dehydrator

[flandersander]

I'm looking for a good food dehydrator, to make food last, and its various other uses. Anybody found ones they particularly like/disliked?

[crashdive123]

Flandersander - when I was asking questions about dehydrators the Excalibur models came highly recommended. I haven't gotten one yet, but many seemed to like them.

[Icemancometh]

I just used a borrowed Nesco American Harvest to dehydrate some frozen peas. Worked well enough, but a large amount of the peas fell through the grate into the bottom. Plan on making some deer jerky soon.

[red lake]

I have a Nesco too. No issues.

[Mountain Man]

Get one that is big enough that you can do a good amount at once... doing small batches SUCKS.

[Max]

Just saw this post, so I have to toss out my love for Excalibur dehydrators. I got mine last year for my birthday and it's awesome. I just got a tiny four tray one, since it's me. They have four, five, and nine tray models and they all work really well.

[Rick]

I also have an Excalibur. I have a five tray model. It's excellent. Look for one with a timer and a temperature control. On the round ones, you generally have to move the trays periodically to get uniform dryness. You don't have to do that on the Excalibur because the fan is in the back not in the bottom like the round ones. Also, the round ones are stacked vertically over the fan making them a bit harder to clean. The Excalibur has a nice flat bottom beneath the trays so if anything small does drop through (herbs can do that) you just wipe it out.

[f-22SC]

instead of having to buy a whole dehydrater system, you can make a wooden box out of some small boards, dig a little pit underneath, start a fire in it (the pit, not the box). make sure the box is open on top and bottom. that way you can put a grate from a charcoal grill or something on top of it. then you can dry your meat out with the heat and smoke. it'll cook then dry out.

[TomChemEngineer]

I saw a plan for a nice homemade dehydrator using a homemade housing, insulation, lightbulb, and a little fan inside. Probably got all the stuff in your garage right now. Since my CRS is kicking in, I can't remember where I saw that... probably on the homemade outdoor equipment webpage. Never built it, but it was so inexpensive that it should be worth a try, even if it is just to show the pitfalls of the design that can be fixed by buying a manufactured unit. I think it was at www.backpacking.net/makegear.html but don't hold me to that address.

[KhonHd]

I have an American Harvest dehydrator (Snack Master I think). Works great! I use it for everything from jerky to soups and stews. Expandable up to 12 trays and has screens for fruit and trays inserts for soups and stews.

[crashdive123]

instead of having to buy a whole dehydrater system, you can make a wooden box out of some small boards, dig a little pit underneath, start a fire in it (the pit, not the box). make sure the box is open on top and bottom. that way you can put a grate from a charcoal grill or something on top of it. then you can dry your meat out with the heat and smoke. it'll cook then dry out.

Hey there f-22SC - how about parachuting in on the Introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14

[Chris]

Three furnace filters bungee'd to a boxfan.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5912487412723519389

In the beginning of that episoide he points out that dehydrators that include a heating element aren't actually drying, they're slowly cooking, and you end up with a different product. For the dried by not cooked taste, air alone.

[Chris]

check this out

http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2008/10/build-solar-dehydrator.html

[watchman]

I have a 9 tray Excalibur (the newer one with the 26 hour timer). It's great. I have to get a lot of produce because I try to run it full whenever a use it. No complaints at all. The timer on the latter models makes it easy to set it and forget it till morning. Warning - don't try to dehydrate onions indoors. That was a sad week in my house.

[Rick]

Been there, done that, breathed through that T shirt.

[wareagle69]

the lady i learn from does not use modern technolgy, i made a few boxes with mesh screen but also have just used flat pans with a rack and have dehydrated mushrroms and roots so far oyeah and also plants just leaving on the dining room table, works great so far, one day i even took the mushrroms outside in my wood stacking area in the sun light dried them up great