If you're serious about dehydrating go with the 9 tray Excalibur. Most of those cheap brands are just toys.

I wouldn't consider $70 to be cheap. There's no way I can afford $200-$300 for a dehydrator. It would take me a number of years before it became cost-effective.

I guess this wasn't a good idea after all. :-(

Personally I don't think it's worth spending 300 bucks on a dehydrator until you have had a cheaper one for a while and know (1) that it isn't enough for your needs and (2) that you will actually use it enough to warrant that kind of expense.

I just got an American Harvester (the Encore model - FD-61 if memory serves) for 59 bucks and it seems to be just fine for me, unless of course it dies. But it's certainly no toy and you'll find many people here who are perfectly happy with their 'cheap' dehydrators that they have been using for years and years with great success. You don't need high technology to dry food.

Anyway the golden rule seems to be get one with an adjustable temp gauge and a fan.

I just burnt out my 4th Nesco American Harvester yesterday! No more for me. I love the design and how well they dehydrate, but this is ridiculous. It overheated and apparently blew a thermal fuse in the heater housing. I'll take it apart today and see if can figure it out. I'm thankful that it shut down rather than melting the trays.

jt

john, does your American Harvester get v. heavy use? Just how many trays of sungolds per day do you PUT in it?

Zabby ;-)

Zabby,

I would guess that it is running 45 days of the year. Since I believe in low temp (130°F and below) drying it takes longer. 4 days for most things.

jt

While I have one that is similar to the Excalibur, and I love it, I would recommend one of the smaller units until you are sure that you are going to use it. Excalibur is a little expensive if you are just starting out and aren't sure how frequently you will use it, or if you will use it for more than the first year.

Now, on the other hand, for those that have used, and burned out the cheaper units: It's time to get an Excalibur or one like it. They are absolutely wonderful for drying and you will be amazed.

Kim

G'Day. I have been dehydrating foods since 1974. I started with the old "Dry It You'll Like It" Book and a wood dehydrator with light bulbs for heat and a fan. I still use that dehydrator, but rarely. I purchased an Excaliber 9 tray one year ago. I did not want the timer. It is fantastic. I use it during morel mushroom season. I dry fruits. I make leathers. I dry vegies. I prepare most of my foods for backpacking and snacks for hiking. I really can not comment on the less expensive dehydrators as I have never owned one. However, a good tool is worthwhile having. If you are keeping a spreadsheet and wanting to make this a "cost effective" purchase and want to calculate a payback using a present value calculation, then forget a dehydrator. If you want to enjoy using a great tool and have fun dehydrating your own food just the way you like it, then get a good tool that will last a long time. I agree with Kim and Breasley. If you decide to purchase an inexpensive dehydrator that is OK too. I think that you will really appreciate your own dehydrated food. By the way, do not discount beef jerky--unless, of course you are a vegetarian. Cheers, Gary

Used this model for over 20 years now. Have two and have never had a problem with either. Only issue is roating the trays top to bottom, and turning a 1/4 turn every day. Most stuff dries in 2-3 day or less.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ronco

I agree with all those that recommend getting a small cheap dehydrator to see if you'll actually use it and to what extent. If you find you'll use it ALOT, and you find it's too small...save your money and get a commercial size or several smaller.

Several years ago I ran across a $20 dehydrator (similar to the harvester) at Bass Pro Shop during Christmas. I used it very heavily for two years when the gears froze up and it wasn't worth fixing. Luckily this was at the end of the season, but unfortunately it was just as I was going to dry apples. So no dried apples last year. So for Christmas my DH surprised me with the 80 liter dehydrator shown on the attached link. I LOVE IT!!! Yes it was pricey but I've already dried 5 qts strawberries, 3 qts apricots, cherries, herbs (loads) and zucchini (actually quite good) And it didn't take many many batches I was able to dry each fruit at one time. As I had fruit left over from canning I would dry what was left. I can't wait to dry apples. The only drawback is the size. We tried it in the basement..but it was awkward taking the trays down steps. We tried it in the room with our computer (where the last one was) but it over heated the room. So it is now in the garage and works great. When not in use I cover it with an other tablecloth.

Incase I didn't already mention it, I LOVE IT!!! Just as much as I do several other time savers like my Mantis tiller & dishwasher.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabela dehydrator

I have the American Harvest and only 4 trays.
I've been using it lightly (maybe 10-15 days/year) for about 10 years.

I think the inexpensive one is OK if:

1) You're not sure how much you'll really use it
2) There's only a few products you want to dry
3) Limited budget

Deanna

I wanted to spend enough money to get a decent one, and I will use it, but probably not all the time. It will probably be a flurry of use around harvest time, and then occasionally throughout the year.

And money is a concern. I just bought a laptop, and I did spend money on that because I'll probably use it all the time, and in my life and my line of work, a laptop is a bit higher priority than a food dryer.

And because I just bought the laptop, there's not a whole lot of money left over.

As a different approach, you might consider sun drying. I tried it with very mixed success. There are some folks that use ovens--usually the temperature is too high and will "cook" out the nutrients. Do you have a great deal of humidity where you live? You could go to the local hardware store and buy some fiberglass screen material and tack it to 1X wood for outdoor drying. You could finish the drying in an oven to remove excess moisture. Do a bit of search online. You could experiment this season before even investing in a dehydrator. Enjoy. Cheers, Gary

I did think about actual sun-dried tomatoes, but if I leave anything outside, the squirrels will eat it. They can be gone with something within seconds.

I just sent away for the American Harvester dehydrator. It had good reviews on Amazon. Hopefully the squirrels will leave me some peaches to slice and dry.

Tried the Ronco link above and it leads to nothing.

Will possibly order this one today.

jt

Here is a link that might be useful: Excalibur

Whoops.. Sorry, I had a different link..

Here is a link that might be useful: Another source for Ronco dehydrator

I have been considering purchasing a food dehydrator also and found a interesing bit on the Food Network channel by Alton Brown. The show is airing again on August 18th. There are some basic some instructions for making your own low cost dehydrator from a box fan, air filters and plastic dehydrator sheets held together with bungee cords listed in his recipe for dried fruit. This was a fun show to watch. Here is a link to some info: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_51943,00.html

The Alton Brown method to dry foods was revamped as it used fiberglass filters and these have antibacterial coatings which isn't good for drying veggies. Sometimes his shows are a bit off the wall, while others show a good sense of forthought.

jt,

Did you order the Excalibur? If so, please report on how you like it!

I'm not so much in the dehydrator market myself but two of my siblings were asking about them recently.

Zabby

I have all of Alton Brown's DVDs and just love them!

Zabby,

I did order the Excalibur. Also dismantled one of the 3 Nesco dehydrators that I still have and believe that can cobble together two of them to make one that works. That will be on hold though. Should have the new unit early next week.

jt

Dehydrator arrived today. Kudos to Canning Pantry on ultra fast (3 days) service. And the free shipping was nice!

A tray of Bhut Jolokia is drying at 125° as we speak. The world's hottest pepper & I wore rubber gloves to halve them. I never wear gloves, but have been warned about 7 Pod & Trinidad Scorpion (also growing) damaging the skin and causing pain for days. I licked the knife and got a real lip and tongue buzz.

Back to the dehydrator. The trays are small at 12" x 12" and only 4 of them, but I think am going to like this design. I always dehydrate in small batches anyways. Am curious to see if this one will dry as fast as the claims. The real test will be with thick-fleshed jalapeños or rocotos.

jt

John, I bet the fumes during drying will be quite strong too.

Maiden voyage....

Did a great job and the temp didn't vary more than 2° during the drying. For peppers the test is whether or not the seeds will powder as they are the last to fully dehydrate. I have some just made Annie's Salsa that I want to dehydrate for powder next. Need to construct a suitable tray insert first.

Just tried a disposable Dixie plate and should work just fine!

jt

lilacs of may,

Did you ever get a dehydrator ?

If so, how did you like it and how much
have you used it ?

We dry food sometimes, but usually accidentally. :-) Like have some oranges or lemons in a bowl too long . . . Hubby strung some chiles this summer and hung them in the (hot during the summer) garage. Moved them into the house in early October before we left town. They dried great, but the chiles we left on the formica work surface in the kitchen also dried similarly well while we were on a 5 week vacation!

Too bad most things you want to dry come along in the summer, the top of our soapstone woodstove would be an excellent temperature for drying things. I really should dehydrate some food, just for variety from all the canned and frozen stuff we have. FIL has a dehydrator, we should borrow it sometime.

Marcia

Has anyone tried a homemade solar one?

Here is a link that might be useful: solar food dehydrator book

Any one here drying apples this year with these dehydrators?

ML

I love my NESCO one (same one Amazon has for $69 "snackmaster pro"... Walmart online has for $50 so be sure to shop around and if you opt for the ship to store option = free shipping). Maybe its the same one you are looking at? So far I've been using it for a few months and at least 2x a week. I dry hot peppers and make zucchini chips (healthy snack) in about 10 hours. I have never had to rotate my trays although I notice the bottom tray does not dry as well as the top one so I put my fattest peppers on the top tray.

I understand about the cost factor as I looked into MANY other models before purchasing this one. It is just my hubby and I (the cat doesn't count here) so the 4 trays are an OK size for us and our garden. Maybe I'll get an extra 2 trays for Christmas??? =) If I were using it to dry tomatoes from a big garden, spinach, apples from a tree, etc, etc the size would def. be a complaint and I would spend more on an Excalibur.

Think about what you are going to use it for and how often. If you, say, are making your own tomato sauce or tons of fruit rolls be sure to add in the extra cost of those special sheets or extra trays that may come "standard" in pricier models. You may find the cost balances out.

If you do dry apples, ether dip in an ascorbic acid or sulfer dip to prevent darkening and oxidation. Tray rotation vertically as well as horizontally helps to equalize the drying process.

I have the American Harvest dehydrator. I purchased the extra trays and sheets. I have had this for years.(has to be at least 10 years old.) and still use it . I make jerky and slim jim type treats, and fruit leathers. I also dry carrots and celery and spices like parsley and oregano.If you have a few of the trays that are the extenders, you can dry gourds in them to decorate.

I have been considering the purchase of a food dehydrator. There is a non-electric one called the Food PANtrie that sounds interesting; however I can not really find any feedback anywhere on this product. Would any of you be able to give me some direction?

Here is a link that might be useful: About Stuff

Non electric?? How does it create a warm dry heat to dry things? If its just trays open to moving air, thats not going to offer much in the way of a strong final taste or smell, and can also trigger spoilage of the drying product.

Pricey for what is essentially a nothing-to-it set up. It just air dries and appears to be mostly nothing but common window screening. You could Build Your Own Solar Dehydrator for much less.

I agree with Ken - too slow for many things and increased risk of spoilage. There are much less expensive and better models available.

Even the old Ronco would work faster and better than this one. ;)

Dave

Burnt out my Nesco dehydrator yesterday and it was new this past winter...drying too many peppers I guess. Using my daughter's now and hoping it makes it without burning out also..we gave it to her for Christmas. Next year we're budgeting for an Excaliber 9 tray, I don't care what it costs. I can't afford to keep replacing $20.00 ones that don't make it through one season.

Mine is the 5 tray Excaliber, sometimes I think I should have gotten the 9 tray model but the 5 tray is sufficent for our usage until it's jerky making season for the kids and grandkids..works great for fruit leather and dried fruits, veggies etc. and yes, it's a bit pricey but after stumbling around with other products and returning ones I was not satisfied with I finally said enough and bought the Excaliber and have not regretted the expense one minute.It has been my second best purchase following the Food Saver setup. I am now saving for the best canner I can get and I won't drop anymore name brands in this reply..lol..My advice is to save for the Excaliber, in the long run you will be extremely satisfied with it. I think once you see all that you can dry and the ease of use with it, you will find that your usage will greatly increase.

It may be that the Nesco can be fixed. Suggest that you contact the maker and explain the problem.

I bought a Nesco American Harvest two years ago and love it. I bought one of the more expensive models, but it came with 8 trays, 8 mesh trays and 8 fruit roll sheets. The place I linked below has free shipping on these, too. It's expandable to 30 trays, which is a feature I liked, because if I need more drying room, there's no need to buy a new unit, just some trays...which I did. I've been really happy with it so far!

Here is a link that might be useful: Nesco Garden Master Deluxe

I recommended the Excalibur over the stacking models because:

1. It dries evenly... no more re-arranging trays.
2. It dries much faster than cheaper brands.
3. The slide out trays are a MUCH better design. I can't even begin to tell you how much more convenient they are.

With the Nesco model that I purchased and linked to above, you do not need to rotate trays. It has a fan and all the trays receive equal heat and air circulation. It is very fast and efficient. Yesterday I dried 8lbs of blanched, sliced potatoes in 7 hours on 11 trays.
I did a lot of research before I made the purchase. The final two I was deciding between were the Nesco Garden Master and the Excalibur 9 tray. The feature I really liked about the Excalibur was the ability to dry larger items (taller), such as flowers or boquets. The feature I liked with the Nesco was the expandability. Up to 30 trays without having to buy another unit. If you plan on drying taller items, the Excalibur is the way to go, but if you just plan on drying food items, jerky, or fruit leathers, ect., I feel the Nesco is the better buy. JMO

Do any of these cause excessive heat in a room?

I own one of the Ronco dehydrators. We originally bought it for drying a few things for backpacking trips. It does OK for small trips for two people, but it has been seriously underpowered keeping up with the garden production of what we had wanted to dry in order to preserve food. That happened last year with tomatoes, and this year with figs. We went around the problem learning how to can (last year) and learning to make fig/fruit wine (this year). You can figure that the freezer space was shrinking rapidly with full summer garden production, so freezing was not an option. Nothing against canning, and certainly nothing against wine, but I would have preferred to have a larger capacity dryer. I love drying tomatoes and then grinding them up into a tomato powder that can reconstitute into a sauce out in the woods in a backpacking trip. It is also great to have at home, easier than canning and you can actually store them without refrigeration. I love their taste too! For figs, I use dried figs in breads, muffins, energy bars I make myself (mixed with nuts and other things). Lately I have also found out that zucchini slices dry very nicely, and so do green beans. I also have peach and nectarine trees, they ripen with the figs, so yes, more space in a dehydrator!

We are considering making one of the solar ones, but out of nice materials that we already have (not cardboard). The main model plan that is going around the internet has a tilted black air duct, it should work just by the principle that hot air rises. Also, it is very sunny and very dry where I live, so solar should be good for us, save energy and avoid heating the room in the summer. The food is confined so critters should not be a big problem. Has anyone had any experience with the solar types? any advice?

cabrita - what one is "going around on the internet"? Can you post a link to one of the sources you've found? Is it different than the one in the Mother Earth News I linked above?

Thanks.

Dave

Jim, there are several links with this design, not sure if it was mother earth news originally or not. When you click on the plans from the link you sent, they show this design, even though the picture look different. I think this is the only 'free' design one can get on the internet, at least it was the last time I googled it. I was just wondering if anyone here had made it but I realize it would not work too well in cloudy/cold parts of the country, or where there is high humidity. We will keep the Ronco for cloudy or rainy days of course.

Here is a link that might be useful: solar dehydrator

Oh, I realize now your link does show another design. Good! Thanks, I'll look into both designs.

The Nesco doesn't seem to put out much heat at all.....

The Ronco is selling on Amazon for $30. I have two here and when they were bought I got the extra three trays for each. according to the Ronco web site, they are not accepting any orders anymore. Many companies that also offer their usnits are also not showing any pricings. The site link below is the Amazon site. They run at 133 degrees, have no thermostat, or fan to break down.

There is also a deluxe model that is being sold in a few places at:
http://www.builderssquare.com/xp_1546038-Ronco_5_Tray_Food_Dehydrator_As_Seen_On_TV_FD1005WHGEN.aspx

Here is a link that might be useful: Ronco dehydrator

Just found this site too. It offers the extra trays, including a fruit leather tray and an herb tray.

Here is a link that might be useful: Official Ronco site

i have tried roasting tomatoes using the slow method in my convection oven. but they started cooking into a mush, so i turned the heat all the way down to 170F and dried them, figuring i'd find something to use it for. turns out that dried powdered tomatoes are a hot item on the internet. i also dried some sliced eggplants, then the rest of the eggplants i breaded and baked them on 425F and zuchinis too.

Dried tomato powder from Bulk foods..

Here is a link that might be useful: Dried tomato powder