Food Dehydrator

BoomerTheWeim · January 2014

We're looking to purchase a food dehydrator. I have seen prices from $75 to $200. Any suggestions out there?

FaceDance · January 2014

I've heard good things about the Excalibur dehydrators but I have no experience.

MO_Eggin · January 2014

I have a 5 tray Excalibur (w/o timer). Works as intended. The cheap dehydrators often have a single temperature setting, while the Excalibur line has variable temps. The trays are made up of 2 pieces, a frame (reasonably sturdy plastic) and matt (flexible plastic), which makes cleaning a bit easier. I've used it for drying jerky and hot peppers.

Canugghead · January 2014

I picked up a 9-tray Excalibur also w/o timer from CL few years ago. For jerky I start with couple of hours in the egg, to get the smoke and get rid of the messy marinade drips, then finish off in the comfort of Excalibur indoor.

One issue I have is uneven drying ... the trays near the heater fan in the middle, and the rear, dry faster than the rest. Need to rotate up-n-down as well as back to front. I want to try installing a deflector, kind of like a plate setter, vertically in front of the fan and see if I can reduce the hot/cold zones differential.

Dredger · January 2014

We have this one. http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-1040-1000-watt-Gardenmaster-Dehydrator/dp/B00B9F7WJW/ I like it because the heating element/fan is on the top instead of the bottom. It has a digital timer and adjustable heat settings. It comes with 4 trays, but you can expand up to 20 trays. Works great.

AlbertaEgger · January 2014

I have a Nesco as well, no timer, but I think it does the job. Works for me.

jeroldharter · January 2014

I have an Excaliber and recommend it. The trays are large rectangles, no center obstacle.

Some things to be aware of for the Excaliber is that they are relatively noisy, they kick out some heat, and they can really stink up the place. Smelling warm, dehydrating tomato sauce for hours at a time gets old. I thought I would put the dehydrator in the kitchen but because of the factors I listed, I put it in an out of the way room.

BoomerTheWeim · January 2014

SWMBO decided on this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008OV4FD0/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We shall see how it works out.

jeroldharter · January 2014

I have that one. You will definitely wan the silicon sheets advertised along with it:

http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Non-Stick-Dehydrator-Sheets-Excalibur/dp/B001PLE1O4/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_y

You need that for liquidy things like spaghetti sauce, ground beef, refried beans, etc. assuming you want to dehydrate those things.

You will be pleased if you have a dedicated place to put it in the garage or utility room, but not the kitchen.

Canugghead · January 2014

+1 on silicone/teflon sheets ... fruit leathers!

BoomerTheWeim · January 2014

jeroldharter Thanks I just ordered the sheets. I will probably just start off with some apples tomorrow.

shannonlcorum · January 2014

I have the Nesco as well. I originally bought it to make dried fruits and veggies for my sugar gliders, but I'd like to try some jerky. A word of warning, if you try drying kale for kale chips, your house will smell like a stink bomb went off in it. It's bad. Really bad.

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