I just had to share this because I'm pretty excited about it. I'm not a luddite by any means, and a part of my homestead will be sensors to monitor growing conditions,
irrigation controls, and lots of TV shows saved to watch when the internet inevitably goes down during the rainy season. So I've managed to cobble up a home server from some old and new parts. It's been working great sitting in its closet, but it generates fan noise and heat. A couple of weeks ago, when getting some bay leaves together to send to my brother I had an "AHA" moment. Let's put that heat and air to use drying stuff out. It's not as quick as a purpose-built dehydrator, but it worked really well. And living in a coastal riparian area means that dryness is incredibly valuable.
Here's a pic of my very basic test run. I'm thinking about adding some drying racks, a vent on the top and some protection for the electronics. A drying closet, that's a real luxury.
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