(Part 2) Best dehydrators according to redditors
We found 501 Reddit comments discussing the best dehydrators. We ranked the 75 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
This is the model I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_27ABybM378CRH
Pros are it's cheap to get into, expandable up to 12 trays, and easy to clean.
Cons are the heat comes from one end, so you will have to rotate trays part way through.
An alternative is something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017HX1966/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_F.ABybB9VDQGT
Pros are it heats evenly, so no need to rotate.
Cons are you're stuck at the amount of trays it came with (anywhere from 6-12 usually), and it's a little harder to clean.
Edit - Either way, you'll need to be careful of the smell, it'll get into everything. My dad bought one. I tried to warn him, he didn't believe me (although he did use his balcony). Thought I was exaggerating. Until his neighbor two doors down asked him what he was cooking (jerky). I recommend doing it in a shed or garage.
I know this isn't an answer to your question, but I would make your own. I have a food dehydrator and make my own as well as dried fruit. Cheapest way to do it.
> Beef Jerky
Do yourself a favor and buy a dehydrator to make your own. Not only is it cheaper, it's much better quality. You'll look at store-bought jerky like it's plastic. It's just gross to me now.
Recipe is really simple:
Freeze the beef for at least an hour and slice it into thin slices. Throw all the other ingredients in a bowl and add in the beef slices. Mix it all up and then transfer everything to a ziploc bag (including all the liquid!). Put that in the fridge overnight. The next day, drain as much liquid as you can and they put each piece of beef on paper towels to dry off any exterior liquid (otherwise it will caramelize and get sticky and gross). I recommend stacking the beef on doubled-up paper towels to get both sides dried off well. Then throw it in the dehydrator for 8-12 hours and you'll be golden.
Dust some ground black pepper on there as you fill up a tray for some extra flavor. You can also throw hot sauce in the liquid mix to add some heat as well. And then try not to eat all of it in one day. It'll be tempting, for sure :)
The Frankford Arsenal tumbler works great and has a big enough capacity to do a good amount of brass at once. I'd also suggest the following for drying. One hour of tumbling and 30-45 minutes of drying gets everything done. I deprime before tumbling.
Dehydrator
Extra trays
Mesh screens (to keep small brass from falling through)
These are just dehydrated chicken meat
You can make them with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188X0UT6/ref=psdc_1090752_t3_B008H2OELY
Take the cheapest one dehydrator, and cut pieces of meat, put them on the tray, let it dry for 3 days at something like 104°F to keep all flavor of the meat.
edit, edited the amazon link for the cheapest one (have something similar and to be honest i'am pretty sure that in this price range they are all the same just with a different brand, already have 2 years and still working, if the plastic basket start to crack, put fine mesh over it, just make sure it let airflow pass).
These thing are also not cheap when you look at the Kg price, make them yourself, in 3/4 package of treats you have payed off the dehydrator.
I bought snuggies a few years ago as last-minute christmas gifts. They liked them and still use them, so I guess that was a win.
*ETA: Just remembered a couple from when I was a kid: 1) Pure Moods (looking at track listings, I apparently had the 1997 re-release - X-Files Theme FUCK YEAH!). That was and still is an awesome CD and fuck anybody who disagrees.
2) One of those jerky-making kits, where you stir up hamburger and seasoning and then squirt it out of a tube like an icing applicator onto these round plastic grills that sit in tiers over a thing that blows air on them. Stunk up the house, jerky tasted awful, would not buy again.
Speaking of buying TV crap for christmas...my brother-in-law bought this box of like 300 or something assorted folding pocket knives for some absurdly low price to give as gifts 'from the dog' / stocking-stuffers / gifts to acquaintances. Best idea ever. According to sister, he also just grabs a new knife out of the box whenever he needs one and can't immediately find one, so now no matter where you are in their house, there is probably a handy knife within arm's reach.
Depends on how much you want to get into this. I have one of these. It does a great job. I am looking at upgrading but haven't decided on one. It's addicting.
I've only done venison and beef. Ground beef is good with the jerky gun.
Protips from someone 6 months into the F2F thang and 40 pounds down, pretty damn amazing since I am a lazy sot who doesn't exercise:
Helps a LOT if you make a week's worth of salad every, say, Sunday (got it ready for the week then). One of those big square disposable Glad boxes is what we do. Certain things in salad go bad quicker (cucumbers, tomatoes, bean sprouts) so they get their own little separate boxes and replenished on Wednesday, they're added to the salad you're about to eat.
Learn to love lighter salad dressings, better yet, to make your own. Lemon vinaigrette? or how about Asian? or, to stave off your sweet tooth, here's orange-raspberry. All quick and easy.
This fills up your fridge considerably so you can't be packing it full of junk.
Other stuff we do: freezer contains no sweets apart from lemon sorbet. Too sour to gobble. Dat palate cleanser. Freezer does contain frozen fish and individually packed frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts, and about 10 different kinds of frozen veggies (canned are too damn salty), plus a bunch of leftovers.
Another of our rules: avoid instafood. Nothing that comes out of a can, box, bag, or requires a microwave. Okay, so we cook with chilis in adobo sauce which comes out of a can youallknowwhatImeangetoffmytits.
To keep from going nuts, we each get one small bag of chips each Saturday. Any small treat will do, but don't go buying a whole damn cake or anything. Single serving only. Don't keep that shit in the house. If it's there, you're gonna make it harder on yourself.
Snacks are typically homemade beef jerky, dried apples, nuts of various descriptions, unflavored rice cakes, precut-up carrots, celery, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, watermelon (more room in fridge gone, ta-da; seriously, all we can typically fit is a pitcher of Crystal Light lemonade and whatever's for dinner).
Homemade dried stuff is the bomb, yo, and easy, ask for a dehydrator for your wedding. That's the one we have. I swear it's running constantly. Bitch to clean, but they all are, and this one at least is QUIET. One of the nifty ideas in the manual was drying a bunch of veggies, then stuffing them and hot water or broth into a thermos in the morning before leaving for work. Lunchtime, you've got veggie soup.
(if you do get one, feel free to PM me for tips on this if you want, such as "ignore what cut of meat they recommend for jerky, brisket's cheaper and works better" and "get a mandolin to slice fruit")
Bringing healthy meals and snacks to work instead of going out to lunch or hitting up Ye Olde Vending Machine is a must.
Got healthy meals you know how to make and you both love? Make a BUNCH and freeze in single-serve containers. No excuse for "oh gods, so tired after work, just get fast food" NOPE. Also, slowcookers can be your friend with that "too tired to cook" thing.
EDIT: tip I got from someone else here: if you need to break a soda addiction cough, try getting flavored seltzer water. Same size cans, carbonation, tastes like diet Sprite (at least the lemon-lime flavor does) but zero calories etc. Worked like a charm once I got used to it.
If all this seems condescending, I'm truly sorry. Just passing along painful lessons learned.
TL;DR: part of beating your own fatlogic is tricking it with healthy foods.
You're going to make it!
http://taulman3d.com/drying-materials.html is a nice, quick, cheap way to do this outside of an oven. I made one, works pretty well.
There was a product called PrintDry that came out on Kickstarter a while back, works well but expensive and you can make your own for cheap. http://www.printdry.com/product/filament-dryer is the product, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1618037 is instructions on how to make your own for half the cost. Basically just a food dehydrator and a plastic bin, plus a few printed parts. https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-WFD101W-Dehydrator-Watts-Stackable/dp/B0188X0UT6/ is a $35 dehydrator that will work. I have the PrintDry, nothing special about the product or the company that makes it.
Seems to be this one here.
Gourmia GFD1650 Premium Electric Food Dehydrator Machine - Digital Timer and Temperature Control - 6 Drying Trays -Perfect for Beef Jerky, Herbs, Fruit Leather -BPA Free -480W - Black - Bonus Cookbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074P6MGFR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_KQDLBbTE5ZPZM
A dehydrator would be better, not all herbs take the same time to dry. I just dry them to a stage where they are just dry, not powdery dry. Hard to explain. If you dry them too much they loose their flavor. This is a good type dehydrator.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017KSBYHC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use this dehydrator and I use these sheets I pour one 17 ounce bottle of Sriracha per layer.
I got this one since it can hold a few spools https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Z341NM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used a dehydrator. We bought one a long time back to make treats for buns and I got the idea for making cilantro chips yesterday. I think you could use a regular oven too at the lowest heat setting.
Recipe: Take cilantro and make into a rough paste using a blender. Squeeze out the water and form it into tiny discs to dehydrate.
I saved the water and mixed it with the buns' weekly dose of critical care.
Ohhhh, that looks quality. The one I was looking at was this one: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072JZLPBC/
It's about half the price of the one you recommended. The reviews are decent, but I know quality is a premium.
Been using the Jerkey Xpress for a few years now. Never used the "jerkey gun," don't trust that part of it really.
How to make Pemmican. You can take just normal parchment paper and line the dehydrator with it, cutting a hole in the middle for the dryer itself. Put fruits you prefer into a food processor and puree it as best as you can. I add some chia seeds for bulking and additional micro nutrients. I also bought beef tallow from Amazon as well, since it's already rendered and ready to go (and I dislike pork). I did a bit more than 2lbs of beef jerkey, a dozen apples and two little baskets of blackberries and made a stupid amount of pemmican. I coached a rifle range and ate about a Cliff's bar worth of pemmican for the whole day, feeling full the whole time. 10/10 would recommend tinkering with it yourself to find a flavor combo you like. Use the food processor to grind up the jerkey too.
PS: I'm CBRN also. Small world.
what 1 u get? i want one of the ones with racks like this: https://www.amazon.com/Chefman-Dehydrator-Professional-Multi-Tier-Transparent/dp/B07146RJRY
I’m currently using this one but I got it several weeks ago when there was a huge coupon available. I paid around $50 for it. I like it because the trays get larger or smaller between each other simply by flipping it one way or the other. I was able to fit my largest GT with no problems.
But really, separating stem from cap shouldn’t be an issue.
fruit slices go directly on the tray itself.
You can buy trays to make fruit leather. Sometimes I put in parchment paper if it looks messy like beef jerky.
I have around 40 spools and live in Florida, so humidity is a big concern. I keep the filament in these. One of these to keep the box dry. I stick one of these to monitor the humidity in the box. They always read < 10%.
My usual routine is to not put anything into a dry box that hasn't been dried out in this. Usually I just put everything in a stack and dry them all out on Saturday mornings.
Absolutely. Capacity is good and the price is right. Downside is that the trays aren't dishwasher safe, so it's sort of a pain to clean up afterwards.
The one I'm using is the Aroma 'Professional' unit. The Excaliburs are fancier, but this one gets the job done and doesn't break the bank - I bought it for $90.
It's a dehydrator, but I don't remember paying that much for it.
These things are like crack.
Also makes amazing jerky.
I picked up one of the black, boxy food dehydrators (this one is $75). It has a ton of space (up to 8, 1kg spools), 30 minute increments on the timer, and good temperature control (I taped this material chart to the side). As a bonus, it gets hot enough and has consistent enough temperature control that I've successfully used it to anneal pla.
Or you could get some more [fruit roll sheets] (http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-LSS-2-6-FD-28JX-FD-61WHC-FD-75PR/dp/B00004W4V9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396111795&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=nesco+fruit+roll+sheets)
You might think about buying a dehydrator. You could take a bunch of dry mint leaves, crush them up and make a potent tea-slurry, keep it in the fridge, which you could then add to your fizzy.
There are tons of dehydrators out there. 3 examples below.
"Enjoy the Homemade Easiest Healthiest Snacks, Without Additives or Preservatives, at the Fraction of the Cost of Commercially Dehydrated Foods"
--http://www.amazon.com/Ronco-FD1005WHGEN-5-Tray-Electric-Dehydrator/dp/B000G20TCQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=kitchen&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463785147&amp;sr=1-11&amp;keywords=dehydrator
--http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Housewares-Professional-Dehydrator-Black/dp/B00N3ILYZ6/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463785147&amp;sr=1-6&amp;keywords=dehydrator
--http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017KSBYHC?psc=1
Ivation. It's square instead of round, which works better for long strips. Digital temp control and a timer.
You can find them anywhere between $40-$75. I got mine about 5-6 years ago, and it's running great still! I usually make Jerky once or twice a month. Great protein snack in the morning and before the Gym. The wife likes to dry herbs and veggies for home made rammen too. I can't recommend getting one enough! Great purchase!
I think this is about the same kind I have at home. https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-61-Snackmaster-Dehydrator/dp/B000CEM3WM/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480969396&amp;sr=8-12&amp;keywords=NesCo+dehydrator.
We ended up getting extra trays for it too for pertty cheap at Bed Bath & Beyond at some point too.
I use the Waring Pro and have had no issues with it.
Great idea. My wife asked me about doing that this year, as we used to buy dehydrated minced onions from the bulk foods store. I already have a dehydrator (I think it is this one), but is there anything else I would need to know? Do you do anything to prepare them other than dice them up? Any particular temperature work best for the dehydrator?
I like to use 1-star reviews to find out the worst thing that could possibly happen with the product.
First thing that comes to mind was when I was browsing for food dehydrators. Most of the low-star reviews for various models mentioned breaking after a month, no customer service, cooking food instead of dehydrating, etc. Then one of them, the only low-star review (like 50 5-star reviews) said "I'm giving it one star because it did not come with a manual!"
found it! - looks like they have had a few more reviews since then :P
I see your point about getting unbiased pros and cons, but imo, if the worst someone can say about a obvious-to-operate product is that it didn't come with a manual (which I assume is on their website), I think that accomplishes the same thing.
I'd recommend this dehydrator and if you're doing a bunch at once get more of these and depending on how small your brass is I'd recommend some of these.
I can take my brass out of my wet tumbler, toss them in the dehydrator, and have dry brass in a couple of hours ready to go. Not sure how many is in this picture but I was able to do about 90% of it in one go
> don't want to invest the time in making my own
Making your own jerky can take less than 30 minutes of total work involved. Grocery stores often sell pre-sliced meat, often labeled for stir-fry or other dishes, or you can ask the butcher to slice a roast for you. A $50 dehydrator like this can handle about 3 pounds of meat before drying.
All you have to do is dump the meat in a ziplock bag with your marinade of choice, let it sit overnight, then place it on the dehydrator. I rotate the trays on mine every hour or so, but you could rotate them less often. Total dehydrating time is 8 to 12 hours, depending on the marinade and how dry you want the jerky. Total amount of time spent is about 30 minutes, including clean-up.
I've been using a Nesco American Harvest for about 6 months. Actually, the first one died but I sent it back and they replaced it.
It doesn't have a timer, but it does a great job making jerky. Mine came with a jerky gun kit and some of their jerky spice, which is fantastic.
This one is normally expensive, but I got it on a best buy flash sale for like $40 a few months back, so I assume that happens occasionally. https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-Countertop-Dehydrator-Temperature-Circulation/dp/B017HX1966
I can fit like 5 rolls inside. Actually just used it for the first time today, wow, I should have been drying out my rolls from the beginning. I put a roll of petg (that had been printing fine) in for 2 hours and now it's absolutely flawless. It also made a roll of sain smart flexible finally usable again. I'll never underestimate moisture content again, lol.
Hmmm, not a good deal. You can get this same dehydrator on Amazon (with or without Prime) for $35.71
MidwayUSA is selling it for $38.50 after the cheapest shipping options are applied.
You can get a Nesco FD-37A on Amazon for a penny more, which is a much more reputable brand.
Presto 06302 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator with Adjustable Thermostat https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H2OENC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dLnWAbYFJ4WRM
This is the bomb and it isn't stupidly expensive. I use the lowest setting and get excellent results with 24hrs of waiting. Then put the dried fruits into an airtight container with silica gel packets. When silica gels stops doing its job efficiently you put those in the dehydrator at the highest setting for 24 hours.
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I make my own using a food dehydrator. Basic recipes can be found at Trailcooking and Backpackingchef. I use a Nesco FD-61, a fairly basic and inexpensive dehydrator. I plan on having one hot meal per day, usually dinner.
For breakfast I'll eat 1 cup granola mixed with 1/3 cup dry milk and one cup water. I prepack this in a ziploc bag. Alternately, I'll use Quaker 1 minute oatmeal, prepacked with raisins, dry milk, cinammon, and brown sugar. Or couscous mixed with dry milk, brown sugar, crushed pistachios, and cardamom. I like a big breakfast.
Dry salami, cheese, tortillas, dried fruit, dried veggies, rice, tuna, canned chicken, and so forth are all cheaper and more nutritious than Mountain House. Canned chicken dehydrates wonderfully-a 12 oz can can be dehydrated in just a few hours and yields about 2 oz dried meat. To rehydrate just put it in the pot, cover it with water and let it sit for 10~15 minutes. You can add dehydrated veggies at the same time. Then bring it to a boil and add rice, pasta, seasonings, whatever. The chicken will rehydrate perfectly.
Also, there's moose goo for simple bulk food. It's really good on tortillas.
I use mine almost every day/every other day. I've got this model, it's nice because it has a few different temperature settings.
I can get bananas for $.50/lb, so that's what I mainly use it for. Occasionally I make tofu jerky or flavored nuts on it too.
Was gifted a PrintDry last Christmas, which I quite like and works well, but I'm secretly jealous of the smart folks who realized the Gourmia GFD1950 dehydrator can hold 5 spools and fits neatly into a rack build.
Not sure if available in Europe but this is what I use and it does a great job at fully dehydrating shrooms.
Eastman Dehydrator
Try looking at recipes that could reasonably fit inside a metal insulated wide-mouth thermos. You'd be surprised at how frickin' long those things stay warm! My mother has one (she works nights, doing security) and brings a thermos of coffee with her. Hers also came with a white bowl that fits inside the lid of the thermos! They have camping equivalents built specifically for food, if you don't need such a large thermos. Shop around. They really do stay hot for 24 hours - I remember my mother brought a thermos full of coffee, and the next day it was still piping hot.
For ideas that you could fit in thermoses - you can make vegetable chilli, soups, stews, small noodle dishes like macaroni and cheese (or even spaghetti if you use penne or another noodle.) Tons of stuff! To get it 100% clean, use a toilet brush like this one as typical bottle brushes are too soft and sometimes too small.
You could purchase a food dehydrator as well and make a large assortment of dried meats for your dad to take with him for protein - anything from turkey, bacon and beef to squirrel, rabbit, and deer. You could also dry fruit and vegetables in those things.
I bought this Waring Dehydrator. I was looking for dehydrators that I could purchase locally, and this was one of the very few that were in a brick-and-mortar store (not just on the internet). I haven't owned it long, but it's been working well for me.
I'm still waiting for these to be delivered so I can't really vouch for whether or not they are any good yet.
Food Dehydrator
Spiralizer/Mandolin The combo tool ended up being cheaper than just getting the type of spiralizer I want, but I think I may need to get an adjustable mandolin sometime in the future.
If you wanna do multiple at a time I use this
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-06302-Dehydrator-Adjustable-Thermostat/dp/B008H2OENC#immersive-view_1452293841539 did some cutouts in a couple trays so I can stand up my 30ml bottles.
Works like a charm especially if you are mixing max vg.
Electric Beef Jerky Countertop Food Dehydrator for a Healthy Diet, Extend Shelf Life, with 9 Drying Racks, Digital Temperature Controls and Timer with Automatic Shutoff, Even Dry From 95ºF to 158ºF https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072JZLPBC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_FXBMAbNGT2QYJ
I use the 6 tray model of this one. The rear fan gives you more even heat across the trays and the temp control makes it easier to do a variety of things. I use 115f for fruit and 158f for meat.
What size are you looking for? I've got one of these. Its definitely a small home use one, but pretty good for the price I think. I chose it because it has good volume and you can slide trays in/out and check them without completely unstacking like a lot the circle ones are. Downsides are that the temperatures are preset (I think there are like 7 options) and I think its a bit slow depending on how much you fill it with.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072JZLPBC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_KS6RDbQVPQCCW. Is what I found
I bought this Nesco dehydrator, and I couldn't be more satisfied. Tons of airflow, extremely solid, well-built base, and lots of capacity. It has a really unique air distribution method that really gets everything evenly dry. 3 pounds took me 12 hours in my oven at 170, and 6 pounds took me 5 hours at 160 with this thing, same recipe, same size pieces both times. Cleaning isn't that much of an issue either, since it really didn't get too dirty in the first place. A little soap and water on a sponge, and I knocked out 6 trays, the lid and base in about 15 minutes. Truly a great purchase.
This is cheaper: http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-BJX-5-American-Harvest-Jumbo/dp/B001795P3K
This is more expensive but includes a dehydrator: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FFX642/
This will pay for itself almost instantly:
Nesco FD-28JX Jerky Xpress Dehydrator Kit with Jerky Gun - MADE IN USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FFX642/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_PZtJBbY0J6FTB
For me it would be the pro dehydrator. It's the one I most hope to get on the list, whether from me saving up or from being a random gift.
I love making fruitbarks and beef jerky but doing them in an oven like I do now wastes WAY too much power and makes a bad mess, so I avoid that unless I have a real craving for some jerky.
I have the same wet tumbler you do. I use this media separator to spin around the cases to remove any pins I missed from shaking out the tumbler into a big bucket. Works very well. I fill it with water and do one run through water and then another run in open air.
Also, GET THE MAGNET those little bastard pins get everywhere and your life will be 100 times easier with the magnet to pick them up quickly.
As for drying them after, I got THIS food dehydrator. works like a charm. It's got a good price point and it has temp and timer controls so you can set it and forget it. I usually run it for 1.5 hours at 130 degrees to dry out my brass. I'd also recommend additional mesh nets as smaller cases like 9mm want to fall through the outer spokes. The nets prevent this and also let you put more on there completely horizontal to get any remaining water to drip out.