Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator Machine 9-Tray with Adjustable Thermostat, Accurate Temperature Control and Fast Drying with 15 Square Feet of Drying Space, 600-Watts, Black

I love this dehydrator...I've been using this dehydrator from Excalibur for over 16 years. I moved across the pacific and did not bring a majority of my things, hence buying a new one. it's VERY east to use, LOTS of room, you can almost dehydrate and entire rack of bananas! Cleaning is fairly easy. I would definitely recommend!

I have been wanting one of these for years, having heard so many good things about them. I have an old Aroma Dehydrator that I have had for at least 15 years, and it was passable--but slow. And I know I could not dry certain foods in it at all without problems.So, after drying some surplus zuchinni (who doesn't have that?!) that took 18 hours, I decided to pull the trigger.These dryers are not cheap. I passed on the economy version, as well as the one with the built in timer. I figured I could just use a plug-in timer. When the box arrived, I was initially dismayed at the sheer size of this thing! Now, I know it would be big, but somehow I hadn't imagined a machine just as big as my big ol' microwave! I have a tiny kitchen, and this dryer was certainly not going to fit on any counter. I put it on my little table, and it took of half of the real estate.Now, I have lots of kitchen equipment stored in the basement. Canner, meat grinder, the old dehydrator, etc. But the Excalibur was so big and bulky, I was reluctant to have to carry it up and down the stairs--hey, I ain't getting any younger.So what I did was set it up in the basement on top the dryer, laid some paper on the adjoining washing machine, and plugged it in. I sliced my zucchini upstairs (better light) and put the slices in a bowl to take downstairs. I like to sprinkle a light coating of salt on the zucchini chips, so took that with me.I used 6 medium zukes, and it only fit on 5 of the trays. I set the timer for the maximum time (14 hrs), and went upstairs to bed, figuring I could take off the chips that were dry, and figure how much more time it needed while I was away at work.Seven hours later I awoke, and decided to check on the progress, and was amazed to find EVERYTHING was dried perfectly an evenly! 7 hours (and they might have even been finished at 6 hours) as compared with 18 hours with my old dehydrator!So I am initially VERY impressed. I like the built in thermostat, and I like the way the trays are nice and square, and the massive amount of space that can be utilized. Last year I dehydrated tomatoes, and had to do 2 or 3 loads, 24 hours at a time. I cannot WAIT until I get those 'maters on this workhorse!I have a lot of peaches coming in. I am going to try my hand a leather, and even use up some of that apple butter I put up last fall that nobody eats much of. I ordered some silicone sheets from Amazon; I would have gotten the Excalibur ones, but the cost was just too prohibitive. I know they are an American company, and cannot charge the cheap prices that China can, but I am on a budget, so have to make do.All in all I am really happy with this machine. It will live in the basement, but that is okay for my needs. The only thing I will miss is the wonderful smell the permeates the house when I dry the basil. Maybe if I leave the cellar door open...UPDATE---If yours makes that annoying vibration that starts after it has warmed up (not the fan guard), I found a fix for mine. Once the vibration starts, turn it around and gently loosen one or both of the nuts in the back that attach to the fan. Not much, just a tiny bit--less than a quarter of a turn will quiet it down, but the nuts will still be tight enough to be secure. What a relief!

This is definitely a large dryer both in capacity and counter space. It will not be something I leave on my counter which does not bother me at all.I received this on Monday and so far have dehydrated strawberries apples and 4 pounds of jerky. The strawberries did not turn out well but this was totally user error. I'm used to using my square smaller dehydrator and did not check them soon enough. They dehydrated 1-2 hours earlier than I am used to. The apples over dehydrated also but they still taste fine.This unit handled four pounds of ground beef and chicken jerky just fine with actual room to spare. I'm sure I could have put another's pound in there and been fine but wasn't sure what the capacity would be so I didn't. My jerky came out delicious and again didn't take as long as I was used to but this time I new to watch it closer.It came with a large book on dehydrating how to along with recipes and other ideas on how to use the dehydrator. I've actually learned a few things by reading the book!!!I put my trays in and turned it on for the first time to hear a horrible rattling noise but on closer inspection found that i had pushed the trays to far back and they were hitting the fan cage.Of course it makes noise but no more than my other dehydrator and in fact it actually might be a tad bit quieter. You can't expect something like this to be able to do its job and be whisper quiet.I upgraded to this dehydrator after I realized my other one ( which I will also still use) just didn't have the capacity that I needed and its very nice to have a square tray without a hole in the center like all the others. I also didn't want to buy this one until I could justify the price. This will be a lot easier to clean than the big bulky trays of my other unit and the plastic sheets that go in the trays have small holes so my small food (like diced carrots) won't fall through.I also like all the different temperature options as my other one had veggies and fruits drying at the same temp.I did not buy one with a timer as if I feel I need one i will just buy the plug in outlet timer that I will plug this unit into.The only con I have found so far is that I feel for the price it should have come with at least one para flex sheet.I know I've not had this long but so far it is exceeding my expectations. I will post an update in about a month.JUNE 2022Well I guess I forgot to post an update!!!! I still have my awesome dehydrator and still use it often. It was a purchase I do not regret!!!I’ve even used it now to make dog jerky..with the prices of everything being so high or things just not being in stock I really appreciate my dehydrator more.Now if I could just get a food sealer machine to last… I’ve gone through 3 since my original post.