food dehydrators

[rawdetermination]

Ok, so I am in the market for a food dehydrator and keep seeing Excaliber and Nesco for the main good brands. The Excaliber is square, the Nesco is round and I was wondering if there is a big difference in what this allows you to make...

There is a big difference in the price of almost 50 dollars the Ex being the more expensive and currently I would rather stick with the cheaper of the two if possible but not if its going to limit what I can do.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[crkdjwlr]

I have a 9 tray Excalibur and really like it and use it a lot

Take care, Paul Le May

[michigan roman]

ive been a rawfoodie 4 years and reading all the time about it ,
and have read a bunch about appliances including dehydrators .
and excalibur has got a GREAT reputation that ive not seen one
person criticize , person after person buys them then loves them .
i must have seen hundreds of rawfoodies at forums buy excaliburs
then rave about them

[DebB]

I had a Ronco (round, with hole in the middle) and now I have an Excalibur (9 tray with timer).

There is absolutely *no* comparison between the two. I don't know about Nesco however. But I love the large 14" square trays and 'no hole' in the middle.

If all there is is $50 difference, I would go with the Excalibur, hands down! I haven't been sorry for one moment that I bought the Excalibur.

You may like to check Craig's List - even though we live in a smaller area, I've seen an Excalibur a couple different times for sale. *Ü*

[Blazin'Jane]

I think most people report being very happy with their Excaliburs. I am. And I think it's worth the money to get the big 9 tray rather than the small one.

[Raw Angel Mom]

If your round one doesn't have a temperature controller, i can guaranty you that the temperatur is greater then 125 degree F, actually around 140F, i know because i measured it with a digital temperature controller and printed the chart.

I have a 9 trays and i love it. Mine has a timer and this is so useful.

It depends of your needs, look for the temperature controller and if it comes with a timer.

I liked the idea of round but as i explained, the temperature was too high so i had to get ride of it. I love my excalibur.

[Nymue]

If you can afford it, GO WITH THE EXCALIBUR! Seriously :p
I started off with a Nesco and returned it to get the Excalibur. The Excalibur dries things more quickly and evenly. But most importantly, the trays are removable (with no hole in the middle!) so if you want to heat something up that's in a dish, you can just remove the bottom couple of trays and easily heat it up. No way you can do that in a Nesco, because the trays are stackable. And if you want to dehydrate anything that's more than an inch tall (which even flax crackers and kale chips will curl up and not be flat), you won't be able to do it in a Nesco.

What I'm trying to say is - don't make the same mistake I did! Start off with the one that you will keep! :D

[sprouts2go]

I had a round one and everything cooked hard and it was a pain to work around the hole. I now have a 9 tray with timer and love it. More space. I can put casseroles in it. Most people that buy the 4 tray trade up to a 9tray quick. So skip that step and get the 9 tray.

[RawKnitster]

I agree with everyone else. Get the Excalibur 9 tray with the 14"x14" square trays. The timer is optional. I don't have a timer and doubt I would use it anyway since I like to check for dryness before shutting it off.

If you don't have enough money, save up until you do. It will be worth it. And don't forget the paraflex sheets. At least 3.

[rawrawks]

another happy excal owner here!

[ab_raw]

I do have a round one. When I went raw a couple years ago I remembered that my Mom had given me one about 20 years ago for Christmas and it had immediately found a home in the basement. I mean what would a SAD eater do with that!?

So its been resurrected and its great for crackers and kale chips and now that I've discovered it works way better with parchment paper cut round instead of using the plastic trays, I really like it.

But having said that, I'm still planning to buy the 9 tray Ex as soon as the budget allows. I can't make any casseroles in the round one or anything that's higher than an inch. Plus, it would be more convenient to do all my dehydrating on the weekend and have enough to last the week. My little round one doesn't allow for that.

But if you can get a used round one its great to practise and make small amounts and see if you would really use a big one. I now know that yes, a big one would get used a lot.

Anita

[Veganforlife]

When I first went Raw - I bit the bullet and bought a 9-tray Excaliber. SO glad I did. When I make cobblers, I have the space. Or when I want to dehydrate a lot more than one tray at a time, I can...