I bought the Nesco Dehydrator (with the digital temperature control, not the dial) Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 Gardenmaster 1000-Watt Digital Food Dehydrator unit last fall based on the positive reviews on Amazon. Worked great the first 12 times we used it. I purchased this product about a month ago, and I love it. I originally bought a different dehydrator that arrived to me already damaged from the shipping as it was very cheaply made and not sturdy at all. I didn't even have to adjust the TV's volume while the dehydrator was running, and we did not have to speak over the hum. An "off" setting for the knob would be nice, but it is not difficult to just unplug the unit.
Other more expensive dehydrators have 5 year or even 10 year warranties, so I guess you have to figure out whether it is more cost effective to buy new Nesco dehydrators at random intervals or to buy a better quality dehydrator. We will probably be buying a better quality dehydrator.
When I started thinking about purchasing a dehydrator, I did a lot of research including visiting my local Cabelas store and doing a lot of online research. The main reason that I initially shied away from purchasing this model was how inexpensive it was compared to so many of the other models. The trays are difficult to clean. If you have a large dishwasher, and can place the trays safely without them getting stuck in the prongs of the dish drawers, then this would be the best way to clean the trays. The dogs LOVE these healthy treats, it takes little over 5 hours if fully loaded to get them all ready, and I know that there are neither preservatives nor other unhealthy additives that could cause allergies or even worse. Works well for drying apples, bananas, sweet potatoes and herbs as well. I am not sure if this is even possible to improve but it takes some practice to know when your jerky is done. I typically load this thing full, using 12 trays (purchased 7 extra trays). So, it sometimes takes a tad longer to dry than with only 5 trays, but it works great.
I started making all of our dogs (3 of them) meals from scratch because I wanted to know everything that went into their bodies. Well I started thinking about the chicken jerky that I was feeding them and thought I could make it myself healthier & cheaper.
I usually have to remove the jerky just before 3 and a half hours. And this is with all 5 trays completely jam-packed, covered in beef.
It had advertised features that suggested it would work faster and more efficiently than the "cheaper" models, including a fan to force heated air more uniformly through the drying trays without constant rotation, and a thermostat to set the temperature settings. Actual experience varied, however, as the unit did not seem to dehydrate the food contents any faster than the 120W RONCO convection dryer. Five trays came with the machine and we had ordered another set of 2 because we weren't sure if the first 5 would be enough. I'm thinking 8 pounds of raw meat dehydrating would be a wonderful thing. I have read on some different sites about some of the cons being, too noisy, no on/off switch. As for the noise, I thought it was extremely quiet, I think my dishwasher is much louder, it was on the kitchen counter and the noise was no bother at all. I can see how they might warp during the dry cycle in a dishwasher. They hand washed and air dried just fine.
Other more expensive dehydrators have 5 year or even 10 year warranties, so I guess you have to figure out whether it is more cost effective to buy new Nesco dehydrators at random intervals or to buy a better quality dehydrator. We will probably be buying a better quality dehydrator.
When I started thinking about purchasing a dehydrator, I did a lot of research including visiting my local Cabelas store and doing a lot of online research. The main reason that I initially shied away from purchasing this model was how inexpensive it was compared to so many of the other models. The trays are difficult to clean. If you have a large dishwasher, and can place the trays safely without them getting stuck in the prongs of the dish drawers, then this would be the best way to clean the trays. The dogs LOVE these healthy treats, it takes little over 5 hours if fully loaded to get them all ready, and I know that there are neither preservatives nor other unhealthy additives that could cause allergies or even worse. Works well for drying apples, bananas, sweet potatoes and herbs as well. I am not sure if this is even possible to improve but it takes some practice to know when your jerky is done. I typically load this thing full, using 12 trays (purchased 7 extra trays). So, it sometimes takes a tad longer to dry than with only 5 trays, but it works great.
I started making all of our dogs (3 of them) meals from scratch because I wanted to know everything that went into their bodies. Well I started thinking about the chicken jerky that I was feeding them and thought I could make it myself healthier & cheaper.
I usually have to remove the jerky just before 3 and a half hours. And this is with all 5 trays completely jam-packed, covered in beef.
It had advertised features that suggested it would work faster and more efficiently than the "cheaper" models, including a fan to force heated air more uniformly through the drying trays without constant rotation, and a thermostat to set the temperature settings. Actual experience varied, however, as the unit did not seem to dehydrate the food contents any faster than the 120W RONCO convection dryer. Five trays came with the machine and we had ordered another set of 2 because we weren't sure if the first 5 would be enough. I'm thinking 8 pounds of raw meat dehydrating would be a wonderful thing. I have read on some different sites about some of the cons being, too noisy, no on/off switch. As for the noise, I thought it was extremely quiet, I think my dishwasher is much louder, it was on the kitchen counter and the noise was no bother at all. I can see how they might warp during the dry cycle in a dishwasher. They hand washed and air dried just fine.
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