Excalibur 2900ECB Electric Food Dehydrator Machine with Adjustable Thermostat, Accurate Temperature Control and Fast Drying, 400 W, 9 Trays, Black

Love this dehydrator, it is roomy, many temps, easy to clean. We use it for all kinds of food and herbs.

I purchased one of these last summer with the object to dehydrate as much food as I could that was in my freezers and become less dependent on electricity. That is working out quite well and I have discovered that there are other advantages as well. I watch for fruits and veggies to go on sale, buy up a bunch and dehydrate for later use. I can make a big batch of soup, dehydrate most of that for later use. I purchase some foods in #10 cans such as peaches, pineapple, and diced tomatoes at reduced prices, dehydrate the contents and use just what I need at the time plus reducing storage space. I have dehydrated stuff just for fun to see how it would turn out---marshmallows, dill pickle slices, and ketchup (ketchup doesnt dehydrate well) . This worked so well for me I purchased another of these last fall and quite often have both in operation at the same timeThe dehydrators are very dependable, never had any problems with them and they do a good job. I have never had a need for a timer when dehydrating, I just check on things once in a while. I find that sometimes it is necessary to move trays from one location to another as the bottom tray doesnt seem to get as much heat as the others. And sometimes it helps to rotate the trays . I can hear the fans run but to me at least that is not a problem, they are not excessively loud. I like the fact that trays can be left out to allow thicker or taller foods, such as broccoli florets, to fit . All in all these are really good dehydrators and do the job I need done. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube relating to dehydrating different things and I also have and use 'The Dehydrator Cookbook' by Tammy Gangloff and sold on Amazon as a guide. Like most all things these units are not perfect but in my opinion will do you a good job and are dependable. Dehydrating does take a bit of a learning curve but be patient and you will get there...

UPDATE: march 2017. have had this unit for several years and no complaints still. Works as great today as the day we purchased. Have made a lot of jerkey is this baby and still going strong. great purchase!did lots of research on dehydrators. Excalibur is a great company. this one kept coming up as a good economical choice. the price point was great for the amount of trays and it being a square unit. the fan will blow on all trays evenly so you don't have to play magical chairs with the trays to make sure all dry evenly. the system is set up to dry evenly on its own. have made lots of jerky on this already and wow! what a savings it is from purchasing at store. you know what you put into as well so its a healthy choice for your family. have used to dry herbs and fruits and veggies as well. I purchased the leather liners for the unit as well and very happy with the purchase.it is large and will take up some counter space. when running sounds like the microwave is on. i don't find it to annoying. we live in a 1300 sq foot house and it doesn't bother me if running during the day.

Love/ use ours so much, purchased a 2nd. Can't beat this machine for preserving garden produce: zucchini chips w. choice of seasonings, garlic & olive oil or tahini dressed kale chips: place in dryer early a.m., by early afternoon - Yummy/ healthy/ crispy snacks! Dried tomatoes are a breeze, dried apples (leathery or thin/ crispy) Dried pears: chewy, natural "candy!" Jalapeno & red, yellow or green peppers, dried zucchini/ carrots for stews. Fruit roll-ups are easy/ delicious.Herbs dry in a snap, altho, light weight, tend to blow around. Well worth it considering how $$ tiny bottles from the grocer cost.Ours runs almost non-stop mid-summer, fall and beyond. Glad we purchased 9 tray model! DO purchase inexpensive non-stick sheets - you'll be glad you did. I use parchment paper for hot peppers, in case they might leave behind any residual heat even after washing.Unit cleans up pretty easily, as do trays. We didn't find the noise level to be an issue? However, 1 major complaint: NO handle on the door - seriously?? Far too easy to drop/ break and simply NOT handy. Come on Excalibur, for the high end price, give us a door w. a handle at the top.

I’ve been shopping around for a new dehydrator and weighing pros and cons of each one trying to figure out which one I want to order. I don’t know anyone who has an Excalibur, however, I’ve heard nothing but good about them. They’re pricey, which was a con, but in the end this brand and model, had the most pros. I got it as an early Mother’s Day gift this year as all three of our children were passing around RSV like crazy and my husband even caught it at one point. So them finding and picking out a gift for me was just not going to happen. I told my husband this is what I want and gave him the whole spiel on why it would be a good purchase and how I’d be using it. I think I won him over with homemade deer jerky, but once he said go ahead it was ordered. It was a day late delivery, but At this point Amazon Prime deliveries I expect them to be a day late. It was in perfect condition when I received it and works amazingly well. I am more than happy with this purchase. Also the primary reason to purchase a dehydrator while my children had RSV: dehydrating onions releases an antiviral property from the onion into the air, both purifying the air and killing any RSV that may be within the area. Not a fact just personal experience we’ve done this at least twice now. Anyways, I definitely recommend this product!