Nesco American Harvest FD-50 Snackmaster Pro 4-Tray Dehydrator review and price compare 2025

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Product overview

Brand	NESCO
Material	Plastic
Color	White
Wattage	500 watts
Item Dimensions LxWxH	14 x 13.5 x 8 inches

product features

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500 watts of power dries foods and flowers quickly and evenly
Dehydrator measures 13-1/2 by 8-1/4 inches; four trays are each 12-3/4 by 1/2 inches
Patented system pressurizes heated air up through and across each tray
Thermostat adjusts from 95 degrees up to 145 degrees
Dehydrate fruits, vegetables, herbs, jerky, granola for camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities

product description

Product description

Made in the USA - Nesco American Harvest FD-50 Snackmaster Pro 4-Tray Dehydrator Professional food dehydrator and jerky maker uses patented fan to force heated air up the exterior pressurized chamber. Heated air is forced horizontally across each tray for fast, even and nutritious dehydrating. 1200 RPM motor and specially designed 5in. fan ensures the fastest, most nutritious drying.

Amazon.com

Drying apple slices in just six hours and beef jerky in nine-and-a-half, this 500-watt dehydrator is exceptionally fast for its price range. Its patented system pressurizes air up through the drying trays' outer rings and across each tray, ensuring not only speed but uniformity, so foods dry evenly. The dehydrator's thermostat adjusts from 95 degrees F up to 145 degrees F, offering flexibility for drying different items. Each of the four trays is 12-3/4 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch deep (the durable plastic dehydrator is 13-1/2 by 8-1/4 inches overall). Additional trays may be purchased, providing up to a total of 10 square feet for drying lots of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and/or flowers at one time. A fruit-roll sheet inserts into a tray so that applesauce or other fruit sauces can be dried into healthful snacks. You can also use the tray for drying other liquid foods, such as soups and sauces, for camping trips. This dehydrator comes with beef-jerky spices and a booklet with recipes and instructions. --Fred Brack

product details

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Questions about Nesco American Harvest FD-50 Snackmaster Pro 4-Tray Dehydrator

Will it work on 220 volt?

where to buy tsller racks

Where can I get a booklet to learn how to use American Harvest dehydrator?

Answer: If you didn't get one with the machine, go on line. Most manuals are online now. As for how to use it, what more do you need than slice, lay out on shelves, put lid on top, turn on machine, let run for several hours or until slices are dry. Dry to taste. Happy dehydrating! They are fabulous snacks for kids, and so healthy.

Answer: Check online on the web site.

Answer: I don't know, but Google is a great start.

My fd-50 no longer works. are my trays compatible with any of the newer dehydrators such as the 75a?

Answer: The FD-50 trays only fit the FD-50 Dehydrator.

Does this dehydrator have a grey protector tray to cover fan

Answer: It's white color.

Answer: Yes it does. Sorry for the slow response

Answer: Yes it does.

What extra trays do u order for the FD-50?

Answer: did not order any extra trays for the FD-50.

Answer: I ordered the FD-30 trays and they fit perfectly. The machine is powerful enough to handle the two I bought, and I think could easily handle two more, but that would be very tall and I don't have that much produce to dry. I may in the future, and use them for making the fruit rollups.

Answer: They can be ordered separately and come in packs of 2. We ordered 3 packs for our needs.

Will trays for thr fd50 fit the older model fd50/30? They look very similar.

Answer: Yes, the trays for the fd50 model also fit the fd50/30 and the fd40 models.

I need a new top lid for my FD-50

Do you have drying trays for FD50?

I have the American Harvester FD 40 and I need to replace the trays, no FD 40s on here so which trays do I order? From the FD 50???

Are the trays BPA free?

Answer: Yes, all of our plastics are BPA free.

Does anyone have an old Snackmaster Pro FD-50 dehydrator they want to sell?

How many consecutive hours can I run the dehydrator for?

Answer: I run mine 8 hours at a time with no issues.

Answer: I have used mine for 12 hours at a time -- I turn it off at night -- and it doesn't heat up, and stays efficient. Not sure if you need to turn it off at night; I just do for safety reasons that may or may not be valid. The machine is sturdy, simple, and results are excellent.

Does anyone know where to get extra trays and fruit leather trays for this dehydrator?

Answer: I ordered my extras right on Amazon. Look around.

Do you still sell the anodized aluminum jerky/granola bar press?

where do i buy taller racks fir dehydrating

Answer: We do have a thing called a convert-a-tray, the model number you would look for is CT-2P.

Answer: Have no idea. If they're not on Amazon, they don't exist. Good luck.

What screens for the trays do i order for this fd50 model

How many additional trays can be added to this dehydrator? Thanks

Answer: I have used as many as 12 trays, but I recommend rotating them part way through so that they dry more evenly.

Has anyone used this to cook analog tape for restoration purposes?

Answer: Never thought of that. Might it damage the tape? Have no idea.

Answer: Yes they certainly have!! This is actually a common practice with the dehydrators.

Can I purchase a lid replacement?

Are the trays BPA free?

Answer: Yes, all of our plastics are BPA free.

need manual forFD-40

Answer: Try the Nesco Website.

Product reviews of Nesco American Harvest FD-50 Snackmaster Pro 4-Tray Dehydrator

Boo : Easy to use

I use this mostly for jerky but occasionally for other foods. I like it best for jerky. Unlike some dehydrators, this one has variable heat settings. I've loaned mine out several times and each time the person has bought one for their own household. I figure that's the best review of all.

kitchen junkie : A workhouse, but trays with hole in the middle can be a bit awkward for food removal...

It's a great machine - it's worked flawlessly for a long time, and dries food evenly and well. That's what it's supposed to do, right? But - I personally have issues with the tray design. I understand that the holes in the middle make for even air flow, which of course is crucial - I don't contest that. However, that design complicates the removal of certain items from the trays, especially when using the flexi-screens. It's not much of a problem for larger sliced items like bananas or veggies, but I don't just use this for fruit & veggies - I also use it to dehydrate herbs, and soaked nuts & grains. Trying to remove a screen covered with dried loose small objects, when there is a hole in the middle, makes for a lot of mess in the kitchen! I've figured out how to sort of squeeze the screen together into a funnel to pour out the items, which works reasonably well, but it isn't simple. (Perhaps I just shouldn't be dehydrating small loose items in here - I suspect something like the Excalibur is better suited to that, with flat shelves.) Anyway, just something to be aware of - think about what your use for this is and, if you'll be drying lots of small things, you might want to start with a dehydrator with flat hole-less shelves instead. If you're doing slices of food that can be more easily picked up, I wholeheartedly recommend this dehydrator.

J. Whiteside : A Pretty Good Option

I've owned this dehydrator for awhile and have been pretty pleased with it's perfomance overall. I found the art of drying to be challenging, fun, and productive. I make a lot of fruit leathers, jerkies, dried sauces, and dried soups. My next challenge with this unit is to make "just add water" meals for backpacking trips.

It has no problems running for several days in a row and can be trusted to run overnight or while at work. I was happy with the manual that came with it - it has many expected drying times for most common fruits, vegetables, meats - though the time windows are somewhat broad. (i.e. 8-16 hours) The unit comes with one fruit leather tray and one clean-a-screen sheet - something that's not mentioned on Amazon's description.

You will quickly find that more trays are an essential - it doesn't seem powerful enough to dry the full 12 trays it's rated for. I use 8 and find that suitable for my needs - even with that, occasional tray rotation is a necessity as the lower trays dry much quicker than the higher ones. (Bulk driers should consider the FD-1010) You should also definately pickup the "clean-a-screen" (super-easy cleanup) and fruit leather trays (leathers, soups, sauces) to go with this. The accessories are relatively expensive. I found the more expensive dehydrators have cheaper accessories - but for this unit, 4 additional trays, 8 screens, and 8 trays - I'm still into this one for less than a "premium" dehydrator with accessories.

Overall, it's a good choice to go with. Just don't blame me if you find yourself waiting up until 2AM for something to be dried just right. (Hint...turn the temperature way down and deal with it the next morning. Don't do this on jerky, BTW.)

Cowboy : Unbelievable endurance, 25 years and still going

I bought the dehydrator in 1994 while stationed in Germany, through AAFES, it is still working as well as it did then. In fact my wife used it a lot to make and send home made beef jerky to me and my soldiers when we was deployed in Bosnia. I am going to by another.

KNairn : Pleased with results!

I'm currently borrowing this model from a friend to process some of our summer salsa garden. It's very efficient, quiet but not real quiet, and easy to clean. We dried some apple slices dipped in pineapple juice, sugar and cinnamon to ship to my nephew who is stationed in Afghanistan. The trays looked messy and gooey afterwards. We put them in hot sudsy water and the goo just softened up and rinsed away. The only thing that I haven't been exactly pleased with is the drying times seem to be a few hours longer than stated in the manual. We've been drying hot pepper varieties raw and par-boiled at almost 24 hours! Some were "whole" and some were sliced. So I don't know if we did something wrong or if the machine just doesn't have the wattage to pump air thru 4 trays of evenly spaced produce. I must add however, that I have intentions of owning one nontheless. Maybe a model with more power. arr arr

fruitloop : Great little machine!

Forget the more expensive models. This is all you need. From dried fruit to beef jerky to garden vegetables and beyond, this great little cooker does it all! The only bad thing is the pounds you'll gain from inhaling the luscious aroma of what you're drying....Great for crafting with the kids, too. Also recommend Deanna Delong's "How to Dry Foods" as a companion to your dehydrator, especially if you want to move beyond banana chips and beef jerky.

KNairn : Pleased with results!

JAB : Still works like new after a decade

I've had this dehydrator for over a decade and it still works exactly like the day I bought it.

Pros:
* It is really easy to use and has the right amount of temperature settings
* Because of the way the trays stack it is very easy to clean.
* You can also buy additional trays to expand the size.

Cons
* Because of the way it is built you have to un-stack to check on what you are dehydrating instead of just looking into a window.

Boo : Easy to use

Cyndy B : A Workhorse!

2001: I had no experience with dehydrating before I got this machine. It comes with a good instruction guide on how to prep the veggies and fruits. The drying times are very accurate as listed in the book. The speed for drying apples is 5-6 hours, maybe less if you leave some space between them, I've found. It also comes with the trays to make fruit leather. Easy to clean with a warm wet cloth. A great little workhorse, all around. Very pleased!

Post script 2005: it died when washed out in a 2004 flood of our basement! How ironic!

Melissa R. Varton : Really getting it's use

I wanted a dehydrator after borrowing a neighbors and after reading many reviews decided on this one (though I bought it at Walmart). My husband and daughter love apples and go thru them so fast I can't keep up. The book was very helpful and easy to use. The trays are easy to clean and so far everything has been great. The only thing I would like to change is that the trays were dishwashable and that if it had an on/off switch. I'm not keen on electronics that you just plug in and unplug without an on/off switch. Other than that, we use it often.

R. Adler : good product...

This Nesco food de-hydrator works well and does an excellent job. There are newer, larger and more powerful models available, but this does a good job for me.

Jess : 20 Years + and Going Strong

My mom gave me this machine last year and she has been been using it for over 20 years already. It works great. Some weeks, I use it daily for a week at a time (if I bought a 40 lb box of apples or some other fruit at the Farmer's Market). I LOVE the fruit leather trays and use them constantly. No sugar. Just fruit. Kids love them!

Heather Nichole Lucas : Time is money!

The product works great, but don't expect tasty treats any time soon. We found that using the lowest heat setting and letting fruit go for 24 hours works best. Caution: Buy your fruit slowly or it will go bad waiting for its turn in the dehydrator (or you can always buy more racks, but then add more time to the dehydrating time).

Melissa R. Varton : Really getting it's use

Diane : Works good.

Dries in no time. Works good.

Takomsa : Multiple uses and still works well

I purchased this back in 2001 and also purchased two additional trays. I've used it for making jerky, my wife uses it for drying herbs, flowers, fruits, and even projects. After 13 years of light use, it's still working as well as the day I purchased it. As it's just a little bit noisy, we put it in the garage when we need to use it (which also keeps the heat out of the house). It's not a glamorous item, but it works fairly well and just keeps working year after year. That should be all the selling point it needs.

Brandi : Good product.

Bought this for my mother to replace her old one. Great product. Will buy it again when this one dies.

Boo : Easy to use

Morgan Dalas : I love my dehydrator!

Purchased this model used for 1/2 of retail, and would still be pleased with it if I had paid full price, it's exceeded my expectations. Trays clean up easily with a brush in the sink or placed in the top rack of the dishwasher, it has the adjustable thermostat that I need for raw vegan foods, and it's done a nice job on everything I've used it for, from entrées to kale chips to drying soaked nuts.

Efficient yet a little noisy for me to be in the same room with for any length of time, I usually turn the thermostat down to 95F and run it overnight. Although planning to get more trays (mine has 4) along with additional mesh and teflex sheets, lining the trays with plastic wrap for wetter items like raw breads works just fine for me.

Happy Homemaker : I am enjoying using this appliance

This is a great machine. I have used it for fruit and for herbs. It is easy to use, no moving trays. The thermostat is easily marked for particular item, ie. fruit, vegetables, herbs, etc.

The trays have been easy to clean.

The book is very easy to dicipher, with clear directions and recipes.

I heartily endorse this item.

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