Anyone here on TB2K own a freeze dryer and use it regularly?

medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
We recently purchased one in Oct of last year. We own the Harvest right Large

As depicted below:

large-stainless-250x250.jpg


We like it pretty well and there are so many things you can freeze dry with it. Put in mylar bags with Oxygen Absorber and your good for up to 25 years.

The site is here if you want to scroll around.

https://harvestright.com/

I for the life of me had not heard anyone mention it in 14 years here.
 
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S

summerthyme

Administrator
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If you'd finish the question in your title to include "own freeze dryer" you'll likely get responses from the folks here who own one, and I know there are a couple at least.

Summerthyme
 
EYW

EYW

Veteran Member
I have been following it and I am on their email list. There have been several threads on it over at the AR-15.com Survival forum and also a thread or two about how to make the oil last longer (a filter system).

I would love to own one; however, we are in a small house in Key West that we are trying to "shovel out" and get read for the market after living here for 33 years so we can move up to Central Florida, no room for anything else. So I am hoping to get one once we are moved.

I've got three grandkids (young adult) up there, so I want to teach them at least about storing food.
 
medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
Satanta said:
All of us here are. :D

As far as a $3k Freeze Dryer?

Yeah-Naw, not even on the list of Must Haves for me.
Click to expand...

I was aiming for the Scientific model but funds were not available even though they do have a good payment plan and method. I think we paid 250.00 down and then pay it up to a certain point and they send it to you We sent them 250. then payed it off after we upgraded to the large size I told her she would be sorry later if she didn't.
 
G

GenErik

Veteran Member
Did you get the one with no oil in the pump ? We've read that the oil sometimes leaks and makes a horrible mess, so they started making one that doesn't use oil (I think I have that right).

We've wanted one for a while, however the funds aren't available. It's high on our wish list.
 
medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
GenErik said:
Did you get the one with no oil in the pump ? We've read that the oil sometimes leaks and makes a horrible mess, so they started making one that doesn't use oil (I think I have that right).

We've wanted one for a while, however the funds aren't available. It's high on our wish list.
Click to expand...

Actually no the oiless pump came out in December I believe and I am not ready to spend an additional 1300. for it right now. All in time though. I almost wish we had not payed it off until this month.
 
J

jersey juice

Senior Member
Yes, We’ve had one for almost two years (two years this May). I wish the large unit had been available then, but it wasn’t. We bought the largest at the time, with four shelves. I’ve found (other than the common freeze dried foods we are familiar with) some unique uses for the machine.

All in all, it was a purchase I don’t regret, but could easily live without. My Kitchen Queen wood-fired cookstove I would NEVER want to be without!
 
G

GenErik

Veteran Member
medic38572 said:
Actually no the oiless pump came out in December I believe and I am not ready to spend an additional 1300. for it right now. All in time though. I almost wish we had not payed it off until this month.
Click to expand...

Ouch, I didn't know it cost an additional $1300.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

Veteran Member
The vacuum pump that is standard works well, but it needs proper attention and oil changes. The oil changes are messy and need to be done in a location where a mess can be cleaned up.
Oil changes after processing foods containing tomatoes need to be more frequent. $1300 -1500 is a bit much to avoid the inconvenience.
 
Rayku

Rayku

Sanity is not statistical
GenErik said:
Did you get the one with no oil in the pump ? We've read that the oil sometimes leaks and makes a horrible mess, so they started making one that doesn't use oil (I think I have that right).

We've wanted one for a while, however the funds aren't available. It's high on our wish list.
Click to expand...

I know someone that had the oil leak problem. They still make the model btw. The gaskets need replaced to fix.
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
medic38572 said:
We recently purchased one in Oct of last year. We own the Harvest right Large

As depicted below:

large-stainless-250x250.jpg


We like it pretty well and there are so many things you can freeze dry with it. Put in mylar bags with Oxygen Absorber and your good for up to 25 years.

The site is here if you want to scroll around.

https://harvestright.com/

I for the life of me had not heard anyone mention it in 14 years here.
Click to expand...

I own one and posted a thread here about it a few months ago.
 
AlaskaSue

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
We have been kicking the idea around, seems like a worthwhile investment especially with extended family. Can you tell me if it's much of an electric load ... do you see a jump in your bill? I know having the hot tub running when it was here for a couple of winters was a huge increase, but I can't see the freeze dryer being even close to that kind of increase; however it's something I'd want to keep running. Thanks!
 
Babs

Babs

Veteran Member
medic38572 said:
We recently purchased one in Oct of last year. We own the Harvest right Large

As depicted below:

large-stainless-250x250.jpg


We like it pretty well and there are so many things you can freeze dry with it. Put in mylar bags with Oxygen Absorber and your good for up to 25 years.

The site is here if you want to scroll around.

Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryers - The best way to preserve food

I for the life of me had not heard anyone mention it in 14 years here.
Click to expand...

Medic, how is your machine treating you? Have you had any serious issues? Are you still using it?
 
ibetiny

ibetiny

Veteran Member
I have the med one. It does ok. Expect a certain amount of trial and error. A lot of things are cheaper or at least close enough to make it not worth the money but meats and pre made meals are way cheaper.
 
Donna_in_OK

Donna_in_OK

Veteran Member
I have a Medium, with the standard pump. It is currently running a load of eggs.

I have heard that many people with the 'oiless pump' regret buying them. I cannot speak to using one, since I don't have that pump. We have not had issues with the pump, and change the oil after every 5 runs. Sometimes, we may need to take a little off the level before we run a batch due to water extracted during the previous cycle. We have ours on a large rolling cart and the pump is on the top beside the actual FD. To drain, we simply lift up the back so that the oil flows downhill. We open a drawer and set the container we are draining the oil into under the drain. Knock on wood, we haven't had a mess yet.

We've done beef, pork, chicken, veggies, cheese, and fruits thus far. We did a run of skittles to see what the big thing was, but... since we aren't really candy eaters won't be doing another batch. Love the chicken and use it for fajitas if I have been out working hard outdoors and am to tired to cook.
 
Zahra

Zahra

Veteran Member
I've had a medium with the premier pump since last July and haven't had any problems with it (knock on wood). I've been concentrating on proteins for the most part but did also FD shallots, carrots, onions and celery from my gardens last fall, and mushrooms that I got on sale for the convenience of having them on hand on demand.

I've done lots of both raw and also cooked 93% lean grass fed ground beef, sous vide cooked boneless pork chops, raw sirloin steaks, grilled chicken, sous vide cooked chicken breasts, roasted turkey breasts, and tons of baked ham. I recently got a great deal on free range eggs so I've been running a lot of raw whole eggs (and I reconstituted some for baking, making omelets, and for crepes and they were just like using fresh).

So far I'm very happy that I pulled the trigger and got the machine, in fact, my only regret was waiting so long to do it!
 
K

krf248

Inactive
I'd like to add that I split the cost of my machine among my network. The thing can dry a lot of food per load, and dividing the cost across a few households made it much easier to pull the trigger.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
I just ordered the medium size one. Yes, I probably could have kept a large one running every week but I didn't want to have to install a dedicated breaker and confine my FD to one location only. When it comes in (8 to 10 weeks so they say) I will put it on a heavy duty rolling cart that will fit the FD and the Pump at the same time.

The FDs now come with the premier pump ... good for about 20 cycles before you have to change/filter the oil. The regular pumps are available to replace an existing pump but the machines now ship with the premier unless to upgrade to the oil-less one.

Machines are now on sale (Spring Sale) and with tax the medium one costs $3100 and change. Sucks but then again the newer models, as opposed to what they were selling 3 years ago, has many upgrades. That three year review youtube by retired at 40 vlog gives a good overview.

FDing is never going to replace all of my food preservation methods anymore than when I bought my Excalibur dehydrator years ago or since I've been investing in and using canning equipment for 30 years. That said, FDing meats will be significantly easier and potentially cheaper as well. FDing camping and travel foods will also be more convenient.

FD is another tool in the arsenal, albeit a more expensive one.
 
medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
Kathy in FL said:
I just ordered the medium size one. Yes, I probably could have kept a large one running every week but I didn't want to have to install a dedicated breaker and confine my FD to one location only. When it comes in (8 to 10 weeks so they say) I will put it on a heavy duty rolling cart that will fit the FD and the Pump at the same time.

The FDs now come with the premier pump ... good for about 20 cycles before you have to change/filter the oil. The regular pumps are available to replace an existing pump but the machines now ship with the premier unless to upgrade to the oil-less one.

Machines are now on sale (Spring Sale) and with tax the medium one costs $3100 and change. Sucks but then again the newer models, as opposed to what they were selling 3 years ago, has many upgrades. That three year review youtube by retired at 40 vlog gives a good overview.

FDing is never going to replace all of my food preservation methods anymore than when I bought my Excalibur dehydrator years ago or since I've been investing in and using canning equipment for 30 years. That said, FDing meats will be significantly easier and potentially cheaper as well. FDing camping and travel foods will also be more convenient.

FD is another tool in the arsenal, albeit a more expensive one.
Click to expand...

I telll most people you will wish you had upgraded to a large.
 
bbbuddy

bbbuddy

DEPLORABLE ME
I would love to buy one, but being off grid on solar, I couldn't keep it running all night. It looks like most of the time it just takes too long for a solar day, and too much power drain for the night time batteries.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
medic38572 said:
I telll most people you will wish you had upgraded to a large.
Click to expand...

Possibly. I just didn't want to pay the addition expense of an electrician to add a dedicated breaker. We run our business from our home already and have already maxed our one of our panels and have a sub panel that already has several breakers on it as well as a sub panel for the barn.

I also preserve foods in other ways.

I'll save the freeze dryer for eggs and other proteins as well as specialty things. Based on the reviews wiith the 30 hour processing time for the large machine that was also a little crazy.

I'll continue purchasing dried milk commercially.
I'll continue making my own ghee.
I'll continue canning most of my ethnic foods for more immediate use.

The FD will be another option. I can see using a large, but only if we continue to have adequate electric and if we don't have to worry about rolling black outs etc. which won't work with a FD.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
bbbuddy said:
I would love to buy one, but being off grid on solar, I couldn't keep it running all night. It looks like most of the time it just takes too long for a solar day, and too much power drain for the night time batteries.
Click to expand...

This is a real concern. It is going to use up at least a full-sized appliance's electric amount.
 
medic38572

medic38572

TB Fanatic
Kathy in FL said:
Possibly. I just didn't want to pay the addition expense of an electrician to add a dedicated breaker. We run our business from our home already and have already maxed our one of our panels and have a sub panel that already has several breakers on it as well as a sub panel for the barn.

I also preserve foods in other ways.

I'll save the freeze dryer for eggs and other proteins as well as specialty things. Based on the reviews wiith the 30 hour processing time for the large machine that was also a little crazy.

I'll continue purchasing dried milk commercially.
I'll continue making my own ghee.
I'll continue canning most of my ethnic foods for more immediate use.

The FD will be another option. I can see using a large, but only if we continue to have adequate electric and if we don't have to worry about rolling black outs etc. which won't work with a FD.
Click to expand...

We did not add a separate 20 amp breaker for our. What I did was we used a separate plug in the garage that was not connected to anything else except the lower circuit in the garage no lights or anything and I bought the necessary plug adaptor and extension cord to cut and put them together and plugged the extention cord into the wall and it worked never damaged the machine. Like I said nothing else was on that circuit and if we needed to use another plug we waited until we were done freeze drying. It worked.
 
Zahra

Zahra

Veteran Member
33dInd said:
What type of oil do these us
And what’s a time line for a load???
Click to expand...

Robinair (sp?) vac pump oil & the time it takes to complete a load varies depending on multiple factors such as:
Type of food item - the moister they are the longer they take to FD - also if they have seeds (like strawberries) they take longer
How much are you loading your trays with? Processing a dozen eggs per tray for example will take less time than running 18 eggs per tray.
Temperature & humidity of the room you have the FD running in.
 
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