dehydrators Dehydrator wattage

chillilover said:
How do I know when they are fully dry? And can they be over dried?
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Oh yes, u can fry 'em. Burnt tastes liek shit.

When they no longer flexible is my guide. If theyb browning, stick em in foil to dissapate hte direct heat.

Takes likes 2hrs in my toaster oven.
 
POTAWIE said:
If you dry them low and slow in a dehydrator, its hard to over dry them
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+1

Some of mine are often left in the dehydrator longer than necessary and I can't see them ever burning. I want em dry enough that they crumble when pinched.
 
I think I might buy the nesco fd-60. It's $59 right now at nesco and is only 17.50 to ship to me including customs charges. Also with the canadian dollar so close right now I can't go wrong.:)
 
There is a cheaper nesco that starts out at 130-140 Deg and after a few hours reaches 160 Deg and then recycles. Would that be okay?
 
The wattage isn't as important as having a unit with the element and fan in the back (horizontal flow). Better heat distribution. The round ones have the element and fan (if it exists) on the bottom. That bottom tray will always be the hottest and the heat doesn't rise well (requires rotating). The bottom will always be done before the top. Want even temps, and faster times? Element and fan in back. Usually the square units. A bonus is the bottom is easy to clean. It's flat.
 
I have heard really good things about the Good4U 10 Tray dehydrator. Digital timer, good wattage, horizontal flow, and good spacing between trays too. 1.25". Remember with the tray system where there is no door, you want good spacing, since you can't leave a tray out. Some makers provide a blank you can put in. Not sure here. Good luck.
 
I may have sold myself on that one lol. 10 year warranty, and reviews are as good or better than Excaliber. I just found it in black with free shipping. And yes, it has a door blank that spans 3 trays! Hmmm, will decide tomorrow. Probably gonna snag it.
 
thehotpepper.com said:
The wattage isn't as important as having a unit with the element and fan in the back (horizontal flow). Better heat distribution. The round ones have the element and fan (if it exists) on the bottom. That bottom tray will always be the hottest and the heat doesn't rise well (requires rotating). The bottom will always be done before the top. Want even temps, and faster times? Element and fan in back. Usually the square units. A bonus is the bottom is easy to clean. It's flat.
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My round Nesco dehydrator has the heating element and fan in the top of the unit. The hot air is forced through a chamber encircling the outer perimeter of each tray, across each trays contents and then through a central core baffle and finally exhausted. There are intake vents at the top and exhaust vents at the bottom. Once the lid containing the fan and heating element are lifted off the trays and bottom can be unstacked and washed when needed.
Heat in the Nesco is forced down, across and then out the bottom and I've not found the need to rotate trays yet. :)
I wouldn't want a unit that contained the heating element in the bottom either. Too much crap could fall into the element making it a bitch to clean.
 
Cool. If you haven't had to rotate trays it's a good design. The biggest pain is rotating trays because the heat is not circulated well.
 
I bit the bullet on the Good4U 10 tray in black. Will update with a review. If anyone is interested I can get a discount on it.
 

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My old nesco worked great but had the heating element on the bottom. My newer one has the fan/heater on the top which makes clean up so much easier. This year I am trying out a large cabellas commercial dehydrator with fan/heater on the back, and it should surely speed up my processing:)
 
POTAWIE said:
My old nesco worked great but had the heating element on the bottom. My newer one has the fan/heater on the top which makes clean up so much easier. This year I am trying out a large cabellas commercial dehydrator with fan/heater on the back, and it should surely speed up my processing:)
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Potawie, you may want to get a high-end consumer model instead of a cheaper commercial one. Heard the Cabella's ones burn out and don't get good temps. Also the shelves are chrome I believe. The better commercial ones are stainless steel and have stainless steel shelves. Expensive though! Go for a high-end consumer one with ABS plastic.
 
A friend that I sell peppers to has a large Cabella unit and it seems to work just great, but stainless steel would be nice since I eventually would like to be up to FDA and Health Canada standards
 
POTAWIE said:
A friend that I sell peppers to has a large Cabella unit and it seems to work just great, but stainless steel would be nice since I eventually would like to be up to FDA and Health Canada standards
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For a few more you can go all stainless. Check out www.sausagemaker.com, they are all stainless, and you can choose stainless racks. ;) Whatever you choose post pics :)
 
Ya, I buy a tonne of stuff from sausagemaker and I've considered their dehydrator but I should have bought one from them last year before the price of stainless steel went way up:(
 
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