies in food ( and I just do fruit and vegetables) you need to dry at a low temp so the food is not really cooked. For instance if I dry sliced courgettes I do it at around 115F until they bounce off the worktop when dropped and make a clicking noise. I have had a couple of failures over the years when dried to a chewy, bendy consistency rather than a crisp, clicky one if that makes sense. Some thicker foods can create a ton of condensation but I try and do these over the summer when my power is free in daylight hours.