L'Equip vs. Excalibur

[hotgugon]

i'm getting a dehydrator for Christmas!...but i'm not sure which one to get...i was looking at info for the L'Equip and it looked pretty good...i'm worried tht the material isn't FDA approved but its cheaper than the Excalibur 5 tray which is what i'm getting if i dont' get the L'Equip...

Anyone have any personal experiences or own one? opinions? Do you think the vertical air flow of the L'Equip better than than the horizontal of the Excalibur?

[Revvell]

Exalibur tops them all. If you do a search here, I'm thinking you find many who have discussed this one before. IF you go w/ a vertical fan, the food nearest the fan gets dried first and fastest. That's not a concern w/ a vertical.

This might help: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4469&highlight=l%27equip+dehydrators



R.

[levamssg]

I have the excalibur 9-tray. Re: the air flow --- horizontal allows all the trays to dry evenly ... no need to rearrange for even drying. the trays are large and easy to remove in order to put a large item in. It works well for me.

Have not tried the L'equip, so can't do a comparison for you.

Good luck!

[jaurequi]

The LeQuip has a hole in the middle which, for some is annoying or undesireable. Other than that, as far as performance (heat, air distribution) seems to be close to equal (though I prefer the LeQuip, from my experience, for performance). The LeQuip runs non-stop, where the Excalibur may not ( I seem to recall a thread where someone said it may shut off at some point); the Lequip stays steady (heat and air) for days if you leave it.
The Excalibur also has the nice feature of being able to remove trays to make room for food items with height; the LeQuip doesn't have this option.

It's a toss up as far as my opinion -- depends on what you want/like/need.

[sport]

I have the L'Equip and find the hight restriction annoying. I also find that if I am drying a large amount of food which has no air gaps such as 3 trays of crackers, it takes too long for the top tray to dry and I can get a sour smell from it before it is finished. I now either only do 2 trays at the time or else do not spread to the edge so that more air gets through.
The hole in the middle of my crackers is something I can live with.

[Lady Green Jeans]

I have the Excaliber 4 tray unit, which I bought years ago and had only used once until recently. As I only make recipes for myself, it seems to be large enough and I find it has done a good job on Noasted Turkey for the holiday and cranberry, pesto stuffed mushrooms, carrot pecan burgers and recently the eggplant rollups aside from the warming things like soup and chili. I have recently heard to start it out a little higher and then kick it back to 105.

Most imp. to use whatever model you decide on. The unit I got just fits my needs and my limited counter space.

Kathy

[hotgugon]

thanks for all ur advice guys!...i think i'll pick the Excalibur... :)