Please help!! dehydrator L'Equipe

[Veggie73]

Hello folks,

I need some expert to give me his/her opinion about my new dehydrator.
I bought a L'Equipe dehydrator one week ago, and when plugged and on, the smell was like something burning, the engine or something, and also, the engine stopped suddenly for a while, and restarted alone afterwards.
Is that ok?? because the bad smell made me change it to a new one, but the new one also stops suddenly and also smells bad.

Is anybody around that knows how the dehydrator L'Equipe works?? I don't know if I have to give it back... I bought it on the internet and it is specific for Europe, 220v instead of 125, but I don't know if it is working ok or not actually...

Many thanks for your help, here in Spain the raw food is only starting and I don't have many experts around...

Thank you guys!!

Veggie73

[Revvell]

Can you email or call the company?

R.

[Veggie73]

No, I can not, actually... that's why I just wanted to know if the dehydrators stop suddenly and start again or not, they work all long 8 hours without any stopping.

Does the Excalibur do the same? I don't know if maybe I should change it and buy the Excalibur...

Thank you,

Veggie73

[Revvell]

Yeahhhh, you "should" get the Excalibur. Love mine.

The L'Equip "might" be doing that to keep the heat regulated. No, the Ex doesn't do that. Seems to run as long as it's on.

R.

[Veggie73]

Thank you!!

[jaurequi]

veggie73,, it should not smell and it should not shut off. Mine can run for days and regulates the temperature very well, according to a temperature gauge. I don't use mine much, but I do know this :)

I don't understand why you can't contact the company. L'EQUIP, Europe (http://www.lequipeurope.com/contact.htm)

I would return it. I've had the Excalibur as well, but returned it; but perhaps you would like to try it if you decide to return the L'EQuip

[rawgrrl]

I've had the Excalibur as well, but returned it...What did you like about the L'Equipe that you didn't like about the Excalibur?

[micki]

I have a very good dehydrator that I bought for 5 DOLLARS at a thrift store.
It's a "nesco" white round cylindrical one that I added a few trays to (It came with four and I added 4 more). It works fine, I checked the temperature accuracy with a thermometer and "calibrated" it so now I know when I'm dehydrating at my optimal temp of around 105' F. I bought and cut to fit some teflex sheets, and now I have a good dehydrator for a fraction of the cost of an excalibur. Mine doesn't "cut out" but is continuous until I unplug it. I've been using it for around 6 years. Used to make beef jerky, but now that I'm raw vegan it does a host of other goodies without the meat or karma. The new nesco ones run around 50 dollars, and can be got at their website or at a local hardware store.

[Punky]

Does the Excalibur do the same? I don't know if maybe I should change it and buy the Excalibur...


Hi Veggie 73!
I have a 9 tray Excalibur and it never has a funky smell or cuts out.
I would definately get in touch with the manufacturer and check with them.
I have a L'Equip centrafugal juicer that I got 5 years ago that I love though.
When I bought it I burned out the motor the 2nd day I had it; don't know if it was me or the motor. I suspect me since I didn't know what I was doing...
anyways I exchanged it back at the health food store and the replacement
has been going strong ever since; my best friend bought their juicer too and loves it. Anyways, my point being is that they do make excellant products,
but it sounds like you may have gotten a dud.
Contact L'Equip! They usual have great warranties.
The Excalibur dehydrator is awesome though if you decide to change brands.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I've had my 9 tray Excalibur for a few years and never had a problem with it. Hope you can get yours replaced or returned.

[micki]

Love the Lequip products! I have a visor masticating juicer that's been used every single day for over the last 2 years with no problems. If I didn't already have a dehydrator, I'd probably get a le'quip one. Not knocking the excaliburs, they're an excellent product if a bit pricey for my budget.

[prana]

Hi,

We use the l equip dehydrator all the time. Ours never smelled bad or shut off while performing. The reason we purchased the l equip was the 12 year warranty, the smaller rectangle shape and because we know of the good quality of this brand from previous purchases. It seems that something was wrong with the one you purchased, I hope you get a chance to exchange it.

PS we chose not to purchase the excalibur because of the teflex sheets, we don't support the use of teflon or its mother company DuPont.

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi,

We use the l equip dehydrator all the time. Ours never smelled bad or shut off while performing. The reason we purchased the l equip was the 12 year warranty, the smaller rectangle shape and because we know of the good quality of this brand from previous purchases. It seems that something was wrong with the one you purchased, I hope you get a chance to exchange it.

PS we chose not to purchase the excalibur because of the teflex sheets, we don't support the use of teflon or its mother company DuPont.

Hi Prana,

I had looked into the L'equip dehydrator a while back...I did get their blender which is nice. What do you use in the place of teflex for dehydrating things that might spill through the regular trays? I'd be interested in some alternatives (I know that parchment paper is an option). Thanks!

[prana]

These two little trays came with the dehydrator, they seem cheap compared to the quality of the rest of the product. They are plastic and very thin, but maybe they have to be thin to dehydrate properly.

Parchment paper is also an option and you can get this in a health food store so it isn't bleached (but I'm sure it still has some crummy chemicals in it becuase that is how the paper process works). I wonder if those terra cotta things that you place under house plants to collect water would work as they are breathable, thin and somewhat natural (clay).

What kind of things do you dehydrate that you use sheets? We just haven't done anything other than what would fit on the normal racks.

[Rawkinlocs]

These two little trays came with the dehydrator, they seem cheap compared to the quality of the rest of the product. They are plastic and very thin, but maybe they have to be thin to dehydrate properly.

Parchment paper is also an option and you can get this in a health food store so it isn't bleached (but I'm sure it still has some crummy chemicals in it becuase that is how the paper process works). I wonder if those terra cotta things that you place under house plants to collect water would work as they are breathable, thin and somewhat natural (clay).

What kind of things do you dehydrate that you use sheets? We just haven't done anything other than what would fit on the normal racks.

Oh okay...sounds like the sheets they use may be similar to the ones that come with the round models. Some of the things that need sheets or something on top of the trays would be like when I make fruit leather for the kids or the banana leather for Alissa's crepe recipe, if not done a certain way, flax crackers too. But lately, I've been kinda playing around with making things that the recipe calls for being on a teflex sheet or something in the beginning stages of being dehydrated and just putting directly on the tray and so far so good. But for things that tend to be "soupier" or runny that may drip through the trays, I like to use something.

Thanks for the reply! :)

[PixieGreen]

You can always buy teflex sheets made by excalibur and cut them to fit your dehydrator.

Christa

[Rawkinlocs]

You can always buy teflex sheets made by excalibur and cut them to fit your dehydrator.

Christa

Hi Christa,

Prana was saying how she's against the usage of teflex or teflon products, so that's out of the question for her. I was wondering what the L'equip uses or what she uses in place of teflex.


PS we chose not to purchase the excalibur because of the teflex sheets, we don't support the use of teflon or its mother company DuPont.

[PixieGreen]

Actually, I wasn't directly responding to Prana, since others have asked similar questions when their dehydrators don't come with surfaces appropriate for liquids. If it came down to it though, and teflex and parchment paper were not viable alternatives I suppose I would use glass. One would have to turn or mix whatever was being dried more frequently to compensate for the lack of breathability[same with the plastic fruit roll up sheets we use with the Nesco dehydrators]. I wouldn't use terra cotta, difficult to sanitize once used. Clay also absorbs liquid so the terra cotta would probably absorb the liquid in the food before it were evaporated, then would make the dehydrator environment humid until it completely dried. Nice thinking out of the box :), but I think it would take a lot longer to dry foods on terra cotta.

Christa