Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator Machine 9-Tray with 26-Hour Timer, Automatic Shut Off Accurate Temperature Control and Fast Drying with 15 Square Feet of Drying Space, 600-Watts, Black

We have tried other dehydrators...most had fan issues and we finally decided to just go for what everyone said was the best of the best. So far, we are not disappointed! We had beef jerky marinating when the machine was delivered...yeah we had that planned! It turned out beautiful. Next batch - chicken jerky for the dogs. Again results were amazing. Just ask the dogs - they'll tell you how good it was! Then bananas and three pounds of apricots. We had done bananas before but never apricots - we were very pleased with the outcome. They take a long time but they are sure worth it! Next chicken/sweet potato dog treats. I ordered the nonstick sheets to go with this and they work well too. The racks are easy to clean - they fit flat in my sink (I have an over-sized sink). It runs quiet! I love the option to leave out racks if you have thicker foods to dry. This has run almost daily since delivery. Figured put it to the test and see how it holds up and so far it has passed the test with flying colors. When you order they give you a several day delivery window. My Excalibur was delivered on the first day of that window which was awesome. It was well packed and everything was there. The book is rather nice to that comes with it. We have done a lot of dehydrating but was nice to have references for all the fruits that we have not done before. This is the first dehydrator we have owned with a timer. I could probably live without it, but it is a very nice feature to have available. Never have to worry about it when you get busy and lose track of the time. And if you can, go for the 9 tray! I had looked at the 5 tray but I think I would have regretted that purchase. Saw where everyone said get the 9 tray so I followed everyone else and got the 9 tray and I am SO glad I did! The warranty is nice for peace of mind. There are tons or recipes on the Excalibur site. I know exactly where all the extra tomatoes from the garden are going to go this year! What an advancement from the old round Ronco that I started with many many years ago, bought at a flea market for $5. Got to admit tho, that thing ran for years! So old there was no fan...just the heating element in the bottom. I think I prefer my Excalibur over that one ha! I don't think you will be disappointed with this machine. Yeah it is big. Be sure you measure where you are going to put it so there is no surprise when you unbox it. It is lightweight tho. I guess overall I can say I am VERY happy with this purchase! I hope it serves me well for many years to come and from comments of others, I have a feeling that it might just do that! UPDATE 5/27/14: Having used this now for a few weeks almost nonstop, my statement of "I could have lived without the timer" is definitely FALSE. That timer sure does make life easier! So glad I got the one with the timer. We have put out multiple batches of chicken jerky (pet treats), dog cookies made with chicken and sweet potatoes, beef jerky (for us not the dogs ha), 15 pounds of apricots, 6 pounds of onions, bananas. Nothing is safe from the Excalibur! I should have bought this one first.

I have been using an Excalibur dehydrator that my mom purchased in the early 70's, (which still works great if you're concerned about the quality and durability of Excalibur products!), but was becoming increasingly worried about its energy efficiency especially since I live in a high-rate electrical district. After calling the company directly to get more information on the newer model efficiency, I ordered this unit from Harvest Essentials via Amazon. First, this seller is fantastic! I placed my order Monday morning and received my dehydrator the next day via Fedex! It was packaged very securely and arrived in great shape! I also ordered a clear door from the same seller which arrived the same day in a separate package. I fired the dehydrator up today and it runs like a champ! I will say that it is much quieter than my prehistoric model and since it's made of plastic, is also much lighter than the wood cabinet of old. :) I am also a fan of the new (to me) trays which consist of a plastic frame and a removable BPA-free mesh liner that sits on the frame. They are a huge improvement to the metal "window screens" in my old version! I haven't gotten any of the Paraflex liners, choosing to use parchment paper instead. That may change with time. Just a heads up - the unit will arrive with the timer and temp switches probably still in "factory test" mode - meaning that the unit will turn on when you plug it in. Don't make the same mistake as I did in thinking the unit would then run without the timer. (My old unit did not have a timer, so it stayed on until turned off.) I put my fruit into the dehydrator, plugged it in, and thinking the dehydrator was on, set my mental clock for 11 hrs and merrily went back inside. I went out two hours later to check on it, only to find it was no longer running. :/ The timer, which I guess had arrived with a few minutes left on it, had run out and shut the unit off. Thus I lost 2 hrs of drying time. Oh well. Lesson learned. :) (Side note: Yep, that info is in the manual. Guess I missed it on the first read-thru!) As for efficiency - since Excalibur doesn't provide any of the official yellow tags showing the expected energy usage, I can only go by a comparison between my old unit used last Saturday, my new unit used this Saturday, and my solar/electric meter. With my old unit on, the electric meter was "running forward", showing that there was more energy being used than my solar system was currently generating. With the new dehydrator running at approximately the same time of day (and with roughly the same energy load in the rest of my house), the electric meter is now happily running in reverse, which means the new dehydrator models are much more energy efficient than the old versions! Also, for those of you concerned about the warranty; as confirmed with Excalibur directly, the warranty IS still valid if purchasing from Amazon or an authorized seller via Amazon. I am thrilled with this dehydrator, and with the seller, Harvest Essentials, as well. I can't wait to see what the next 40+ years of use bring! Thanks Excalibur!!

AMAZING!!!! I have been wanting one of these for SO long. I have always used just the small round dehydrators you get from Walmart, etc. and while they do the job okay, it is nothing AT ALL in comparison to what this baby can do. I was floored by how quickly and evenly it was able to dry the food. Also just how much I can dry at once! It holds SOOOO much food at a time. I also loved the convenience of never having to rotate the trays, and being able to set a timer so I didn't have to watch it like a hawk. So far I have dehydrated bananas, apples, bell peppers, tomatoes, green beans, onions, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, peaches, chiles, and made fruit leather. They have all turned out perfectly! My kiddo is happily snacking on dried fruit now instead of candy and junk. My whole family loves the final product. I love shopping at our local farmers market, but pretty soon with the seasons changing that won't be an option. it is great for me to be able to buy up a ton of fresh, locally grown produce and dry it, so that we can enjoy it throughout the winter months. For example, I dried about 3 dozen bell peppers that I chopped up, and now everytime I make spaghetti, etc. i can just throw a handful into the sauce without having to run to the store to get them. SO convenient, and better quality ingredients! This is also ideal for preparing food for food storage. It does such an amazing job, compared to dehydrators I have used in the past. I can confidently store the food now, without worrying about wether it will spoil or not, because this dehydrator does the job so well! I cannot say enough good things about it!

Muy práctico, cumple con mis expectativas

Alguien me ayuda a saber cómo hacer los chips de verduras? (Camote, betabel, zanahoria). Utilicé la receta del libro que trae y quedan agüadas. Intenté hacerlas de nuevo sin cocción previa y quedan sin sabor.

Fantastic!

Prodotto veramente scadente!Presa elettrica non adeguata al mercato europeo!I vassoi cadono !Amazon deve controllare la qualita Euro 1361,00 euro!!!una truffa!

We run two of these almost 20 hours a day in peak season when we are dehydrating mushrooms and herbs. Quiet, easy to use and very efficient! Fantastic product and well worth the money! Avoid wasting your $$ on other dehydrators!