5-tray vs. 9-tray dehydrator

[ltcartwright]

*sigh* I'm having a bit of a tizzy trying to purchase my dehydrator. In a household of 2 1/2, I'm the only one (besides my 18mth old) who's going to be going raw. So do I really need the 9-tray as oppose to the 5-tray. I have to budget and $220 looks pretty steep right now. Any help will be appreciated(??)

[shashibala]

I have done fine with an Excalibur 4 tray. I know most people prefer and suggest the 9 tray. I make a batch of flax crackers every week and sometimes a batch of onion bread. Once every two weeks or so, we'll make a dish like stuffed mushrooms. The 4 tray is really small. Even in size, not just number of trays. I can just fit a little baking dish in to warm up things like lasagna. I got mine on ebay for quite cheap. (about 70.00)The dehydrated foods are delicious, but I think that unless you really prefer them and will be dehydrating all the time, the smaller one will do.If you love to "cook" your food you the big one would be good. I prefer to just eat it with the water still intact. I suppose that if you become a mad dehydrator, you might wish you had the big one. Hmmm. I think I wasn't much help. :rolleyes: Good luck with your decision!!

[raweater]

I had this decision to make also and decided on the 9 tray and now I think I can say I would have regretted getting the 5 tray. It depends what you do with it (thin things like chips and pancakes will need lots of space, but big rich things like burgers don't need as much space as they are thicker).

[ltcartwright]

:D now I'm in a super tizzy! But I think I'll do this....go on ebay and see if the 9-tray is cheaper than Amazon's price! I'll let you both know what I decided, a combination of both answers. I want to buy it tonight so I'll keep you posted!

Thanks!;)

[raweater]

I bought mine on ebay, at the time the manufacturer sold "blemished" ones for about $160-180 for the 9 tray model, that's what I bought, and was never able to find any "blemish" on it. I don't think they have blemished ones anymore though, but it will likely still be cheaper. 2-life.com also has great prices on these things.

[Lady Green Jeans]

My opinion (as a Excaliber 4-tray owner)--GO BIG!
Splurge on the 9-tray if you can at all afford it and for sure get the
Teflex sheets. You will never regret your decision. Wish I had not
been in a $ crunch when I first started out years ago and opted for less expensive as I was buying all the "stuff" at once.

[ltcartwright]

Thanks raweater, great stuff on that website! The price is roughly the same (a few cents off). The same with ebay. My hubbie says to wait it out until the end of the week. Planning a trip to Florida, I'll see what WalMart has.

Is there another store I can check besides WalMart?

[ltcartwright]

Thanks everyone, 9-tray it is! I don't have the option of regret, since money is tight for me also. I'll see if I can pick the dehydrator up on my trip to Florida next week. I'm doing a search now to see if it'll be at WalMart or Target.

I feel like a load has been lifted, I want to commit to the RAW diet and I don't want anything to trip me up (I tend to fall off in the face of "obstacles" and I don't want to have an excuse!!)

Thanks again!

[raweater]

Did you use 2-life.com's special price request? The website doesn't show you the real price, you need to click on a "request price" sort of thing and they will email you the discount price which is often significantly cheaper.

I don't think excaliburs are sold in any stores.

[jacsam]

I can't say that I use my dehydrator every week or even every two weeks but when I do.....I make a couple different things or make a very large batch of one thing and the 9 tray is VERY nice for doing alot. When I dehydrate excess produce from my garden it's very nice to have the 9 tray also. I do tomates for days on end trying to not let them go to waste and then enjoy them during the winter months. I also like doing tons of bananas when they really cheap and lots of apples when everyones trees are producing more than they can handle. My vote is for the 9 tray, even though I don't use it every week.

[Thick]

After you try the kale chips, you'll wish you had 2 9 trays=)

I have a 5 tray, and I wish it were bigger.Though Im the only raw person in my house, I still wish it were easier to make things that my whole family likes (like kiwi "candy") and that I could make larger batches to take to potlucks.

And like Jacsam said--the larger one will really help preserve your garden in a raw food way.