Project Brief

Wet-to-Dry Yield, Evaporated Water & Tray Count Reference Calculator

Calculate raw wet input weight, water evaporated (kg), required 640×460 mm stainless trays, and heat-pump vs electric kWh per batch across common foods.

Exact Mass-Balance Equations for Batch & Continuous Sizing

To size any dryer in dehydrator sizing and selection and dehydration airflow and process specs—apply the dry-matter conservation equation: Finished Dry Weight = Wet Weight × (1 − Initial Moisture) ÷ (1 − Final Moisture).

For example, drying 100 kg of raw apples at 86% moisture (14 kg dry solids) down to 15% final moisture yields 14 ÷ 0.85 = 16.5 kg of dried apple rings and evaporates 83.5 kg of water.

Wet batch and hourly capacity comparison across kitchen cabinets, RXH truck ovens, vacuum dryers, and mesh-belt tunnels
Transition from batch trolley cabinets to multi-layer mesh-belt tunnels once continuous wet feed exceeds 200–300 kg/hour.

100 kg Finished Dry Product: Required Wet Input & Tray Count

Hardware required to produce 100 kg of finished dried product in a single batch (standard 640 × 460 mm tray @ ~3.0 kg wet load):

Product Type Initial -> Final Moisture Wet Raw Input Needed Water Evaporated Trays & Recommended Oven
Beef Jerky Strips 72% -> 25% (<=0.80 Aw) ~370 kg marinated meat 270 kg H2O ~124 trays -> 3-Truck RXH Oven
Apple / Mango Chips 86% -> 14% ~615 kg sliced fruit 515 kg H2O ~205 trays -> 4-Truck RXH or Belt
Diced Carrots / Onions 88% -> 6% ~780 kg blanched veg 680 kg H2O Continuous DW Mesh-Belt Dryer
Culinary Leafy Herbs 85% -> 8% ~610 kg fresh leaves 510 kg H2O (@ 1.5 kg/tray) Continuous Belt or Multi-Truck
Baked/Dried Pet Chews 65% -> 16% ~240 kg formed chews 140 kg H2O ~80 trays -> 2-Truck RXH-II (96 trays)

Match your batch schedule to temperatures in our dehydration temperature chart.

Commercial drying temperature and lethality schedule for herbs, vegetables, fruits, and meat jerky
Matching air temperature and wet-bulb humidity to cellular structure prevents case-hardening and preserves natural color.

Commercial Dehydration Engineering Notes

  • Account for Peeling & Core Trim Loss: Apples, pineapples, and onions lose 15–28% raw weight during peeling/coring/slicing before entering the dehydrator—order raw produce accordingly.
  • Leafy Herbs Are Volume-Limited: Fluffy basil or mint holds only 1.2–1.8 kg per tray rather than 3.5 kg—size herb cabinets by tray square meters, not weight.
  • Two Cycles per 24 Hours: A 9-hour fruit or jerky cycle easily runs two full batches per 24 hours on one 2-truck oven using spare pre-loaded trolleys.

Validate Your Daily Mass Balance

Send your raw crop and target daily finished pouches via Project Brief.

Six-stage commercial food dehydration and barrier pouch packaging workflow
Uniform slice thickness and post-dryer cooling prevent moisture rebound inside sealed retail pouches.

Explore related equipment in Commercial Food Dehydrators, Airflow & Process Specs, or send your wet-to-dry batch targets via Project Brief.

Related Specifications

Further Reference

Request Project Configuration Review

Share layout constraints, architectural drawings, or throughput targets with Commercial Food Dehydrator Technical Group.

Size My Dehydrator