PREP Harvest Right Freeze Dryer

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WestGardener

Senior Member
Anyone else here own one of these freeze dryer's? I just purchased one and i am so looking forward to making my own freeze dried food. There is so much you can freeze dry including milk. Meats is one of the first things i plan to freeze dry along with fruits and veggies.
Grandson wants freeze dried ice cream so that will be on the list as well. From what i have seen you can freeze dry almost anything. Just curious if any of you have tried out this freeze dryer.
I will update when i freeze dry my first batch of food.


https://harvestright.com
 

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Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
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How cool is that.

I have been hearing the commercials and was curious about how well they worked.

You be the official TB guinea pig on this.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

Veteran Member
We had one until the house fire. They work great. You will need the Mylar bags, sealer, oxygen absorbers and compressor oil.
We bagged all of our meats in mylar the rest in foodsaver bags. Butter, fatty foods, Miracle Whip and oranges will not work well.

We freeze dried complete Chinese meals, hundreds of things.

Keep the compressor oil changed, easy peasy.
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
Thunderbird said:
We had one until the house fire. They work great. You will need the Mylar bags, sealer, oxygen absorbers and compressor oil.
We bagged all of our meats in mylar the rest in foodsaver bags. Butter, fatty foods, Miracle Whip and oranges will not work well.

We freeze dried complete Chinese meals, hundreds of things.

Keep the compressor oil changed, easy peasy.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
I have mylar bags i get from the LDS store and O2 absorbers that i have used for storing dehydrated food. Oil has been ordered from a online retailer. I have seen a youtube video on butter in the freeze dryer and it made a mess. I was a little disappointed that i can not freeze dry butter.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Thunderbird said:
We had one until the house fire. They work great. You will need the Mylar bags, sealer, oxygen absorbers and compressor oil.
We bagged all of our meats in mylar the rest in foodsaver bags. Butter, fatty foods, Miracle Whip and oranges will not work well.

We freeze dried complete Chinese meals, hundreds of things.

Keep the compressor oil changed, easy peasy.
Click to expand...

Yes you can FD these, over on the FB group lots of people experimented with these and have come up with work arounds, like freezing in the freezer first, etc., join the group over there and see what you truly can FD. Myself I want to FD pickles! https://www.facebook.com/groups/992979040760262/
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
packyderms_wife said:
Here's the facebook group, they are incredibly active over there freeze drying everything they can get their hands on! https://www.facebook.com/groups/992979040760262/

Did you buy your unit during their recent sale?
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Thanks for the link. Yes I did buy it with the recent sale. I ordered it a few days ago so it has not been delivered yet. Current sale price is $3549.00 + $250.00 shipping, and you get a few freebies with it (mylar bag sealer, mylar bags and o2 absorbers)
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
They also have a no interest layaway payment plan. I couldn't wait for the layaway and wanted the unit now. With all that is going on in the world right now i wanted to kick the prepping into high gear. I lacked long term meats so that was a strong motivating factor for the purchase. With the cost of freeze dried meats from online retailers i can recoup my investment fairly quickly. plus i liked the idea of being able to freeze dry my own foods from my own recipes.
 
cheyenneplateau

cheyenneplateau

Dove Chocolate tastes way better than their soap.
I am so interested in this Freeze dryer. I contacted the company and asked why they only had a one year warranty.
If it had a 2 year I'd buy it in a heart beat. I guess Im waiting to hear the reviews.
The man from the company that I spoke to said that it could be serviced by a refrigerator repairman if anything went
wrong.
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
cheyenneplateau said:
I am so interested in this Freeze dryer. I contacted the company and asked why they only had a one year warranty.
If it had a 2 year I'd buy it in a heart beat. I guess Im waiting to hear the reviews.
The man from the company that I spoke to said that it could be serviced by a refrigerator repairman if anything went
wrong.
Click to expand...

The vacuum pump is separate from the unit so hopefully that would cut down repair costs if you go beyond the warranty.
 

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Flippper

Flippper

Time Traveler
WestGardener said:
Thanks for the link. Yes I did buy it with the recent sale. I ordered it a few days ago so it has not been delivered yet. Current sale price is $3549.00 + $250.00 shipping, and you get a few freebies with it (mylar bag sealer, mylar bags and o2 absorbers)
Click to expand...
$250 for shipping?! Where is it coming from, Mars? I looked at these, but the price is more than a third of my yearly income so ...

Got to say, I'm glad so many here can afford the unit! I plug along with my Excalibur and dehydrate what I can, but would love to have a freeze dryer. :)
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
Flippper said:
$250 for shipping?! Where is it coming from, Mars? I looked at these, but the price is more than a third of my yearly income so ...

Got to say, I'm glad so many here can afford the unit! I plug along with my Excalibur and dehydrate what I can, but would love to have a freeze dryer. :)
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It is coming from Utah but the machine weighs a little over 100 lbs.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
WestGardener said:
They also have a no interest layaway payment plan. I couldn't wait for the layaway and wanted the unit now. With all that is going on in the world right now i wanted to kick the prepping into high gear. I lacked long term meats so that was a strong motivating factor for the purchase. With the cost of freeze dried meats from online retailers i can recoup my investment fairly quickly. plus i liked the idea of being able to freeze dry my own foods from my own recipes.
Click to expand...

This was my thinking as well, now to scrape together enough pennies to buy one. I've been keeping an eye on the surplus sales here at the university cause you never know when one will come up available. Last time I saw one it was a larger unit for $350. The university changes out the equipment about every two to five years so they have the latest greatest tools on which to train students.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Flippper said:
$250 for shipping?! Where is it coming from, Mars? I looked at these, but the price is more than a third of my yearly income so ...

Got to say, I'm glad so many here can afford the unit! I plug along with my Excalibur and dehydrate what I can, but would love to have a freeze dryer. :)
Click to expand...

It's a heavy, and rather large/bulky, unit.
 
Tundra Gypsy

Tundra Gypsy

Veteran Member
What does your electric bill look like after using one? I bet it is expensive to run.....wish I could buy one; but its probably pricey. I would have to go in on one with three or four other people. Then, have to decide who's house to put it; then haul my food over to their house to use it.....I can see problems with buying with others.... :(
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

Veteran Member
We ran it every other day, saw maybe $15/month change.

Packy, Interesting on the workarounds. I really wanted to FD coleslaw, did not try it due to the concerns on Miracle Whip gave me pause. There were other priorities.
 
NBCsurvivor

NBCsurvivor

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Flippper said:
$250 for shipping?! Where is it coming from, Mars? I looked at these, but the price is more than a third of my yearly income so ...

Got to say, I'm glad so many here can afford the unit! I plug along with my Excalibur and dehydrate what I can, but would love to have a freeze dryer. :)
Click to expand...

I can see and justify $250 for shipping of an item like this. It's price tag for the benefits it is supposed to yield is another matter. I, like you, live on a budget.

Can this thing guarantee 30 year shelf life? AND will the company be around after 30yrs to honor that guarantee?
 
pauldingbabe

pauldingbabe

The Great Cat
Flippper said:
$250 for shipping?! Where is it coming from, Mars? I looked at these, but the price is more than a third of my yearly income so ...

Got to say, I'm glad so many here can afford the unit! I plug along with my Excalibur and dehydrate what I can, but would love to have a freeze dryer. :)
Click to expand...

We are in the same boat. You would think that a purchase that expensive would include free shipping.....oh well, I'm just jealous!

Love my Excalibur!
 
NBCsurvivor

NBCsurvivor

Has No Life - Lives on TB
pauldingbabe said:
We are in the same boat. You would think that a purchase that expensive would include free shipping.....oh well, I'm just jealous!

Love my Excalibur!
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Excalibur is the way to go IMHO.

For 3500.00 I could buy a shipping container and have it delivered on site.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
pauldingbabe said:
We are in the same boat. You would think that a purchase that expensive would include free shipping.....oh well, I'm just jealous!

Love my Excalibur!
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There is NO such thing as free shipping, period. If you don't pay for shipping at the end of your purchase then the shipping is built into the cost of the item being shipped!

That said, the price on these bad boys is coming down due to the sudden demand for the units, which means the more volume they sell the lower they can drop the price. There's also a smaller unit available now as well. If you're on FB and join the group, there are two of them for this FD and I highly recommend joining both, you can read the docs on the work around's on cream sauces, etc. One gal just rehydrated some fettuccine with chicken alfredo sauce and reported back that it was wonderful!
 
pauldingbabe

pauldingbabe

The Great Cat
NBCsurvivor said:
Excalibur is the way to go IMHO.

For 3500.00 I could buy a shipping container and have it delivered on site.
Click to expand...

I truly love my Excalibur, never had a problem and have had it for 5 years.

Sorry for the drift, I am really interested in the reviews of the op!
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I wish. But it costs as much as I made last year so I don't think it's happening. I was going for another dehydrator that I could use just for hot peppers. But then I was gifted one. So I'm building up the herbal pantry instead.
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
Here is everyone's chance to try and get one, Free. They are having another drawing/contest for a free freeze dryer. they had a contest a couple of months ago for a free freeze dryer and last month they had a contest for 2000.00 off on a freeze dryer. If you have already purchased a freeze dryer and you are the winner then they will refund you 3100.00 on your previous purchase. watch their site as they seem to have a lot of contests.

https://harvestright.com
 
W

WestGardener

Senior Member
Thunderbird said:
We ran it every other day, saw maybe $15/month change.

Packy, Interesting on the workarounds. I really wanted to FD coleslaw, did not try it due to the concerns on Miracle Whip gave me pause. There were other priorities.
Click to expand...

I would love to hear any tips you may have. Curious about the miracle whip and why it causes a problem.
 
S

Sneaker 11

RECONDO
Thanks for the post. I too purchased one yesterday and am looking forward to receiving ours. I asked the sales rep what repairs one might be looking at down the road and he told me to keep the vac pump serviced and it shouldn't be a problem. I also asked about the door seal and he told me this is the only item not having more than five years of testing to get feedback from the field. Will update when we have something to report. Thanks too for the great info and links above.
 
ainitfunny

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
I wanted one, but upon mentioning it to my kids they all questioned my sanity because of the price and the fact that I live alone. I actually still want it, but at that price I cannot justify it to anyone else.

If it could be a group purchase and SHARED among several families so it did not sit unused for very long then maybe it would be more economical and reasonable.
 
M

mecoastie

Veteran Member
That is awesome. Isnt there another company that makes a less expensive model? Something that is put together with mostly off the shelf components?
 
alpha

alpha

Veteran Member
ainitfunny said:
I wanted one, but upon mentioning it to my kids they all questioned my sanity because of the price and the fact that I live alone. I actually still want it, but at that price I cannot justify it to anyone else.

If it could be a group purchase and SHARED among several families so it did not sit unused for very long then maybe it would be more economical and reasonable.
Click to expand...

We have an organization, Small and Beginner Farmers of NH that collectively purchases such items along with many others to promote farming within our state. As a member, one can rent the devices for very reasonable fees. For example, each county has a poultry processing unit which rents for typically $25 per day. There are seeders, tillers, flame weeders, manure spreaders etc.

Look into the possibility that your state has a similar organization.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

Veteran Member
Internally the unit is constructed with "off the shelf" components. There are no off the shelf vacuum/ freezer chambers for this application.
WestGardner, any fruits you do, grapes, blueberries, cherries and so on MUST have the skins broken. we sliced all of these in half after freezing them. We did only cooked and seasoned meats as we were preparing survival type goods. We cooked scramblet breakfasts, eggs, sausage, cheese, onions, prepared to the ready to eat stage.
A lot of this. Bananas, sliced 1/2 inch thick, onions, hamburger, about 6# per load, pork chops, minute steaks, cured ham slices, it is a long list. Mayonnaise looks like butter to the machine. We ran the standard cycle, seldom had to extend it. OH we were careful to remove as much grease from the meat as practical to eliminate the "butter effect. Not all of it it is essential to the taste but about 50%. It is really straight forward
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Thunderbird said:
Internally the unit is constructed with "off the shelf" components. There are no off the shelf vacuum/ freezer chambers for this application.
WestGardner, any fruits you do, grapes, blueberries, cherries and so on MUST have the skins broken. we sliced all of these in half after freezing them. We did only cooked and seasoned meats as we were preparing survival type goods. We cooked scramblet breakfasts, eggs, sausage, cheese, onions, prepared to the ready to eat stage.
A lot of this. Bananas, sliced 1/2 inch thick, onions, hamburger, about 6# per load, pork chops, minute steaks, cured ham slices, it is a long list. Mayonnaise looks like butter to the machine. We ran the standard cycle, seldom had to extend it. OH we were careful to remove as much grease from the meat as practical to eliminate the "butter effect. Not all of it it is essential to the taste but about 50%. It is really straight forward
Click to expand...

Some of these things folks on the freeze drier list were pre-freezing in a standard freezer. doing this caused fewer problems during the freeze drying and later rehydration process. Seriously join the FB groups on this machine, they are doing amazing things with it, for me the cost is worth the price of having freeze dried cheesecake that reconstitutes perfectly, and pickles, gotta have my pickles!
 
Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
I have been giving thought to building one.

There are quite a few specifics that I haven't been able to locate yet.

Freon type & operating pressures, coil sizes, heater wattages, temp/vacuum values &/relative cycle times, etc.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

Veteran Member
I seriously doubt that building your own is really economically feasible. Yes you may buy the components for less than the price of the machine, but the assembly, tweaking to your structures, determining cycle times, proper sensor acquisition, and materials (food) used in the debugging will certainly make up the difference.

Besides we have 6-8 months max before we will need product to eat.
 
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