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Hi Folks!,
Can anyone recommend a good food dehydrator? The one I have is on its last legs, and seems to take a really long time to dehydrate (could be I'm just impatient ;-)... Dehydrating mostly fruit/veg, no meat or sauces if that makes any difference... And is 12-24 hours a standard time? Thanks in advance!
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I've got an Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator. It's the only one I've owned, so I have nothing to compare it to. I have no complaints with it.
I do jerky sliced at 1/8" in ~6-8 hours. Meals like chili I just leave overnight (<12 hours) and they are very dry in the morning. I haven't done fruit recently so I don't remember how long it takes. 12 hours would probably be way more than enough.
I just noticed today that Costco is advertising "Up to $100 off" select Excalibur Dehydrators July 17 to 30th.
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I have use Nesco from LeeVallee. It is around the 100$. It works well for what I use it for. I have purchase a few extra trays and a few plastic liner for more liquid substance.
From what I heard from Excalibur, they are the top of the line.
Sebastien
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I've used a Nesco for the last five or six years. It's about $70 US and works well. Excalibur are excellent, but I'm not a big-time dehydrator - just for camping trips and to do fruits.
The nesco works well - I can do probably half a dozen apples at one time and they take anywhere from 4-8 hours; also works well on meats like ground beef; spaghetti sauce, olive tapenade, salsa, etc. If you are looking for higher volume, the excalibur would probably be best (and you'll pay for it) but if you're in need of low to moderate utilization, something like nesco works well.
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Well, First off. It sounds like it's time for you to get a new dehydrator.
I started with a Nesco, but a much much older model my mom had stashed in the basement. While it worked, it typically over 'dryed' some areas, while under 'drying' others after 3 years of use. (Mind you it was the mid/early 1980's model).
I was fortunate enough to get the Excalibur 5 tray 2 years ago and let me tell you... I don't know how I wasted my time with the Nesco. It comes with a nice timer, no more dolling out and cutting parchment paper. Not to mention, the temperature is adjustable.
By far, after having both, it's worth the money and has already paid for itself.
Like the above, I do at least 4 runs of Jerky and it comes out PERFECT every time.
I also just finished up a number of fruit rolls and dried fruits and I can't emphasize how perfect things come out after 6-8 hours of dry-time.
Good luck and have fun!
JB
Last edited by JB (6/29/2017 7:50 am)
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Just ordered our 2nd Nesco to match the trays from the old one. The 1st one lasted at least 10 years, so I stuck with basically the same model for the new one.
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I also have a Nesco, although I haven't done too much dehydrating lately. It's always worked fine and served me well...I don't have any complaints with it, not even with having to cut parchment paper. 
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I have an Excalibur 9 tray that I purchased this year to replace a hand me down, ronco dehydrator. It really is like night and day comparing the two so I would suggest purchasing something of quality. I had to spend about twice the time to dehydrate jerky in my old dehydrator versus the new one.
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I am also part of the Nesco from Lee Valley group. It works fine for the few times I use it. No problems so far and I'm 2.5 years in.
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After looking online based on the above, looks like I'm shopping for an Excalibur!
Great feedback, thank you all for your input 😄
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