Dear Friends I need your valued opinion on dehydrators

standles · February 22, 2013, 05:32:13 PM

All:

I have never had a dehydrator before and want to enter into that arena. I will mainly use it for jerky and dehydrating fruits/veggies for storage in case of the apocalypse. :o

I searched and saw a lot of discussion on the Cabella's 80L. Seemed to have good feedback with the exception of heat element in bottom and Loooong part replacement times. I then found this one.. http://www.sausagemaker.com/32609d-10fooddehydratorwith14stainlesssteelshelves.aspx. Pricey but I liked the all stainless and capacity.

However, I found little or no feedback on this model. Can any of you that have this one let me know your thoughts? Also your opinion on one versus the other would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Steven

classicrockgriller · February 22, 2013, 06:14:37 PM

I think if you register you can view the ratings and reviews.

The site show it got a 3.5 out of 5.

For the price they want for it, it should have a 5+.

You might see if they have a Forum and you can see what is

being said about it on that.

HSC5690 · February 22, 2013, 07:16:45 PM

We have had the Excalibur 9-tray for going on 15 years and have never had a problem with it. It is easy to clean, the heat and fan is located in the back so it is very easy to clean the bottom of the machine and no rotating of the trays are required, just a wipe out with a damp rag. Multiple settings and timer. Also has a bread proofing setting on it. That is what we have and I would recommend it.

standles · February 22, 2013, 07:56:21 PM

Yep I did the register thing and there were no reviews only people clicking a star rating. I do agree with you comment below but was hoping for trusted advice (you guys) instead of anonymous. :)

Quote from: classicrockgriller on February 22, 2013, 06:14:37 PM
The site show it got a 3.5 out of 5.
For the price they want for it, it should have a 5+.

standles · February 23, 2013, 06:01:04 AM

Thanks for the heads up. I will go give them a look see.

Quote from: HSC5690 on February 22, 2013, 07:16:45 PM
We have had the Excalibur 9-tray for going on 15 years and have never had a problem with it. It is easy to clean, the heat and fan is located in the back so it is very easy to clean the bottom of the machine and no rotating of the trays are required, just a wipe out with a damp rag. Multiple settings and timer. Also has a bread proofing setting on it. That is what we have and I would recommend it.

JerkyAddict · February 23, 2013, 12:13:53 PM

I've had one from sausage maker for over 10 years now. That was just before they upped the electronics in it. I've one fuse go bad in it and they overnighted me a new one and a spare. I think that the all stainless makes it preferable over the Excalibur if you are going to be making a lot of jerky. You can always get the mats if you want. With twelve shelves I made a batch every 4 to 5 hours, and could do that around the clock. (I was making over 100lbs of meat weekly for over 5 years). I have an Excalibur in my storage cabinet that I break out for fruits and such, but I leave all the meat stuff to the sausage maker. If you can justify the cost to yourself, you won't regret it. If you are doing much lesser amounts occasionally then the Excalibur would probably work.

12AMNSX · February 23, 2013, 03:05:23 PM

I have the Excalibur 5 tray and love it. You may need the 9 tray if you have large batches, but my 5 tray will accommodate about 5-6 lbs of london broil.

standles · February 25, 2013, 03:38:45 PM

Thanks to everyone that provided their opinion. After looking at the differences and looking into my budget I ordered

"Excalibur 3926TW Excalibur 3926TW 9 Tray Dehydrator with Timer White, 1, White" $269.99

Figure it was a good starter one and good price. If my needs exceed that one I will look later

Thanks again, Steven