Drying Cabinet Plans

A Homemade Drying Cabinet

• The design of a drying cabinet is not complicated. You can make the cabinet from something as simple as a cardboard carton, a wooden box or an old cabinet you've salvaged, depending on the size you need and how you plan to use it. It needs upper and lower chambers; racks, shelves or rods for drying items; air flow to do the drying; and a source of heat to control humidity. The heat source can be as simple as a 100-watt lightbulb in the lower compartment. Ventilation holes in the sides of the lower chamber allow air to enter. The heated air rises, passes through a ventilated floor into the upper chamber, dries the contents of the chamber, then escapes through a vented top.

Uses of a Drying Cabinet

• Decide what you are going to dry in your cabinet and plan its size accordingly. Drying cabinets are commonly used to dry sporting gear and rain- or snow-dampened winter wear. Use the drying cabinet for items too bulky or too delicate for a conventional tumble dryer. If you plan to hang clothing inside to dry, the cabinet should be about 6 feet tall and at least 2 feet wide and deep. This allows space for both an upper chamber and a lower one. Fit rods, shelves or racks inside. You can tie herbs into bunches and hang them from rods at the top of the cabinet, or drape freshly made spaghetti over the rods to dry. Fruit and vegetables will dry spread on racks or screen wire shelves.

Drying Without the Sun

• Drying foods with sun and air is an ancient method of preserving. In arid regions, natural air flow and sun-warmed air are enough to dry anything from clothes on a line to apples on a rooftop or wet shoes on the back porch. But in humid climates, the drying effect of artificial heat is a welcome substitute for the missing warmth from the sun. Although manufactured drying cabinets are equipped to heat to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Staber Industries, they cost about $1,000 apiece. The DIY drying cabinet's 100-watt incandescent light bulb produces enough heat for practical everyday use, and the cabinet costs little more than the time it takes to build.

Solar Drying Cabinets

• You can use a drying cabinet inside or outside. Natural convection solar power dryers are simple to design and construct. In an article published in 2009 in the "Journal of Engineering Science and Technology," M. Mohanraj and P. Chandrasekar note that solar dryers using natural convection or forced circulation are energy-efficient options for drying many kinds of agricultural products such as grapes, peppers and other home-grown foods as well as larger farm crops. If you prefer, you can use them for ski boots. A simple solar dryer for home use consists of a cabinet, a panel for absorbing the heat from the sun, ventilation holes and an exhaust fan. The panel, painted black, is slanted low against the cabinet to catch the sun's rays. The heat is vented into the drying cabinet and pulled up and out through the top of the cabinet by the exhaust fan.