Thursday, April 11, 2013

Dehydrators- Suggestions?

My old POS dehydrator decided to leave us, and now I am looking to replace it.  I've done some research, and an about ready to pull the trigger on a new unit.

This will be used mostly for making snacks.  Vegetable chips, dehydrated fruit, some meat drying (I have a smoker for real jerky), and also for long-term storage of vegetables and fruit.  Dehydrate them, and then seal em in a vacuum bag. 

Anyone have any suggestions?  Here are the front runners that I'm looking at:

Open Country 7 Tray at Bass Pro:
pro- Inexpensive, know someone that has one and likes it, lots of capacity
con- not much in the way of control.  Basically on and off.

Open Country Square:
Pro- Not too pricey, more controls, good capacity
Con- Not really any reviews to be found online.

Necso 700 watt
Pro- Inexpensive, good reviews, more controls
Con- Limited capacity (unless you buy more trays)

LEM 10 Tray
Pro- LOTS of capacity, Great control, Great reviews
Con- Expensive, large

Nesco 1000 Watt
Pro- Lots of Capacity, Great reviews, Good controls, Lots of accessories included
Con- More expensive, Largish. 

I know Excalibur is the gold standard, but they are very expensive to get one with more than just minimal carrying capacity.  I'm open for any input!

3 comments:

  1. I'll be available for the testing phase.

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    Replies
    1. I'm thinking I'm going for the LEM. What the heck

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  2. I haven't tried any of the above, but I have struggled with others in the past. I almost gave up on trying to get anything going with one. I bought a 9 tray Excalibur and have been very pleased. They are not cheap, and I think they have a healthy margin built into them, but I really like mine. Finding one at a garage sale or flea market is probably the best buy, but is very luck-dependent. Just my $0.02.

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