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Information and discussion about canning and dehydrating tomatoes and other garden vegetables and fruits. DISCLAIMER: SOME RECIPES MAY NOT COMPLY WITH CURRENT FOOD SAFETY GUIDELINES - FOLLOW AT YOUR OWN RISK

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Old February 22, 2009   #61
Jeepcats
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Default What is the difference between the 500,750, and 1000 watt dehydrator?

Hi,

What is the difference between 500, 750 and 1000watt dehydrators?
Some articles mention the 1000 watt is faster with drying but nothing is mentioned about their energy efficiency. What makes one want to spend more money for the 1000 watt dehydrator?

Thanks,

Heather
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Old March 6, 2009   #62
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My daughter helped me and today dehydrated my first fruit (or anything for that matter). I have a 500 watt Nesco. I sounded about as loud as a quiet microwave running. I did pineapple, a mixed fruit rollup, kiwi, and strawberries. I am happy it actually worked
Kat
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Old March 6, 2009   #63
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Quote:
What is the difference between 500, 750 and 1000watt dehydrators?
My guess is that the higher wattage dehydrators are larger and will hold more. You're going to want a balance of heat and air movement per unit of item to be dried (or per square inch of tray space). I find the Nesco 500 watt with 4 trays to be adequate for my needs. Yes, there are times I could use something larger to do more at one time, but on the other hand it sits unused for 98% of the year.
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Old March 8, 2009   #64
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http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...005&hasJS=true

i have this dehydrator and love it , it has a large capacity so when every thing in the garden comes at once i can keep up.
jim
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Old March 8, 2009   #65
dcarch
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeepcats View Post
Hi,

What is the difference between 500, 750 and 1000watt dehydrators?
Some articles mention the 1000 watt is faster with drying but nothing is mentioned about their energy efficiency. What makes one want to spend more money for the 1000 watt dehydrator?

Thanks,
Heather
All resistive heaters are by definition 100 % efficient.

dcarch
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Old March 9, 2009   #66
newatthiskat
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My nesco is 500 watts and can use up to 12 trays. I only have 4 right now but will be getting more later. It is reasonable to start with if you have never used one and really are not sure how often or much you will use it. I think this one will work great for me right now.
Kat
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Old March 9, 2009   #67
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The higher the wattage the more heat they can put out and more they can dry. I think the 1000 watt Nesco (American Harvest models 10xx) says that you can stack up to 30 trays, but it only comes with 4-8 (you get screwed by having to buy more shelves to reach the theoretical limit of the heater). Their smaller model (Snackmaster?) is only a 4 or 6 shelf at 600? watts, expandable to ??? The 9 shelf Excaliber, which many people think of very highly (i.e. "burned out my 3rd Nesco shoulda got Excaliber") has a 600-700 watt heater but is not expandable..but the overall capacity is large).
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Old June 4, 2009   #68
VGary
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Default Low-cost Solar Dehydrator

Here is a link for drying some of your summer garden production. It is inexpensive and effective.
Wishing you a bountiful harvest,
Gary

Country Lore: Super-easy, Low-cost Solar Dehydrator

Build this solar food dehydrator using cardboard and plastic wrap.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It...ehydrator.aspx
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Old June 4, 2009   #69
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Hi Gary. I just went and printed the article out. Thanks for the link. Mary
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Old June 4, 2009   #70
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May not work very well in areas of high humidity.

dcarch
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Old June 5, 2009   #71
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I really like the idea of the dryer from Pantry Full of Sunshine, author Larissa Walk is a member over at SSE forum. I have the sheet metal but have been really busy and will probably get one done this summer
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Old June 5, 2009   #72
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Is "Pantry full of Sunshine" still in print? I googled it, and it looks interesting, but all I can find is a down loadable copy.
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Old June 6, 2009   #73
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I bought the download, I have never seen a print copy :-)
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Old July 27, 2009   #74
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Default Getting a Dehydrator-Best Storage?

Hey all-As you know, I am a relative newcomer to the site and have enjoyed my time here immensely. I have ordered a Excalibur dehydrator in order to take advantage of my production of maters.

What's the best method of storing the maters once I get them dried? I respect your opinions and experience. Thanks to all.

Paul
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Old August 24, 2009   #75
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Default Storage of dried Tomatoes

I have been asked by DW to request information regarding the storage of dried Tomatoes.
We have a dehydrator and are planning to powder the dried Tomatoes to use in soups etc.
How would you store the powder?
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