Hot Air Dryer Project

Week: 15–21 September 2026

Initial Work

This week, I started working on the hot air dryer project with Ayush
We developed a closed-loop hot-water circulation system, where hot water
from the tank is circulated through the radiator using a pump and then
returned to the same tank.

Design Discussion

I discussed the dryer design with Neeraj Dada. Before finalizing the
complete dryer, we decided to test the heating system using the existing
oven. This will help us understand the performance of the radiator,
suitable fan size, achievable temperature and drying performance.

Proposed Dryer Design

The proposed dryer will have a chamber height of approximately 1.5 m,
with five trays of approximately 1 m² each. One radiator/heat exchanger
will be provided for each tray. The chamber will have a filtered air
inlet and a blower-assisted outlet for forced hot-air circulation.

Heat Pump Dryer Study

Along with Dixit Sir and Neeraj Dada, I visited Dhamari to study an
existing heat pump dryer. We observed its heating coil, evaporator,
condenser and fan arrangement and discussed the airflow inside the
drying chamber. The observations will help us while developing a new
heat pump dryer project at Vigyan Ashram.

Next Step

The final dryer design will be finalized after the oven experiment.
Neeraj Dada will prepare the design and I will work on its fabrication.
PUF panel insulation is also being considered for the dryer chamber.