Food dehydrator questions

[ORChick]

I need some information about food dehydrators, and would value your experiences. My sister-in-law has decided that she would like to get one, and has asked for my advice.

I have an American Harvest Gardenmaster 1000, which I think is Nesco now. I have had it for about 25 years, maybe a bit longer, and it has worked well for me. It has a fan on the bottom, can have up to 30 trays (I have and use 12 = 12 square feet), and has a thermostat, though no timer. It appears that this model - http://www.dehydratorbook.com/nesco-food-dehydrator.html - is very similar, if not the same. I have read that the trays need to be rotated for even drying, but have never found that to be the case - but then, I always use a low heat for drying, to conserve nutrients, and maybe when everything takes a bit longer it really doesn't matter if a few trays take a bit more time.

So I've been doing some research for SIL. I am reasonably sure that she won't use it much, and mostly for veggies, so I am sure that what I have would suit her just fine. But now I have got the idea in my head that maybe I should give here mine, and get an upgrade for myself. The Excaliber is the one I have always read is the best, but some of the reviews on Amazon make me wonder if I want to get rid of what I have, and that works well for me. Some reviewers say that it (the Excaliber) is flimsily made; others that it is loud (the Gardenmaster is actually pretty quiet). The biggest advantages that I see for what I would use it for would be a) more drying space, and b) being able to take out a few trays, and use the extra height gained for yogurt or bread dough (can't do that with the Gardenmaster). I also take the machine outdoors to the covered deck when drying strong smelling things like onions or garlic; I imagine that the Excaliber would be more of a hassle to move.

Anybody have experience with the Excaliber? Or any others? Pros? Cons? I would appreciate hearing how you like what you have, and why.

And, for those with solar dehydrators, I'd love to hear of your experiences as well, although I think such a device would be of only theoretical interest to me, as I live in a damp, cloudy climate, and on the NE side of a hill

 

[k0xxx]

We have the Excalibur 9 tray model. We love it. It is a little louder than we expected it to be, and it takes up a pretty good bit of shelf space, but it works great. My wife has used it for getting dough and bread to rise, especially in the winter when the house is a little cooler. We have even discussed getting a second one for harvest time, when we have it going 24/7, but will wait until we have a summer kitchen completed.

 

[JRmom]

For what it's worth... I had asked for an Excalibur for my birthday. Well, my hubby got online just this weekend and did some research and has convinced me that, for the money, the Nesco is the way to go. It has a higher wattage and trays can be added (plus it's less expensive). I guess we are going with the Nesco.

 

[i_am2bz]

Nesco is what I just bought, & have used it probably 2 dozen times by now. It came with 5 trays, 2 screens for small items, 2 leather trays, & 3 jerky seasoning packets. The fan is on the top, has a thermostat but no timer. Pretty quiet, sometimes I forget it's on. It's my first, so I really don't have anything to compare it to, but I'm pleased with it so far.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I had a bottom fan and heated round coffeemaker dehydrator (got it used really cheap and it's OLD) but that said it would burn the bottom tray of food if not rotated frequently and doing thick things like pumpkin and stuff the top tray would start to mold if you forgot to rotate it...

I finally saved up enough for the Excalibur and LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! I use it weekly to make a HUGE batch of yogurt for the kids and it's amazing for raising breads... and it really does dry evenly without having to constantly check to see if it's burning or molding! I don't really find it flimsy it's much better built than my round dehydrator... Only downfall is it is a tad louder than I thought... about like an exhaust fan or a box fan set on low... Not bad really... It is a counter space hog as well... but to me it's so worth it!!! Once our fruit trees start producing I plan on already buying a 2nd one! Ours has the 9 trays and you can fit a ton of stuff in there WAY more than on the round trays...

 

[Wifezilla]

If you consistently use a dehydrator, an upgrade giving the old model to the newbie might not be a bad idea.

As for the Nesco, I got an old American Harvester Dehydrator/Jerky maker for $5.99 at goodwill. It is one of the models with the heater on the top...a round one. So far no need to rotate trays. It's an older model but seems to be working just fine. I filled it full of sliced jalapenos this morning so I put it on the back porch and let it do its thing. Should be dry by the time I get home

 

[ORChick]

Thanks, I appreciate all the feedback. I'm still waffling on whether to keep what I have, or to give it to SIL. I use the dehydrator quite a lot, but have always been quite satisfied with how mine works. And I don't really need more drying space; only very very rarely have I felt that I needed more. It wouldn't have even occurred to me if she hadn't mentioned that she wanted one. Oh well, guess I need to think about it some more.

 

[Sunny]

Personally I like the ones that have the motor on the top, instead of the bottom. My grandma ruined one that had a bottom motor. She dried some really juicey fruit and to much of the juice dripped on the motor and eventually ruined it. And some of the juice got on the heating coils. Was very hard to clean. I was happy when my grandma bought one with the top motor. It was easier to clean.

Now I wish I could find my own at a garage sale or goodwill. Im not that lucky I guess. But I did find a table top apple press to make juice.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

If she's not gonna use it often, tell her to get a cheapo at Wal-Mart. She may lose interest, or only use it during peak veggie season. But there's NOTHING to stop you from getting an excalibur ... I really really really want one too.

 

[Britesea]

I have an old cheapo round one that my mother owned. It doesn't have a fan, and I have to rotate the trays about every three hours. I really, really want a better one.