I just don’t get it. Know what you are getting yourself into

  This post is a little bit of a frustration/rant about freeze drying and freeze dryers and the people who buy them without doing their homework.  There are a lot of factors that can go into having one.  It isn’t something that one should buy without knowing what they are getting themselves into.  For example, before I purchased mine I did my homework.  I read about them.  I joined groups to learn about them.  I watched many youtube videos, and I took lots of notes.  I read about the problems people have…..the solutions they have come up with……but most of all I learned to read the manual and trust the process because a lot of times it is user error or inpatients that gets them every single time.  

Some of the issues I have seen people have…..they get their machine and go to set it up, but don’t read the manual and/or understand how to set it up. They set it up wrong and don’t plug the pump into the machine.  Common sense tells you if the pump isn’t plugged into the machine then how the hell is it going to work?  Another issue I see a lot of is people getting the machine, setting it up and running it immediately.  Instructions say to let it sit 24 hrs.  When the instructions say to let it sit they mean let it sit.  This doesn’t mean testing anything or starting your bread run.  It means let it sit.  Don’t do anything with it!!!!  This is no different than what they say about things like refrigerators.  Let them sit.  

Another issue, and one of the biggest things is being impatient and watching the machine.  The machine is built to do what it is going to do, and as a user you need to trust the process.  You should not sit and watch the machine.  The mtorr will vary, the temperature will vary, the time it takes to do foods will vary.  You can do the exact same food and one time it take hours longer than the last.  There are far too many factors that influence it……temperature of the room, temperature of the food, humidity, and so much more.  Just because one person can finish a load in x hours doesn’t mean the next person’s machine will do the same thing.  If the damn machine isn’t throwing an error then be patient and wait!!!

Along with this is to know what to expect.  Today, I saw someone saying their pump was running hot so they turned it off, played around with the machine…..tried again.  It ran hot again so they turned it off again.  This brings me back to…..did you read the instruction manual?  These pumps are meant to run hot.  That is what they do.  That is how they work.  If you are not getting an error message then wait.  Stopping and starting the machine over and over and over again isn’t going to change the fact that the machine runs hot.  

The best part is when people come to the groups to bitch about their machines, and other newbies immediately start jumping in and offering advice on how to “fix” the machine when reality is the machine isn’t even broken.  Yes, your pump can and does run hot.  Yes, the mtorrs can fluctuate. Yes, it can take a varying about of time for things to get done. Yes, the machine can add more vacuum freezing time to it.  Yes, the machine might need extra dry time…..that is just how it goes.  Again, a lot of stuff can be managed and problems averted by reading the manual!!!!

I can tell you when I first got my machine the temptation to watch it was high.  The temptation to say “it is running too long” and to stop it was high.  The temptation to say something wasn’t right was high, but I did my homework and I knew to set it and walk away.  I added 12 hours extra dry time to my machine, and I check it once in the morning and once at night.  With the extra 12 hours going I usually don’t miss it being done.  

Oh and the best part is all th e people bitching and moaning about how long it takes the company to get back to them to help them.  If there wouldn’t be so many people contacting them asking for help on common sense things, or things that could be solved by reading the manual the workers would have more time to help people who actually need assistance.  

So, if you are one of the people who wants a machine, understand this is a piece of equipment that you need to learn about before you purchase and decide to use.  Do your homework……go online and download the manual and study it.  Join groups and learn how the machine works and what you can typically expect.  Watch videos…..take notes and be patient…..trust the process.  


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