…… Looking for Food Dehydrator Recommendations

Grounded Idealist

Grounded Idealist

Hope Always
I know a bunch of folks on the board dehydrate food so I’m hoping to learn from your experiences. I’m looking to make a purchase of a small to medium size unit suitable for two people who don’t have a garden. Price is a consideration too.
TIA for your input and recommendations!
 
M

mecoastie

Veteran Member
Excalibur. We have 2 of the larger ones. Great machines. Bought one on Craigslist and found the other at the dump in the second chance shop. Having used them as well as the less expensive round ones, I would pay full price for the Excalibur. I do have friends tat use the Cabelas ones and like them but I have no personal experience.
 
W

wab54

Veteran Member
night driver said:
EXCALIBUR!

Yes a TAD pricey but they CARE about their products and they WORK!!!

Excalibur Dehydrator

Dehydrators for raw food dehydration! We are the world leaders when it comes to food dehydration technology for home and commercial use.
excaliburdehydrator.com excaliburdehydrator.com
Click to expand...


Can't do better. I bought one from Amazon. The sides were warped. The factory sent a new one for free. Cant beat that with a stick!!

WAB
 
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Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
I got one of these from Academy for about $200, but they don't have them anymore.

12 trays, you can get a gob of product in them.

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Cabela's has the new & improved version for $300ish...overpriced IMO.

They do have a good selection of other models tho.
 
Quiet Man

Quiet Man

Nothing unreal exists
My wife wanted a dehydrator, so we purchased one of these a few months ago on Amazon. Rating: 4.8/5 stars (Note: Higher than Excalibur units)

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Similar models are being sold under various brand names. I've seen variations up to 11 shelves.

I've never used a high-end one, like Excalubur (we didn't want to spend that much), so can't offer a point of comparison, but on every visit to a grocery store, she's returning with some sort of fruit (mostly apples, peaches, pears, bananas and plums) that will be sliced and dehydrated. She loves it and has been dehydrating up a storm. Easy to operate; quiet; dries quickly and evenly across shelves; attractive enough to leave out on the kitchen counter. Can't speak to longevity, but the electronics are simple and the shelf construction is all-metal (which I like) and the shelf wires are thin, so sticking is minimal, but strong.

Also, it's not too heavy. My wife typically loads it up and then takes it out to the garage to do a run (which usually makes it smell delicious). There's a load of sweet, juicy peaches out there right now. The aroma...!

If I had to do it over? We're pretty satisfied. If you plan to do a really large amount of dehydrating, you might find one with more shelves, but this one works very well for us; probably in only 1 in 4 loads do we fill them all.

P.S. My wife is using a little vegetable slicer/mandolin to make quick/easy work of the slicing.
 
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S

summerthyme

Administrator
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I had one of the "round ones" (American Harvest? can't remember)... got a great deal on closeout at Walmart, and bought like 5 of them, because buying the whole dehydrator was cheaper than buying just the extra trays. I burned them out, drying various meat dog treats.

They were fine for things that took a shorter amount of time, but couldn't hold up to the long drying times liver and other meats took.

Bought an Excalibur and 5 years later, it's going strong. Currently drying about 4 gallons of chicken livers and hearts.... (by the way, those things are like crack for dogs! They'll do ANYTHING if you use those as rewards/bribes! I parboil them with a few cloves of garlic, then dry until crunchy. They hold up well, don't make your pockets messy and are a perfect "bite size" for training)

Summerthyme
 
Seeker22

Seeker22

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Excalibur 9 Tray (although they do make a 5 Tray). Mine is going right now drying Yellow Squash seed for next year. I like the temperature control, the forced air, and the fact that this thing is still going strong after six years. I can get new trays or liners from Excalibur, Amazon, or Ebay.
If you get one- you won't be sorry, but you will be busy.

Five gallon buckets, mylar liners, and gamma seal lids seem to be necessary after awhile, but we ain't missin' any meals around here.
 
N

nehimama

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Another vote for Excalibur. I have the 9-tray and love it. I also have one of the round ones; Nesco Snackmaster Pro. It's. . . . okay. Does the job, but not as efficiently as the Excalibur. My motto is, "Buy the best that you can afford." You get what you pay for.
 
Ractivist

Ractivist

Pride comes before the fall.....Pride month ended.
Build one. I've built two for jerky. Take a freezer, preferably broken, gut it, drill a three inch hole on the bottom side and center top, for vertical air flow, exhaust of moisture. Put a safe low heat source on the bottom. I've used a crock pot style heater quite successfully, but about anything with a low heat signature will work. Put a fan or two in to move the air around and out. I've put a cheap window in the door. I used three sixteenth or so piano wire cut to fit and drilled holes about three inches apart vertically, and sixteen inches or so between two which hold my wire racks.

Cheap, functional, and can do a lot of product at once. Just have to move the racks around a wee bit. Practice makes perfect. A timer alarm should be set n reset on your phone, as its real easy to forget about it.cost is under a bill for everything if u have the freezer shell. Time, maybe a day the first time, lots of thinking......second one three hours.
 
Grounded Idealist

Grounded Idealist

Hope Always
Ractivist said:
Build one. I've built two for jerky. Take a freezer, preferably broken, gut it, drill a three inch hole on the bottom side and center top, for vertical air flow, exhaust of moisture. Put a safe low heat source on the bottom. I've used a crock pot style heater quite successfully, but about anything with a low heat signature will work. Put a fan or two in to move the air around and out. I've put a cheap window in the door. I used three sixteenth or so piano wire cut to fit and drilled holes about three inches apart vertically, and sixteen inches or so between two which hold my wire racks.

Cheap, functional, and can do a lot of product at once. Just have to move the racks around a wee bit. Practice makes perfect. A timer alarm should be set n reset on your phone, as its real easy to forget about it.cost is under a bill for everything if u have the freezer shell. Time, maybe a day the first time, lots of thinking......second one three hours.
Click to expand...
I have been thinking about building one. However, your project would be much too ambitious for me at this stage. I’m intrigued at using an existing ‘box’ and repurposing it. It would just need to be smaller as I live in a second story apartment with only the space on my balcony. Still—I’ll bet I could use your idea as inspiration . . . To be continued . . .
 
C

coloradohermit

Veteran Member
If you have any concerns about being able to use a dehydrator if the power goes out, I've been very happy with my Food Pantrie non electric dehydrator.

Amazon.com: Food Dehydrator Hanging Food Pantrie Dehydration System Non Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Natural Way to Dry Foods. 5 tray Dehydrator: Kitchen & Dining

Amazon.com: Food Dehydrator Hanging Food Pantrie Dehydration System Non Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Natural Way to Dry Foods. 5 tray Dehydrator: Kitchen & Dining
www.amazon.com
 
hiwall

hiwall

Has No Life - Lives on TB
coloradohermit said:
If you have any concerns about being able to use a dehydrator if the power goes out, I've been very happy with my Food Pantrie non electric dehydrator.

Amazon.com: Food Dehydrator Hanging Food Pantrie Dehydration System Non Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Natural Way to Dry Foods. 5 tray Dehydrator: Kitchen & Dining

Amazon.com: Food Dehydrator Hanging Food Pantrie Dehydration System Non Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Natural Way to Dry Foods. 5 tray Dehydrator: Kitchen & Dining
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
I bought one very similar just to have on hand. The list of things that can be dehydrated is very long and dehydrating will be a useful tool for the end times.
 
Bensam

Bensam

Deceased
I bought an Excalibur in 1998 (prepping for 2000) it is still going strong and works perfectly. Of course, if I ever do replace it, it will be with an Excalibur.
 
Ractivist

Ractivist

Pride comes before the fall.....Pride month ended.
Grounded Idealist said:
I have been thinking about building one. However, your project would be much too ambitious for me at this stage. I’m intrigued at using an existing ‘box’ and repurposing it. It would just need to be smaller as I live in a second story apartment with only the space on my balcony. Still—I’ll bet I could use your idea as inspiration . . . To be continued . . .
Click to expand...
Use a small dorm style fridge box, scale down. Very simple to make, no need for window. Two holes, racks, some low heat....bam
 
hiwall

hiwall

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Take a window screen off the house. Put your food on the window screen. Place window screen inside your car which you have sitting in the sun. Crack the car windows a little.
 
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