Redesigning the Excalibur Dehydrator

[Carol the Dabbler]

A couple of us got to talking on another thread about some changes that would make our favorite dehydrator easier to live with:

T-Bird said: " Have any of you placed your dehydrator into a cabineted/ mounted microwave spot? I ... wondered if the Excalibur can be mounted somehow?"

I said: "... I'd like to replace my stove with an open base cabinet (or a small table with a shelf underneath) so I could put the Excalibur down on the shelf (since its door is in the front, like an oven door) ... [but] its controls are way at the back, and would be out of reach." And I noted that T-Bird would have the same problem with her wall-mounted unit.

We agreed that it would be nice if Excalibur came out with a controls-in-the-front model. I like their simple analog controls, but suspect that this new design would be prohibitively complex (which is to say, expensive and likely to need a lot of repairs) unless they used digital controls for that model. Then it should be a fairly simple matter of running a few wires back to the fan and heater. I'm thinking the best position for the controls would be along the left or right edge of the front, easily readable and reachable in either a wall-mount or under-counter installation.

Well, hey, as long as we're designing the next Excalibur, what other ideas are on your wish list?

[Mary Kay]

I'd like it to have the control know on the right side towards the front. though I do suspect if you put it into a hole for a microwave, that there might not be enough ventillation. Maybe you'd need to put a screen or something above it for better air flow.

I'd also like to see a shelf under it....Maybe with tall feet so that you could store your flat trays and teflex sheets under it. I actually bought something at the hardware that raises it up so that I can store the shelves/sheets under it.

Interesting thread!

Mary Kay

[DebB]

I totally agree - I would also love to have the controls in the front. I'm always sliding the Ex. out to see the controls.

Hmmm - I'd also like some type of door redesign. I remove the door and then look around for a place to set it as I have very limited counter space. I like your idea Mary about a shelf underneath to store the unused trays and sheets. *Ü*

[Carol the Dabbler]

Good point about ventillation, Mary Kay. If it was just sitting on a self, with plenty of room around it, that shouldn't be a problem, but some of those microwave cabinets wouldn't allow enough space for airflow. If the company was specifically designing this model for that sort of installation, they could put a ventillation screen right on the front of the machine -- or they could simply say that you need to allow a certain amount of space around it, like for a refrigerator.

I like your idea about storage space underneath. (DebB and I could set our doors there!) It wouldn't take much room, but in case some people didn't need or want that space, maybe the legs could be optional, or else designed to fold up into the bottom of the case.

[anniez]

Love this idea. I, too, find the controls in an awkward place. But there is NO way I would give mine up, and if it goes out I will immediately order another one. Having had a different dehyd early on, I maybe appreciate the Excalibur more than most of you!

Annie

[abeautifulworld]

I wish mine had a timer!

[DebB]

Love this idea. I, too, find the controls in an awkward place. But there is NO way I would give mine up, and if it goes out I will immediately order another one. Having had a different dehyd early on, I maybe appreciate the Excalibur more than most of you!

Annie

I started out using my 20 year old Ronco, with a heating coil in the bottom and that's it - ha! I appreciate my Excalibur - you betcha! *Ü*

[Carol the Dabbler]

The Excalibur is my second dehydrator also -- but I still have my ten-year-old Gardenmaster, and use it just as often as my new Excalibur. I find that they have different strengths and weaknesses, so I use whichever one best fits whatever I'm wanting to do, and would hate to be without either one. If you're into interminable details, I *finally* created a blog so I could post a comparison that I've been working on for months: http://carolthedabbler.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/dehydrators-round-vs-square/. It's a little rudimentary-looking right now, because the copy-and-paste stripped off all my beautiful links and formatting, but I'll be fussing with it.

Note to abeautifulworld: just in case you don't already know, there are Excaliburs with timers, the 3526T (the five-tray model) and 3926T (the nine-tray model).

[DebB]

((I love the timer on my Excalibur.)) *Ü*

[Tirza]

Back when I was first looking on ebay for a dehydrator, there were quite a few older model dehydrators that were just as you describe. They looked just like a large counter-top oven. In fact, I own a counter-top oven just like it. Mine has a setting for dehydrating, as well as regular baking and convection. Anyway, the controls were in the front and the door just swung open like my oven. I kind of liked the look of these. They looked a little more slick than those round plastic deals. And they would certainly fit right into a microwave slot.

I just did a quick search on ebay and found one like I described:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Dehydrator-Kitchen-Appliance-Cooking-Snacks-Food-Eating_W0QQitemZ170437472878QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSma ll_Kitchen_Appliances_US?hash=item27aedd726e

Also this one:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/FARBERWARE-CONVECTION-TURBO-OVEN-FOOD-DEHYDRATOR_W0QQitemZ300390694149QQcmdZViewItemQQpt ZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f0ae3d05

Ooops - I see this one has a lower temp of 150 degrees. So that wouldn't do for us. I'm not sure if there is a way to alter that or not. I also just Googled Harvest Maid to see if I could find what their temperature range was, but this is a much older model so I couldn't find anything quickly. We could ask the seller on that one.

Those of you who are searching from the USA might even find more as my ebay is set to search for items available to Canada.

Talk about a cheap way to get into a dehydrator!!!