Hanging Raw Food Dehydrator - Solar Powered review and price compare 2025- fishinghub

Q:

Have the Collapsing Trays been Fixed? I don't want to have to RETURN it.

Answer: The problem is not that they come collapsed, it is that they can come undone easily when packing it up. It is the hugest pain in the butt to thread the web loops onto the slots in the trays.

Answer: I am the Inventor, around 80,000 have been sold. Maybe a dozen or two had not been properly assembled. Everything has been perfected, I have video from the maker as how each is inspected prior to shipping. Thank you. Respectfully, Duane Erickson

Q:

how long does it take to dehydrate fruits and veggies

Answer: It depends how thick they are sliced, your room temp, and humidity. Longer than an electric, but usually a couple days does it.

Answer: In a dry environment I have had thin material go to leather stage in two days and crisp in four or five

Answer: I don't know. I brought it as a gift for someone.

Q:

Can I hang this on a garden stake?

Answer: I wouldn't. I would use a something more sturdy like a fence post with a hook bracket attached. . You don't want critters with teeth and claws getting to it. I hang mine on a clothes line when I take it outside. It is flimsy and I had to sew the brackets to the net because I live in a windy climate.

Answer: You might be able to if it were a tall, very sturdy stake with a curved hooked at the top--like a shepard's staff. Be warned though, when I bought this the trays were always falling down. I really wanted it to work but it didn't. Hopefully they have improved the design since then (that was about 5-7 yrs ago.)

Answer: A tall stake would work!

Q:

Is it designed for the top and bottom white pieces to snap together to be able to store it in a 5" space?

Answer: the top and bottom (at least on mine) does not snap together. But it does fold down small enough to be less than 5" high.

Q:

can it dry all kinds of meats if so how long does it take?

Answer: No. Unless the dehydrator hangs in a very dry and very warm (hot) place for an extended time (days) , it doesn't work very well, or at all. I tried to dry tomatoes near a wood stove, and they molded long before they dried. Also, the shelves collapse easily and are difficult to reinstall. Claims that the collapsing issue had been resolved predated my purchase but proved to be untrue. A good idea, but not fully developed.

Answer: Meats need a higher temp and better air flow. I think they would spoil before they dried with this setup

Q:

is this suitable for drying leaves?

Answer: I would think that it is.. It is very sturdy and good air circulation.. I use it dry meats and works great..

Answer: leaves? I guess so. I can't see why not. Our only problem with it was that the trays fell down really easily so we ended up returning it. Maybe they have improved it because it's a great concept.

Answer: It depends. If you are talking about tree leaves for nature study/decorating, the leaves would krinkle upon drying without any weight added to keep them flat. I would be hesitant to place weight, like books on top of the leaves in the dryer since the racks do not appear to be designed to hold a load. You can dry leaves for nature study/decorating easily enough between the pages of a big book (free option). If you are talking about drying herbs, it does the trick well.

Q:

What are the shelves made of?

Answer: some kind of plastic. There is nothing on the product that indicates what kind

Q:

Are the trays bpa free?

Answer: I've had this for many years. The box says that it's US made, food safe and UV protected plastic, whatever that means. I got it before bpa was a hot topic, so it's not mentioned on the label.

Answer: yes

Q:

Can this make beef jerky with this item?

Answer: I wouldn't recommend it because it takes a long time for meat to dehydrate at such a low temperature, allowing bacteria to grow. I use an electric one at 145 degrees or an oven on low.also, one can dry strips hung over a rod over a campfire

Answer: I wouldn't count on it. Weather would have to be very hot and dry. We used it in Africa in very hot and dry conditions and had trouble drying fruits and vegetables

Answer: yes

Q:

I don't see solar panels. This is just a passive dehydrator, right? No "power"

Answer: yes, just passive and unfortunately my experience is that the shelves fall down a lot. But perhaps they have improved the design since when i bought it several years ago. You can ask them.

Answer: Correct, no power. Just air drying in a warm location.

Answer: This is just a passive dehydrator, but it needs to be near a good, strong, protected, and steady source of heat, or the vegetables being dried will just mold. The shelves tend to collapse and are very difficult to return to their original positions. Their claim to have fixed the collapsing was made before I bought mine, but they still collapsed. It might work in a greenhouse, but don't think your wood stove is going to do it.

Answer: Need warm or hot summer days. No power.

Q:

I am a raw foodist and would like to make raw breads and crackers-- will this dehydrator work for that? It normally takes many hours in an excalibur.

Answer: I like keeping things raw too. I would not, however, recommend this particular product for making things like raw crackers or bread, because there is not enough air flow to dry the goods. For this, and making marvelous Kale chips and all my dehydrated backpacking foods, I use an Excalibur with 9 trays. The Excalibur allows me to dehydrate at temps that keep the enzymes live. Hope this helps!

Answer: Unfortunately, it's doesn't work because the trays fall down constantly at the slightest touch. Too bad because I really like the idea. I returned mine and they even said it wasn't that good of a design. Maybe they've improved it. I bought it about 2 yrs ago.

Answer: We found this to be poorly designed. The trays balance in the structure and the supports were not rigidly attached allowing all the trays to tilt spilling the entire contents in the bottom (domino effect). We now use the trays without the structure. I would not recommend buying it for any purpose.

Answer: I wqs interested in purchasing this but my question was never answered so did not buy.

Q:

why is it called solar powered if the sun doesn't increase the temperature to dry the foods? what does the "solar power" do?

Answer: The drying occurs as a result of air flow and warmth from the sun. It is a passive system.

Answer: you use the sun to dry it.

Answer: It's an air dryer; it has nothing to do with solar power unless you hang it outside where everything will rot. It does not work in Maine, and the shelves continually detach and drop to the bottom. Basically it's a bug net; if your food will dry properly on the counter, this will keep the bugs away. It adds nothing more to the process, IMHO.

Answer: Solar power is more of a marketing word, though when it is sunny and warm, it works better, even inside in the shaded corner. It is great for low moisture things at all times. I would never do meat and tomatoes rotted on me. There are YouTube videos on it so you can better see how it works.

Q:

how does this product get up to temps to kill bacteria? need at least 140 degrees.

Answer: This product has no way to heat the food, as it is a passive system, using only air that comes in through the screens. Foods can be rinsed in a 1 part to 10 vinegar/water solution to reduce spoilage (rinse with clear water afterwards if you wish). If you want to use heat to dehydrate, you'll have to get an electric dehydrator to do that.

Answer: Bacteria needs moisture. Otherwise not sure. Never had any problems though.

Answer: I spray veg and fruits with a light mist of CHICO WASH - an organic food wash that kills bacteria and viruses and since one of the ingrediaents is ascorbic acid -- they hold their color. This works GREAT for me. I have 3 of them -- tomatoes, grapes, apples, peaches -- all have turned out Great. Dennis

Answer: I haven't had an issue with the temperature. Being Native American, our ancestors even dried meat outdoors and it didn't kill us :)

Q:

Is this a safe method compared to dry food compated to an electric dehyrator? Having a hard time putting my head around the concept and food spoilage

Answer: Since I live in the high desert, the land of low humidity, it works for some foods better than others. Winter is a good time to use this too, as the cold keeps spoilage at bay. But it would not work for "wet" foods like fruits. I use it for making meat jerky - beef and chicken - at have never had a problem. But only use it at times of low humidity, like dry cold winter days or the very dry summer days we get here in the desert.

jeanie sims : problems

The hooks that hold the tray holders in place come unattached easily so that the whole thing has to be pulled apart and repaired. It can be done, but the hooks are small and getting the ribbon to hook around is tricky. I dried tomatoes all summer and loved the ease and quiet and how quickly it worked - however any time it blew or got bumped I had to fiddle with the hook/ribbon assembly. Someone should take this design and fix this major flaw.

eyewrist : OK, but again it comes apart aftrer a couple of moves

I attempted to contact the OWNER/INVENTOR by email on 12/07/11. I was hoping for a response so I would not have to post this review but I have yet to hear from him. What the email consisted of is the following...

I read the review of this nonelectric dehydrator on Amazon.com and saw that you had remedied the flaw of the straps slipping the hooks. Why a velcro system or button/ button hole system was not utilized is beyond me..it would have been easier! This was one of the reasons why I order it. But the one I received had that same problem. If you move it a couple of times, the straps come undone causing all of the food to drop down to the bottom trays. Once this occurs, you have to remove ALL of the food AND trays in order to hook the straps back onto the roof of the dehydrator. If you don't have the dextrity in your fingers, patience and time because you have already prepared (food)to dehydrate,this can be a real pain in the A$$=ET. I finally resorted back to my trusty electrical one. And if this is the case, why bother buying a nonelectrical one...if the electricity fails, this nonelectric one is no better because it falls apart.

I have not posted this review yet. I will be waiting your response before I do.

In summation, just buy the electrice one or maybe two since the price of this nonelectric one cost just as much and falls apart anyway.

Paul Reimers : Great Alternative to Electric Food Dehydrators

I have a water distiller and rather than buying an Excalibur dehydrator, we got this one and are hanging it over our water distiller which produces warm air that is blown out of the top of the unit. That combined with our living in a warm and dry climate (Los Angeles) it does a great job of drying food in general. It works great for dried fruit and vegetables, but with raw food recipes, the drying time is longer and we need to check on things occasionally.

If you eat 100% raw food and like to do a lot of elaborate recipes that involve specific drying times, then you would probably be better off with a good Excalibur dehydrator. We do about 1/3 to 2/3 of our food raw and this dehydrator and distiller combination works well for us. We distill a gallon or two of water a day and the idea of having another appliance that runs for hours like an Excalibur made us choose this one instead.

In response to the people who claim that it falls apart, the way they designed the straps and tray holders wasn't the greatest way, but we looked at and adjusted all of the straps and tray holders before putting any trays in and haven't had any problems with it. It just takes a minute to double check it to avoid the hassle of something collapsing.

Kalajeng : NOT worth the money. Not even close

As others have stated, this thing comes apart very easily and is extremely annoying and difficult to put back together.

Hooking the webbing back into their slots is tedious and, again as others have said, I have no idea why a simpler system was not used. After putting it back together once the stitching on some of the webbing started to come undone, making it much harder to put back on.

This thing is also cheaply made. You could get some no-seeum netting and a few plastic trays and fashion your own in an afternoon and it could be close to the same quality.

I'd much rather have a free-standing, well made dehydrator.

I was given this as a gift. After working with it my guess on its price was $19.99. If I found it at a garage sale I wouldn't have paid more than $3 for it.

E. Joy : Junk

I never leave bad reviews, I swear. This is one of the few I've left for a product. I was excited when I bought this, thinking it would work great! Well, it falls apart before I can even put the sprouts in! It's the most time consuming sprouter I've ever used - ever. They give you one tray to "soak" the seeds in, which takes time. Then, when you go to put the trays in, the whole thing falls apart, the other trays fall out, wet seeds go everywhere, and I become one upset Amazoner. So not only did I waste 50 bucks, but it made a huge mess (I still have seeds under my stove, I swear) and it used up a good bit of space in our trash can. Oh well, live and learn right? It's just as easy and quicker to sprout in a jar with a vented lid. And if you want a dehydrater, do what I did - buy a Excalibur. Best money I've ever spent!

Amazon Customer : ... these way back when and this one is just like it and works just fine

I had one of these way back when and this one is just like it and works just fine.

Kindle Customer : Not so good

To filmy and did not work like I thought it would. I probably would not buy another one. Tried it several times and it took so long and the trays were to hard to deal with.

Autum R. : Very disappointed, I could of bought clean screens to do ...

Says its solar power and its not powered at all, there is no fan! Very disappointed, I could of bought clean screens to do the same.

Kindle Customer : Best customer service

After reading reviews we went ahead and ordered one. We were very happy with the product and performance until the issues addressed by the designer/inventor noted in these reviews occurred. I called Mr. Erickson and he sent me a new product with his original specs at his own cost. Again, we are very happy with the product and even happier with the service this kind gentleman offers. We use ours for drying mushrooms as we travel and would recommend it to anyone for any use.

Bucknroll : Five Stars

Well made and has been in use for weeks for garlic and onions.

Kindle Customer : Best customer service

After reading reviews we went ahead and ordered one. We were very happy with the product and performance until the issues addressed by the designer/inventor noted in these reviews occurred. I called Mr. Erickson and he sent me a new product with his original specs at his own cost. Again, we are very happy with the product and even happier with the service this kind gentleman offers. We use ours for drying mushrooms as we travel and would recommend it to anyone for any use.

eyewrist : OK, but again it comes apart aftrer a couple of moves

I attempted to contact the OWNER/INVENTOR by email on 12/07/11. I was hoping for a response so I would not have to post this review but I have yet to hear from him. What the email consisted of is the following...

I read the review of this nonelectric dehydrator on Amazon.com and saw that you had remedied the flaw of the straps slipping the hooks. Why a velcro system or button/ button hole system was not utilized is beyond me..it would have been easier! This was one of the reasons why I order it. But the one I received had that same problem. If you move it a couple of times, the straps come undone causing all of the food to drop down to the bottom trays. Once this occurs, you have to remove ALL of the food AND trays in order to hook the straps back onto the roof of the dehydrator. If you don't have the dextrity in your fingers, patience and time because you have already prepared (food)to dehydrate,this can be a real pain in the A$$=ET. I finally resorted back to my trusty electrical one. And if this is the case, why bother buying a nonelectrical one...if the electricity fails, this nonelectric one is no better because it falls apart.

I have not posted this review yet. I will be waiting your response before I do.

In summation, just buy the electrice one or maybe two since the price of this nonelectric one cost just as much and falls apart anyway.

Ronedog : Works like a charm,

I dried tomatoes in this hanging dryer on my back deck. They dried in about 5 days near Sacramento in the late summer. Worked like a charm! No bugs got in. Helps to have two people load and unload but I managed to do it by myself. I set the trays in the water in the sink afterwards and they cleaned up easily. Looking forward to next year!

Paul Reimers : Great Alternative to Electric Food Dehydrators

I have a water distiller and rather than buying an Excalibur dehydrator, we got this one and are hanging it over our water distiller which produces warm air that is blown out of the top of the unit. That combined with our living in a warm and dry climate (Los Angeles) it does a great job of drying food in general. It works great for dried fruit and vegetables, but with raw food recipes, the drying time is longer and we need to check on things occasionally.

If you eat 100% raw food and like to do a lot of elaborate recipes that involve specific drying times, then you would probably be better off with a good Excalibur dehydrator. We do about 1/3 to 2/3 of our food raw and this dehydrator and distiller combination works well for us. We distill a gallon or two of water a day and the idea of having another appliance that runs for hours like an Excalibur made us choose this one instead.

In response to the people who claim that it falls apart, the way they designed the straps and tray holders wasn't the greatest way, but we looked at and adjusted all of the straps and tray holders before putting any trays in and haven't had any problems with it. It just takes a minute to double check it to avoid the hassle of something collapsing.

Sam : Very nicely constructed. Smart design for storage

Very nicely constructed. Smart design for storage, provides all sorts of drying uses with the removable trays and easy to clean

MHCraven : Food Pantry Hanging Dehydrator / Dryer

Great concept but the shelves are supported by a thin strip of webbing sewn into the netting which allows the shelves to move independently, spilling their contents in the bottom. This product needs a rigid support from the top to secure the trays. I give it a 10 out of 10 for bad design.

Sam : Very nicely constructed. Smart design for storage

Very nicely constructed. Smart design for storage, provides all sorts of drying uses with the removable trays and easy to clean

Linda Noren : Nice idea but constantly collapses

I bought this solar dehydrator because I liked the idea of not having to use electricity to dry our veggies and fruit. Unfortunately, the trays collapse under any kind of weight. My husband finally gave up and just laid the trays out on our patio--just what I was trying to get away from!

Anima : Love this dehydrator & the fact that the creator of ...

Love this dehydrator & the fact that the creator of this made it so bugs and other objects are not able to effect the food drying. Only thing is in places where it gets cold during winter months, it is not as easy to dehydrate since the food must be kept inside otherwise outside it will be too chilly.

Candace : probably the best, but limited useage

am here looking for a replacement for mine, but from what I'm seeing, this is still the best of this type if you want to dry meats or herbs. Veggies are too wet for air drying, even here in Arizona. But can make jerky in about 48 hours on a good sunny dry day. Within a day the outside is dry enough to seal the meat from developing mold. The removeable trays make it better than the rest, but am struggling to cope with the bogus way the shelf supports are hooked to the side ribbon. Just today put in a tray of jerky and had one corner just let go, even though it had been carefully assembled, with all the loops in place and used earlier for some herbs. hands full, shelves full and suddenly, one shelf support is hanging. For veggies still have to use my electric, although it is possible on a good dry sunny day at the height of summer you might be able to dry apple slices or green beans. But tomatoes, strawberries, or zucchini wouldn't even consider trying.

The three stars are because of the silly loop system to hold the shelves (although supposedly that's been solved?) and the way the zipper and cover are set up make the top shelf difficult to access when you've got a tray full of jerky. The shelves are flimsy and you will probably want two hands to hold them and you still need a hand to hold away the mesh, and two hands to place the shelf firmly on the shelf support.

Las Vegas : Using it non-stop

A great way to dehydrate with or without the sun and no electricity. Make sure you designate a good hanging place so it doesn't get bumped and don't drop it cause it can makes a mess. Excellent fast beef jerky in a few days. Just put new wet items on the bottom and you can transfer them higher after they stop dripping. Blueberry s, lemons, tomatoes seem to take forever. I do transfer it outside to the clothes line when I am not working I don't trust the critters even if they nylon net is sturdy cause they have chewed through jute twine before. Celery, mushrooms bell pepper dehydrate in a flash. I do spray fruits like bananas and apples with lemon juice. take forever. Make sure to zip it all they to the back so a gnat doesn't get in there. I used kind of old tomatoes and peppers once rinsed and washed cut off damaged areas but mold hit a few pieces before they could dry out and had to be discarded or they would ruin anything I jarred with it....so if your trying to save produce don't wait to long and inspect them for mold through the process. I have not tried sprouting yet. The instructions no longer come with it I think the instructions are now only down-loadable from the website . I wish there were more recipes included for those new to dehydrating, but is really works similar to an electric one. It can't pasteurize without high temps in the sun or electric heat but it wont destroy the enzymes like solar and electric ones that go over 118 degrees so this is great for those on raw food diets. Next best thing to freeze dried. Hope to see some good You tube videos come out for it. This dehydrator is a great design and can be attached to a bug-out bag or backpack. I plan on dehydrating a ton of prickly pear cactus ears in the spring, just need some better leather gloves... lol...I am not too keen on what seems to be a Multi-level marketing plans for distributing this great item even if it is "product based" they have bad reputations in general.

Ronedog : Works like a charm,

I dried tomatoes in this hanging dryer on my back deck. They dried in about 5 days near Sacramento in the late summer. Worked like a charm! No bugs got in. Helps to have two people load and unload but I managed to do it by myself. I set the trays in the water in the sink afterwards and they cleaned up easily. Looking forward to next year!

Hanging Raw Food Dehydrator - Solar Powered review and price compare 2025

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