Dehydrator recommendation.

[Brambles]

Also, is there a way of adding a temperature control to it as it's just a basic on/off jobbie. Ooo, could I get a new motor with that function to fit do you think?

[Jamesey1981]

Also, is there a way of adding a temperature control to it as it's just a basic on/off jobbie. Ooo, could I get a new motor with that function to fit do you think?

You'd have to wire in a new thermostat I would imagine, it will have a thermostat in it to stop it catching fire, and there might be a way to set it up with a rheostat so that it will work at different temperatures BUT, that'll need a lot of testing to get the temperatures set and won't be an easy wiring job without a how to guide, it's not something that I personally would attempt without some instructions but I can't imagine that you're the first person to ask that question and there might be some instructions online on wikihow or some such that could be adapted for your dehydrator.

Certainly won't come with a new motor though so you'd need to do some research and source the parts yourself, what might be an idea is seeing if you can get hold of a dehydrator like mine where the electrics work but the trays are knackered and seeing if you can cannibalise the parts you need from that, you'd need to bodge them in to fit but there's usually plenty of room inside the guts of it and you can use scrap plastic and epoxy glue or putty to hold it all in place.

[shocker]

A PWM, a pulse width modulator, is more likely to fit in with modern electrics than a rheostat...sadly. I have always been a great fan of variable resistors but they are not "the done thing" these days. But they are cheap on ebay.

Or a simmerstat from an electric cooker may be simpler. A rheostat will use more power and create more heat.

[Jamesey1981]

A PWM, a pulse width modulator, is more likely to fit in with modern electrics than a rheostat...sadly. I have always been a great fan of variable resistors but they are not "the done thing" these days. But they are cheap on ebay.

Never heard of one of those, which gives you an idea of my skill level with electrics. I'm quite handy with ancient consoles and computer hardware, and I'm not bad at soldering but diagnosing a fault and replacing a part like for like is basically my limit, this would need some knowledge to get right I would think, which is why I would want to look for some instructions, and as it's a mains power appliance you'd want to know that you're not creating a fire risk.

[shocker]

I edited above to include a bit more info, and Im not the expert, my mrs is ex GCHQ electronics and knows about all the sparks

[Jamesey1981]

The simmerstat you mentioned sounds more like what is in my dehydrator, it doesn't change the temperature of the heating element, it just switches it on and off to maintain the temperature.

[shocker]

Thats the kiddie, a simple bimetal thermostatic device, used on electric cookers to control the rings and oven. Easy to wire into the heater element circuit and doesnt create heat like a resistor or waste electricity.

[Brambles]

I can honestly say you two are now talking Hungarian. I think maybe I'd be better off either trying to find one the same diameter as the one I have with a temerature control, or buy a new motor with all the gubbins attached. I can swap out stuff and change plugs, fit light switches etc but that's about as far as I can go.

[shocker]

Sorry, Brambles, i tried to keep it as simple as possible

If you are not confident its best not to mess with mains power. Have you got an old fashioned independent electrical shop near you that does repairs ? I reckon someone like that could do what you need...we could help you source parts to keep the cost down

[Brambles]

I think there's a proper repair shop in town, I'll have a look. If not, I'll keep looking.