Technical brief
Operation and Maintenance
Operation and maintenance of both driers are very simple.
Operation merely involves loading a single layer of pre-
processed fish (cleaned and salted) on to the drying
platforms, turning the fish at the end each day and finally
unloading the dried fish when they are fully dried. The
maximum drying time would be 5 days for Tuna. For Herring
or other smaller fish2 ½ - 3 days would be sufficient.
Maintenance is only a matter replacing the polythene cover.
This needs to be done every 3 to 4 months. It is the only
item that needs replacing and amounts to approximately Rs.
2, 000 per replacement and works out to about Rs., 24,000
annually. This cost however needs to be weighed against
the benefits. The benefits in terms of higher quantity and
price premium for quality covers this cost several times over.
The double sided adhesive tapes facilitate easy removal and
replacement. If the cover is pre-prepared, the replacement
should take less than a couple of hours. Both operation and
maintenance can be handled by an unskilled worker.
Drying Conditions
Drying conditions of the two driers are more or less similar
to the measured drying condition of the stationary type drier
is given below
Average ambient temperature
Average ambient % R.H.
Average ambient wind velocity
Maximum temperature within the drier
Minimum temperature within the drier
Average temperature within the drier
Average % R.H. within the drier
Average air flow through each chimney
36.00C
67.5 %
0.5 m/sec
51
34
42.5
33.7 %
0.3875 m
Advantages
• The simple design of the dryer enables
- easy construction of the dryer using local workers
- faster and easier adoption of the dryer
- easy replication
• Material required can be easily sourced locally in
almost any rural area.
• High durability- about 80% of the material used can last
up to ten years.
• Can be replicated in diverse fisher community contexts.
• Installation cost is minimal.
• Maintenance cost is minimal.
• Drying time less than conventional method.
• Ensures a high quality hygienic product.
• Minimum labour requirement for construction and
maintenance.
• Could easily be scaled up or down to suit individual
needs.
• High consumer preference for dry fish processed using
the dryer.
• No unpleasant flavours, tangs or offensive odours.
• Could potentially be used for dryer dehydrating fruits,
vegetables.
Practical ActionConstruction and maintenances of solar fish drier Technical brief
12