An Easy to Make Drying Rack

About two years ago I build my wife a drying rack, she had been wanting.  She uses it to dry fruit, vegetables outdoors.  Most things will dry in a day if they are cut thin and if you have a hot dry sunny day.

With the beginning of summer she is getting ready to start drying fruits and vegetables.  Between this rack and her Excalibur she dries an amazing amount of product every year.

The rack was easy to make and once I had the materials took less than an hour.  The one I built measures 3 X 5 feet.  The materials list is shown below.

• 2 – 5ft. lengths of ¾” PVC

• 6 – 3ft. lengths of ¾” PVC

• 4 – ¾ to ½ in male adapters

• 4 – ¾” 90 degree side outlet elbows, to take ½” male adapter.

• a 3 x 5ft. section of ¼” hardware cloth

• 20 6” cable ties

• I can of PVC cement

This is enough material to provide you with a finished 3 x 5 rack that is 3 ft high.

Fit the 2 – 5 ft. lengths of PVC together with 2 – 3 ft lengths using the 4 – 90 degree side outlet elbows. This will make a 3 x 5 rectangle.  Glue the corners together.

Take the remaining 4 – 3 ft lengths of PVC and glue a 3/4″ male adapter,  one to each length..

Screw the male adapters into the 90 degree side outlet elbows.  This gives you the 4 legs.

The frame is now finished.  Now lay the hardware cloth on top and attach it with the plastic cable ties.

Your rack should now be finished and ready to use.

We have used this quite a bit and it works well. With the removable legs it is easy to store.  As i mentioned above most things dry in one day, for the exceptions we just cover the dry products with an old sheet and carry the rack into the garage to keep the animals off at night.

We have been asked about insects and birds, it has been our experience that during the hot part of the day they don’t bother the products.  So as the day cools down you have to bring them in if they are finished or cover them up and protect them until the next day.  I live in an area where it often can reach in the high 90’s or low 100’s with no clouds.  If your weather is different you may have to watch your drying until you figure out how the insects, birds or other pests will effect you.

Howard

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