Dehydrating

[FarmerShawn]

We had company yesterday, so my wife put the dehydrators away, and we haven't gotten them back out yet, so I cannot easily measure the trays right now. I'm guessing they are 15-16 inches square. When I dry a full batch of tomatoes, I get a gallon bag stuffed as full as I can get it of finished dried tomatoes, and it takes about 22 hours at 125-130 degrees (F). Apples take overnight to dry pretty crisp.


There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

We had company yesterday, so my wife put the dehydrators away, and we haven't gotten them back out yet, so I cannot easily measure the trays right now. I'm guessing they are 15-16 inches square. When I dry a full batch of tomatoes, I get a gallon bag stuffed as full as I can get it of finished dried tomatoes, and it takes about 22 hours at 125-130 degrees (F). Apples take overnight to dry pretty crisp.


There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

My five tray Excalibur is sitting on the dining room table, so I just pulled out a tape measure to check, and the usable part of the trays is 14"x14". They have a small lip around the outside edge that keeps the plastic tray liners in place. Since my garden (and my house) are on the small side, I couldn't justify buying or storing the nine tray model.

[coronabarb]

I tried something this summer that I had read about...drying inside my car in the hot summer sun. It worked quite well! I did 4 trays of sliced jalapenos and serranos on racks with cookie sheets under them. Put them in in the afternoon and done by the next afternoon. I also dried blueberries with some success...took a few days and they were very dry. Might be better not to put those in direct sun. I think solar boxes in the right area could work well.

[peppero]

Being frugal I was happy to find one at Harbor Freight at a bargain price some years which has worked quite satisfactorily.

jon

[Got Worms?]

Went shopping for a dehydrator and came back with everything but.
I've learned a lot about them, both here and through reviews, pricing, and manufacturer's websites. There are many thing to consider. One thing I know for sure is I can't be trusted to go to the store! I went looking for a dehydrator and came back with a deep fryer, amongst other things.

There's many good things about each make and model, but I've got a really good idea of the features that I want: no less than a 600w heating element, large fan (6-7 inches), no center hole/post, and must have full enclosure (I want to use it for bread dough and yogurt), I don't care about a timer, I can add one. I don't even care about a thermostat, I have a PID, which is an even better temp controller.

But, as far as size goes, I need something like the Tardis huge inside, small outside.
Around $200. or less would be a nice price, as I'll probably hack it before I even start to use it.
I'm thinking one of the cheaper 9 tray Excalibur models, but it needs to have a front cover. I don't want to have to make one. I was looking at the 9 tray economy? model, before I got the virus...Oh yeah. I got a virus on my other machine. Don't you just love those friendly neighborhood black hat Programers. They're so much fun.

Well anyway, I can now deep fry some greenies while I'm still looking for my dehydrator.

[coronabarb]

Got my attention there, Charlie! What kind of greenies are you deep frying? Us dog owners think of 'greenies' as a type of dog chewy.

[Got Worms?]

Fried green 'maters, but I'll eat almost anything deep fried, ... woof.

[coronabarb]

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Got Worms?

Fried green 'maters, but I'll eat almost anything deep fried, ... woof.

That's exactly why I won't have one in the house.

I might drink too much and try deep fried mouse on a stick dipped in chocolate.

Worth

[Got Worms?]

...and dipped in chocolate? Now, where did I put those mouse traps?

[coronabarb]

Ewwwy!!

[Got Worms?]

I've ordered the Excalibur 2900ECB. That's the 9 tray economy model I was looking at before. Now, I'll just have to wait and see how it does when it gets here. I'm planning on the dehydrator filling the gap between my canning and freezing efforts and help take care of the abundance from all of the over planting I do each year.

[kath]

Originally Posted by Got Worms?

I've ordered the Excalibur 2900ECB. That's the 9 tray economy model I was looking at before. Now, I'll just have to wait and see how it does when it gets here. I'm planning on the dehydrator filling the gap between my canning and freezing efforts and help take care of the abundance from all of the over planting I do each year.

You're going to love it- and it absolutely does fill that gap.

kath

[Goluban]

Can someone recommend good dehydrator?

[coronabarb]

Charlie, how are you liking your dehydrator? I just ordered and received a 9 tray Excaliber and can't wait to put it through its paces.