My first encounter
with dehydrating foods was when we lived in Alaska during the 1970's.
Drying meats and vegetables was a way of life for many of the people
who lived in the state whose motto is “the last frontier.” For
many locals fish and wild game were the primary things that were
dried to supplement their winter stores. While we were stationed
comfortably on an United States Air Force (USAF) base in which we
were never in need of dried foods. The wildlife and fish stocks were
so plentiful that many of us learned to dry fish and meats because
that was simply the Alaska way. Or at least that is how I remembered
it.
Needless to say, I
have been dehydrating fruits and vegetables for along time and have
gone through a variety of different dehydrators. Some of the first
commercially produced dehydrators for home consumption were of the small round plastic
variety that had a single heating element in the bottom and you
adjusted a small vent on the top of the cover to regulate the heat.
This was a basic no frills dehydrator, with no real way to regulate
the temperature, it was pure trial and error. It would however work
and I made more than my share of jerky on this type of dehydrator. I
actually still have one in my shop (Ronco brand), but it is regulated
to drying my pistol and rifle brass after it has been wet tumbled for
reloading. I bought it for $3.00 at my local Goodwill store
specifically for drying my brass. I am not sure if they still make
these cheap single element dehydrators, but my advice is to avoid
them at all possible costs. They are hard to clean, have a steep
learning curve, and produce inconsistently.
This article is only
going to cover fan mounted stackable type dehydrators. I have never
used the rigid box type of dehydrators which have removable
'slide-in' trays. These rigid non-stackable type of dehydrators tend to cost twice
that of stackable tray type dehydrators. Many people make the mistake of purchasing an
expensive dehydrator, use it once or twice and then it sits in the
garage to become next years garage sale item. Therefore, I do not recommend them
as your first dehydrator. Buy one later if you like, but my
recommendation is that you try a more modest costing stackable tray
type dehydrator. You can always add more trays or accessories to a less expensive model as needed or simply buy a
nicer dehydrator later if you so desire.
What To Look For In
A Dehydrator
There are a variety
of good dehydrators on the market and you do not have to break the
bank to purchase one. No matter the brand, there are a few things
that you should look for. One of the most important features in my
personal opinion is that it has to have a fan to circulate the warm
air as good air circulation is essential to getting a even
dehydration throughout the unit. I have read some reviews that
indicate that you need to rotate your trays during the process to get
even drying, but I have never found that to be the case with units
that have a fan for air circulation. It does not matter whether the
fan is on the top or the bottom. I have two dehydrators (Nesco and
L'Equip) one has a top mounted fan, and the other a bottom mounted
fan. There is a differing of opinion on which is better, but I have
found them both to perform about the same.
Another thing that
you should look for is variable temperature control. Although I
cannot vouch for the accuracy of the temperature dial on stackable
home dehydrators, it is a nice to have one. Does my Nesco dehydrator
actually heat to 135 degrees when I have it set to that? I am not
sure, but if I had to guess I would say it would probably be somewhere
within 10 degrees. Another thing to consider is are the trays
dishwasher safe. Dishwasher safe trays is definitely a big bonus.
My Dehydrators
As I mentioned I
have two dehydrators and I use them both. I change between the two
depending on they type of food I am dehydrating. They both have fans,
one mounted on the top and the other the bottom, and they both can
stack up to 12 trays, however the most I have ever used is 6 trays.
Nesco FD-60 American
Harvest Snackmaster Express
Power: 500W, Round
Trays: 4, Temperature Range: 95 – 155 degrees
This was the first
dehydrator that I purchased that had a fan. I have had the
Snackmaster Express for about 15 years and it is still going strong.
It has a top mounted fan, a decent temperature dial and it has 4
(1.125 square foot) round stackable trays. Although I have dried many
different types of foods in this dehydrator, it is the only one in
which I will make jerky simply because I do not have to worry about
any liquid falling into the fan since it is on the top of the
dehydrator. If you have read any of the articles on our blog regarding making
beef jerky, this is the dehydrator you will see in those pictures.
While the open
spaces on the supplied trays allow maximum air flow, they can be a
little large and smaller vegetables and fruits when dried can fall
through to the next tray on the bottom of the unit. Because the
bottom of the unit is solid this is not a problem, I simply dump any
thing that has fallen to they bottom out onto a paper plate, no muss,
no fuss. You can buy small round 'Clean-A-Screen' mesh screens for
$6.95 for two to keep smaller dried items from falling though (these
come standard with the L'Equip). Additional trays can be purchased
for $14.95 for two. The 500 watts means that it has a lot of drying
power and it is expandable to a maximum of 12 trays. There is no
on/off switch, just plug it in and it starts. The Nesco comes with a
1 year limited warranty.
Nesco still makes
this model which in my opinion means that is it s pretty good
performer. You can currently find it for about $55.75 on the Wal-Mart
website, and on Amazon. It would be nice if it came with 6 trays, but
I personally think this is a great first dehydrator, and if I ever
find another on any of my garage sale excursions I will be sure to
buy it.
L'Equip 528
Power: 500W,
Rectangular Trays: 6, Temperature Range: 95 – 158 degrees
Out latest
dehydrator, the L'Equip is a rectangular shaped dehydrator with the
fan mounted in the bottom of the unit. The temperature gauge is basic
with only three labeled temperature ranges 95, 125, and 158. There
are of course gradation or 'marks' on the dial that appear to be
increments of 5 degrees for each one. So for example three marks past
125 degrees would be 140 degrees, three marks below 125 degrees would
be 110 degrees. Not a deal breaker, but I like the dial on my Nesco
better.
The L'Equip comes
with 6 rectangular (1.2 square foot) trays and while the holes in the
trays are about the same size as the Nesco, each tray for the L'Equip
comes with a small flexible insert that has smaller holes for
dehydrating smaller cut vegetables which is a nice feature. In
addition, I think the rectangular trays are a little more efficient
space wise for drying foods although they have almost the same drying
capacity per tray as the Nesco. The L'Equip comes with a 10 year
limited warranty.
The L'Equip is
definitely a nice dehydrator and is expandable to a maximum of 12
trays as is the Nesco. It is also 500 watts which means that it has a lot of
drying power as well, and it has an on/off switch. The L'Equip 528 sells for
$119.00 on Amazon as well as a variety of other vender's on the
internet.
Cost Comparison
So before you make
any decisions regarding these two dehydrators, we need to compare
apples to apples. The Nesco is definitely cheaper (base price $55.75)
but to expand it to six trays like the L'Equip we need to purchase
two additional trays for $14.95 increasing the price to $70.70. The
L'Equip comes with 6 small flexible inserts to make the holes on the
tray smaller. So we need to purchase 6 'Clean-A-Screen' inserts for
the Nesco at $6.95 a pair for a total of $20.85, making the total
cost of the Nesco $91.55.
Nesco FD-60 American
Harvest Snackmaster Express (Total Cost $91.55)
Power: 500W, Round
Trays: 6 with 6 'Clean-A-Screen' inserts
Temperature Range:
95 – 155 degrees
Warranty: 1 year
limited warranty
L'Equip 528 (Total
Cost $119.00)
Power: 500W,
Rectangular Trays: 6 with small screen inserts
Temperature Range:
95 – 158 degrees
Warranty: 10 year
limited warranty
So at this point the
two dehydrators are point for point equal, the only difference is the
warranty. The cost difference at this configuration is a difference
of $27.45 in favor of the Nesco making it 23% cheaper than the
L'Equip. However the L'Equip has a better warranty.
I like both of the
dehydrators a lot and we use them both frequently. I wish the L'Equip
had a top mounted fan as I have had more than once had a few dried
vegetables drop into the fan in the center column. I wish the Nesco
came standard with the 'Clean-A-Screen' screens, but it does not, and
I have not found this to be a problem. In fact, until we got the
L'Equip, we never even knew this to be an option.
Conclusion
Based on my
experiences with both of these dehydrators, if I had to make a recommendation between the two (Nesco
Snackmaster and the L'Equip 528) to someone who was buying their
first dehydrator, I would have to recommend the Nesco simply because
of the initial purchase price of $55.75. I realize at this price, the
Nesco does not have all of the features of the L'Equip, but the
initial investment is 53% cheaper (55.75 / 119.00 = 0.468), and you can
always expand the number of trays as the need arises. I have been
using my Nesco as I stated for 15 years and still only have the four
original trays, and it has more than outlived either of the two
machines warranties.
The bottom line, I like my L'Equip, and if money was not a problem, I
would choose the L'Equip. Having said that, if I had to choose only
one I would buy the snackmaster for two reasons, 1) because of the
lower initial investment, and 2 ) simply because I make a lot of
jerky and think it is a better dehydrator for that particular
application. Therefore, if you are looking to purchase your first
dehydrator and you are on a budget you cannot go wrong purchasing a
Nesco Snackmaster FD60. As always, if you have enjoyed this article,
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