ATTN. Dehydrators

[PTCB]

Hello all, I am just about to venture into the world of Dehydrating my own walking food and have to ask the simple question.
Which one to get. The Fowlers Vacola seems to be a good option but are there others that are worth considering?
Is there anything to look out for or will anything do the job really?

Looking forward to hearing from you....

[Onestepmore]

I've got a Fowlers - 2nd hand in excellent condition on e-bay. They are often on Gumtree too.
Works fine, and you can buy extra layers from Ebay sellers such as shell**blue and ozfarmer
The donut shaped ring for making fruit leathers is a litle akward to use, in that they don't roll up neatly

I love the cozy sound mine makes (especially in winter when the warm air sends it's nice soothing aromas out) - it seems to set off a Pavlovian response - 'Ooohh, I'm going on an overnighter soon.... '

More expensive brands like the Excalibur have rectangular trays, so you can cut your leathers into straight sided strips
Excalibur seems to be the top of the range brand, and people who have them seem to swear by them, especially if they do a lot of dehydrating

The Sunbeam circular shaped model is one a lot of people seem to use as well

It's best to get a model that has a thermostat, so you can regulate the temperature, as some things are better at a lower temperature for longer, and some need a higher temp to kill off bacteria (like meat)
I've seem some inexpensive types in 'CopperArt' type shops that don't have a temperature control

[PTCB]

Thankyou OneStep. You have pretty much covered it all for me! Now for the learning curve to begin!!
Is their a thread or book that helps explain recipes and other bits and pieces you could recommend?

[Onestepmore]

There are quite a lot of threads and posts in the forum with recipes and techniques and tips - do some searches. I just checked by putting 'dehydrator recipes' into the box at the top RHS of your screen, and came up with a number of threads you can investigate
There are also lots of excellent You Tube videos for beef/roo jerky and similar, and fruit roll ups
Most dehydrators will come with instuction booklets, or you can purchase the recipe booklets for various models off Ebay (people seem to sell them separately as they can get more for the two individual items - so i was told when i was looking for one!)

I have 'The Dehydrator Bible' by jennifer MacKenzie, Jay Nutt and Don Mercer (bought online from fishpond)
and 'How To Dry Foods' by Deanna Long (2nd had Ebay purchase)

[PTCB]

Once again thank you.


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[Mutley]

+1 for the fowlers vacola. I set it up in the garage overnight and the moorish aroma drives the dog crazy the next morning. Had it for 5 years and it has never missed a beat. I did buy some extra clear plastic "leather" trays, for dehydrating foods with high liquid content, like stews and sauces. On the trail, the cooking aromas from my reconstituted dehy drives others crazy, as they try to enjoy their commercial freeze dried steak -:))

[sim1oz]

We got the Excalibur and have been very happy with it. There are 6 of us so we needed something big. I like the variable temperature settings and the timer. The square trays are very easy to use and the back fan means things dry fairly easily so it is not fiddly to use. We use it to dry stuff from our fruit and vegie garden as well as bushwalking meals. It wasn't cheap and is probably overkill for most people, but we have found it good value for money for us.

[Pongo]

Stay away from Luvello. Good unit, that is until the element dies...

[PTCB]

Have finally decided on what seems to be ol faithfull. The Fowlers Vacola, it's not the top of the line but nicely close. Only problem is I'm not allowed to have it till Christmas.
However am getting in early and practicing in the Oven!!