I debated between this and the 9 tray and went with the 5 tray deluxe for the convenience of saving space in my small apartment, the recipe book and the 10 year warranty. I have had it for almost a month and used it for making breadcrumbs, orange zest, 'sun dried'-style tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, blueberries, strawberry chips, apple chunks, yogurt leather and raisins. It CAN fit a QUART MASON jar standing up to make yogurt, next on my to do list. I have yet to also try rising bread, beef jerky, hardy herbs and so much more. I thought I would be missing the built in timer, but truly it is not a necessity. Every batch will vary in drying time according to quality and ripeness of fruit/vegetable, how thick you slice the food, the humidity and temperature of your kitchen and more. It will be fine if you leave it for hours while away from home, unless you are drying something delicate/quick like cilantro. I do rotate the tray half way through to help more even drying but it isn't that inconvenient and the drying seems to be more consistent. The fan is strong, we have a small apartment and our bedroom is maybe 20 feet from the kitchen. If our bedroom door is open then we can hear it. I would compare the noise to that of the AC turning on. It's not distracting enough to disturb our sleep, but I actually prefer light background noise as I sleep anyway. It did not arrive with any damage. I did order an 11pack of paraflexx sheets to go with it. I highly recommend that, they are amazing for making fruit leather or preventing anything like sweet, juicy fruits from sticking. The recipe book is helpful, but I recommend also looking online for tips when dehydrating something new. For example, the recipe book recommends blueberries dry for 7-15 hours. Mine is going on it's 3rd day dehydrating and someone had recommended to pierce the berries, a seemingly simple or unnecessary tip, but it helped move along the ones that are lagging behind the others. I look forward to dehydrating many more recipes! A dehydrator is a kitchen staple for any size family that you will not regret purchasing!
I bought the Excalibur after a lot of research and reading everyone's reviews. As well, my co-worker owns ones and she told me it is great - which it is mostly! The little annoyances have nothing to do with the brand I'm sure, and more to do with me.
I bought the 5 tray as I'm on my own and didn't see that I would need 9 trays. However, now I'm seeing the benefits of having more trays - especially in the summer when there will be an abundance of produce. So, that being said, I'd recommend that you go with the most trays that you can.
The unit is quite big and I have limited counter space in my kitchen. So this makes it awkward to use and store - but again - that's my problem - not the appliance's. It's noisy and it rattles from time to time. This tends to get on my nerves when it has to be on for 12+ hours. My co-worker agreed and told me they moved theirs to a spare room in their house - and some of her friends even use the garage. So that will be what I do in the future. I have been leaving it on overnight now that I've used it a couple of times and am confident that its not defective, but I really don't like leaving appliances on like that. So, I'll move it and all my little annoyances will be addressed and then I'll be 100% in love with it!
I did not get the model that has a timer - I can definitely see the appeal in that. It would be nice to be able to program it to turn off as it can get tricky to time the dehydration process within the hours I am home/awake.
I am mostly using it to dehydrate soaked and sprouted nuts. This is awesome! The nuts come out nice and crunchy just like they've been roasted. I've been keeping the dial at 105 degrees to maintain maximum enzymes. I also make my own almond milk, and so then I dehydrate the pulp left over and now have a nice supply of almond meal/flour.
I've made terrific crackers and wraps as well.
Have not dehydrated any fruit yet - will do that as local fruit comes into season.
All in all, it's been a great addition to my raw food kitchen and once I figure out a home for it, I'm sure we'll co-exist for many years to come :)
So easy to use and clean! I have banana trees and when a rack of bananas ripens all at the same time it's the perfect time to dry them. I like the "big but manageable" size of the dryer. In the "olden days" I had a very large dehydrator that was hard to move about. This dryer is a great size and has removable mats on the shelves for easy cleaning. The removed mats fit in my sink and soak which allows the dried fruit to rinse right off. I also use it for flats of apples that I buy that aren't quite up to my standards of crispness. I slice them up and dry them too. They make nice grab and go snacks and I am not throwing out expensive fruit. I don't like cooked apples as in pies and crisps so this is the perfect alternative for me.
I was ready for this dehydrator, and had a number of complicated recipes I prepared that required to be dehydrated. It took hours in the kitchen, and a great deal of money on fresh organic products. I plugged it in, started off with things that would need 1 hour at 145 degrees before lowering tem. Continued to prepare other recipes. After the first hour, I realized the dehydrator had not warmed up. What a catastrophe. I have only a toaster oven, so was not prepared to dehydrate in an oven. I have an old round plastic tray dehydrator, but this was no good for the more liquidly recipes, and the plactic racks cracked when I used (cut to shape) parchment paper.
I salvaged what I could, and was so frustrated it took over a week before I could even think about what to do. I found the manual, and in the 'in case of malfunction' section I found my answer. If the fan is working, but it is not heating, turn it on and off repeatedly about 40 times. I thought that seemed a stretch, but worth a try. It worked, and I am very happy with the Excalibur now that it is working!
This is a must if you want to add more "raw" to your diet. I'm vegan. It's simple and quiet, only the sound of the fan.
Only 2 complaints.....
1. The mesh needs to be washed by hand and they are LARGE so difficult to maneuver in sink. So, I use parchment over the mesh - disposable so nothing to wash BUT using parchment increases hydrating time by hours!
2. On the manufacturer's site it said this product comes with a 10 yr warranty. In the box it says there is a 5 yr warranty!
Feature Product
- The Excalibur 3500B Deluxe Dehydrator features built in on/off switch and adjustable thermostat temperature control ranging from 105 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, making it safe to dehydrate meat for jerky. The 5-inch fan, heating element and thermostat are in the back of the unit, so cool air is drawn in, heated and then distributed evenly over each tray.
- Hyperwave Technology and Horizontal Parallexx Airflow is exclusive to Excalibur and helps the food dehydrate faster, retain more nutrients, and look and taste better - no tray rotation required
- 5 poly-screen trays equaling 8 square feet of drying space, perfect space for preserving extras from the garden
- Dehydrate Fruits and Vegetables or Meat and Fish for Jerky; Re-crisp breads, crackers, etc.; Make soup mixes and reconstitute later
- Built in on/off switch; 5-tray dehydrator, 8 square feet of drying space; Includes adjustable thermostat; Easy-to-clean Polyscreen tray inserts
- VOLTAGE: 110V
Description
Dehydration is the healthiest, easiest, and most economical way to preserve foods. Load the trays and set the temperature, the Excalibur dries the contents of all trays evenly so everything's done at once. Dehydration concentrates the natural flavor, sweetness, and aromas of your food. Leaving you with a flavor that's far healthier than high-fat snacks and high-sugar candies that are filled with chemical preservatives. The Excalibur 5-Tray Small Garden dehydrator provides 8 square feet of drying space, and is perfect for families with small gardens. Includes flexible polyscreen tray inserts to prevent foods from sticking to trays, 5-Inch fan, built in on/off switch, and adjustable thermostat.
This, simply put, is the best dehydrator i have ever owned. it's fast, dries evenly, has temp control, is easy to clean, and with just 5 trays holds double what my last dehydrator did. i love the fact that the fan is in the back instead of below the trays. i love the fact that the trays SLIDE easily in and out instead of stacking on top of each other. i use it almost entirely for jerky, and it has earned every penny i spent on it. i read a bunch of reviews before buying, and it seems people complain about the size and the sound. well, if this machine takes up too much room in your kitchen, a)you didnt plan ahead for owning a dehydrator and b) find somewhere else to put it. i live in a tiny(and i mean tiny) house with a roommate and i found space for it. if you are worried about the noise level, you shouldn't be. it's a dehydrator, it makes a noise, no different than any other dehydrator. if you don't know what that means, it's a fan in a box making a low hum that after 5 min you forget about... absolutely nothing that should change your mind about buying this beautiful piece of equipment. im completely enamored with this machine, and when it decides it wants to quit, i will be buying another excalibur no questions asked. (after an appropriate burial, of course)
Making fruit leather and even thicker fruit or veggies, have to rotate the trays (front and back flipping and top to bottom) to get even drying. The fruit on the bottom and closest to heating element dries quicker the the front top is weakest.
Noise is not that big of a factor, it's the same noise as an A/C unit or a hair dryer on low setting. The heat output over time can make a room very warm.
I don't think this is worth $200. I would go for the $60-80 price range dehydrators, it is essentially a low heat plastic box toaster oven with a fan blower.
The novelty wore off after about a month's use, running ~10 hrs straight for fruit leather eats up a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat in the room.
I am very happy with this dehydrator, it is no where near as noisy as some people have said (sounds just like a fan). I would also recommend turning up temp a little from what it says, my first batch of herbs took a really long time and I was not impressed with the product. Then I figured out if you just crank the heat a little it works great, dries out most herbs in no time at all and can hold a pretty good amount. Overall I would purchase this again for sure.
Had a harvest maid years ago, and wanted to start dehydrating again. So purchased the 5 drawer Excalibur. I love it! Works great and just about the size I need for the most part. Not too big so doesn't take up a lot of room. Have been using it a lot this summer and storing veggies for use during the snowy winter. Can buy fresh produce when in season and save. It's well made and a good price for the quality. They shipped quickly too. I would definitely reccomend this to others.
I'm mostly raw, so a good dehydrator was a must. WIth this, I'm able to make tons of stuff for myself and others. Sometimes, I wish I'd gotten the bigger one, but overall, Im actually glad I bought this one, as I wouldn't use all 9 trays often and the larger one takes up more space and electricity. When making snacks with a lot of marinade or coating, like jerkies, the screens and trays are kind of a bitch to clean, making me actually leave them dirty most of the time! The interior is very easy to wipe down, thankfully, as debris can accumulate on the bottom. It takes up some counter space and is not luxurious looking, but people who understand the raw life style think this eyesore is really cool out on the counter. It's a bit too obnoxious to move in and ut of the cupboard since I use it often. Also having it out reminds me to use it as much as I can! THis is an asset for making tasty, healthy gifts for people, as well as snacks that store well and are actually nutritious! The noise it make can be inconsistent, but it's never a bother to me. It's just weird sometimes...like a rumble. OVERALL: I recommend!
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