Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)After much research, I decided on this dehydrator. I liked the idea that it has a timer. I anticipate that this feature will be helpful with my busy schedule. I have never owned a dehydrator before, so I cannot compare it to any past experiences. I am just beginning my journey toward an all raw diet, and I knew a dehydrator would be essential. Surface area and cost were also factors that led me to purchasing this particular unit.
I opened it the day I got it, washed the trays and liners and started to use it. I filled up the top 5 trays with raw jalepeno corn chips, one tray with kiwi, one tray with pear and one tray with pineapple. I turned it on and stood next to it for a while to ensure that everything was running properly. For some reason, I began having difficulties breathing. It was as if there was something toxic that was burning off of the heating element. I didn't notice an odor or experience a chemical burning sensation, just difficulty breathing in. This was very alarming. I quickly turned off the unit, removed all trays in order to keep all that food from being contaminated and turned the dehydrator back on. I left the room and my breathing returned to normal. I again stood next to the dehydrator and again had difficulty breating (thus proving it was truly an issue with the dehydrator that was causing the problem). I left the room and let it run for several minutes. I came back in to check things out and everything seemed ok, no difficulty breathing. I think there must have been something on the heating element that burned off. So before you do all the work to prep foods for dehydrating, make sure you let it run for a while first.
With that problem resolved, I loaded the trays in and began dehydrating. The fruit dried nicely on the fine mesh tray liners. The corn chips, however were a different story. The top two trays had the corn chip mash on teflex liners. The next three trays had the corn chip mash on parchment paper (I am waiting for the additional teflex sheets that I ordered). After 24 hours in the dehydrator at 105 degrees F, the top two trays of the corn chips on the teflex sheets appeared to be burned. This ovbiously defeats the purpose of dehydrating to accomodate a raw diet. I am not sure if the top two trays got too hot, or if the teflex sheets had something to do with it. A little more experimentation should resolve that issue as well.
Ultimately, despite the above issues I am pleased with this unit. It is quite large (about the size of a small microwave), but I have a big kitchen, so no worries there. If you are limited on space, check the measurements before buying. I find that it is not very loud. I like that it's white - it goes nicely with my other small appliances.
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Good4u 10-tray Food Dehydrator with 40-hour Digital Timer
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