Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Gray review and price compare 2025
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Product overview
| Brand | NESCO |
| Material | Plastic |
| Color | Gray |
| Wattage | 600 watts |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 13.75 x 22.13 x 13.87 inches |
product features
- by entering your model number.
- EVEN HEAT DISTRIBUTION: 600 watts of drying power provides even heat distribution; consistent drying that is four times faster than other food dehydrators
- ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL: The adjustable temperature control (95°F -160°F) gives you the flexibility to achieve the best results when drying different foods that need varying temperature settings
- EXPANDABLE TO 12 TRAYS: Comes with five (13 1/2″ diameter) trays and expands up to 12 trays so you can dry large quantities at once with no tray rotation needed; additional trays sold separately
- VITASAVE EXTERIOR: The opaque exterior blocks harmful light to retain more of the food's nutrients and vitamins during the drying process
- ACCESSORIES INCLUDED: (2) Fruit Roll Sheets, (2) Clean-A-Screens, a sample of Jerky Seasoning & Cure, and a 52-page recipe & instruction book
- MADE IN THE USA: Proudly made in the USA of global and domestic components. Only the powerhead of this item is imported from China. The rest of the product is 100% made and assembled in the USA
This fits your .
From the manufacturer
NESCO FD-75A, Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
The NESCO FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator dries your favorite foods in just hours. With Converga-Flow drying action, air is forced up and across the trays where it converges in the center for quick, even, and nutritious drying. The top mounted fan prevents liquids from dripping into the center. Instead of purchasing store-bought, the NESCO Snackmaster Pro allows you to enjoy dried fruits, jerky, veggies, and more right from home. This model includes 2 Fruit Roll Sheets, 2 Clean-A-Screens, a sample of jerky seasoning with cure, and a recipe and instruction book.
Features
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600 Watt PowerheadGenerates maximum speed and quality for dehydrating foods safety. | Adjustable ThermostatAllows user to dry different foods at proper temperatures (95°F - 160°F). | Converga-Flow SystemProvides even heat distribution without having to rotate trays. |
Features
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BPA Free Drying TraysMade of high-quality food grade plastic. Each tray provides 0.8 sq. ft. of drying space. | Expandable Up To 12 Drying TraysIncrease the overall drying area by expanding your dehydrator with additional trays. | Recipe BookletGreat recipes, tips, and tricks to help you get the most out of your dehydrator. |
| Wattage | 400 | 600 | 700 | 1000 | 1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of Trays Included | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Max Tray Capacity | Expandable Up To 7 | Expandable Up To 12 | Expandable Up To 8 | Expandable Up To 30 | Expandable Up To 20 |
| Temperature Control | Fixed | Adjustable Thermostat | Adjustable Thermostat | Adjustable Thermostat | Digitally Controlled |
| Additional Accessories (By SKU) | LM-2-6, LSS-2-6, WT-2SG | LM-2-6, LSS-2-6, LT-2SG | SQM-2-6, SLD-2-6, SQT-2 | MS-2-6, SLD-2-6, TR-2 | MS-2-6, SLD-2-6, TR-2 |
| Approximate Size, Inches (L x W x H) | 13.5 x 13.5 x 9 | 13 x 13 x 11 | 14.5 x 14.37 x 9.75 | 14 x 14 x 10 | 15 x 15.5 x 9.5 |
product description
Product Packaging:Standard Packaging
Easily dry fruit, vegetables, and jerky in hours instead of days with the BPA Free NESCO FD-75A Food and Jerky Dehydrator. The unit's patented Converga-Flow drying system forces air down the exterior pressurized chamber, then horizontally across each individual tray, converging in the center, for fast, even, and nutritious drying. Flavors don't mix, and there's no need to rotate the trays. It's top-mounted fan eliminates the worry of liquids dripping into the heater chamber, and an opaque Vita-Save exterior helps block harmful lights in order to retain more of the food's nutrients and vitamins during the drying process. The unit's adjustable thermostat ranged from 95 degrees to 160 degrees F, providing the flexibility needed to ensure excellent results. It's a 600 watts unit. Five trays come included, but the unit can be expanded to 12 trays (additional trays sold separately) for drying larger quantities at one time. Accessories include two fruit roll sheets, perfect for drying semi-liquids like soups, sauces, and fruit rolls; two Clean-A-Screen flexible screens, which allow for easy drying of small items such as herbs, spices and potpourri; and three original jerky spice packets for making jerky. A 52-page recipe and instruction book also comes included. With a speckled gray design, the food dehydrator measures approximately 13-inch by 13-inch by 10-inch.
product details
important information
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Questions about Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Gray
Q:
What type of metal are the trays made of?
Answer: The trays are plastic, not metal.
Answer: The answer is right in the description, next to the photo.
Answer: I called the company, they are made of bpa free plastic.
Answer: They are made of foodgrade plastic.
Answer: Plastic.................
Answer: Plastic
Answer: You said plastic?
Q:
does it have a timer
Answer: It does not have a timer... the only thing that this dehydrator does not have!
Answer: No, it doesn't have a timer. I've made dried apple slices & fruit leather. I'll put it in late afternoon or evening & just check it the next day. It's been fine without a timer. It's easy to pull apart the trays & check on whatever you're making.
Answer: No timer you have to watch the clock and check on what you are doing every so often to make sure its all going good.
Answer: There is no timer but you could use a simple vacation type timer normally used for lamps.
Answer: No, and I didn't think it was necessary till I made some extra dry beef jerky.
Answer: No it does not. But I understand you can buy one at your local hardware store if you need it.
Answer: Does it turn off after 10 hours?
Answer: No.
Answer: No it does not.
Q:
Is this loud or quiet? I had one before and the loudness drove me nuts to where I couldn't use it
Answer: It makes a nice background white noise that you could use to help you fall asleep. If you want to set it on the kitchen table between yourself and someone else you're trying to have a conversation with, it is too loud for that. I don't think it was your food dehydrator that drove you nuts. ;)
Answer: It is incredibly quiet, you can stand next to it and whisper and still be heard (my wife and I were doing that talking about presents for the grandkids). Someone called it white noise, and that's a good description.
Answer: I don't think it's loud at all. I can barely hear it with the tv or radio on.
Answer: It's more like a very small fan. I'd say it is relatively quiet. It's not a rattling sound or anything. I usually use mine at night so it's ready by morning.
Answer: The unit is fairly loud. It has a fan so you cant expect whisper quiet.
Answer: I agree with the other poster, a good comparison is a small fan. it's not an annoying sound (to me), just like a whirrrrr like you put a small/medium 12" standing fan on low-medium.
Answer: No louder than a small desk fan.
Answer: How long does it take
Answer: I wouldn't want the thing running next to my bed, but you have to work at it to hear it from another room. "White" noise.
Answer: In terms of noise I think a house fan would be a good noise comparison.
Q:
The owners manual states to use "precooked or processed" turkey when making turkey jerky to avoid harmful bacteria. Has anyone used raw turkey?
Answer: This dehydrator only goes to 160 °F. USDA says poultry needs to be taken to 165 °F to kill the bacteria.
Answer: To add to the discussion, water activity and salt also controls bacteria growth, so its not just the temperature that is it is processed. As with dried cured country hams. They are ready to eat after being cured and are not heated to 165 to kill salmonella. So the 160 temperature should be fine..
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: The USDA specifies temperatures and times for killing Salmonella from 151 degrees for 41 seconds to 157 degrees for 10 seconds. Lethality to microorganisms isn't a simple measure of temperature but a combination of temperature and time. I am very confident that a temperature of around 160 degrees for the hours it takes to process meats is very effective at eliminating Salmonella, and as it is the more durable of the bugs one finds in food that temperature and time covers pretty much everything. Well, except prions, but nothing in your house get hot enough for that.
Answer: I make chicken jerky from raw chicken. Cut drying time a little and finish in 200 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Answer: Raw fowl is perfect for salmonella bacteria (food poisoning). Don't do it. Turkey is very lean so it should dehydrate
Answer: I have been making Chicken Jerky from raw Chicken for years and nobody has died
Answer: I make turkey jerky all the time with raw ground turkey all the time never had a problem
Answer: It is best to precook it as it takes a bit of time for the dehydrator to come to the bacteria killing temperature. When bacteria is in the low hundreds they replicate much much faster than room temperature. Even after the bacteria is killed the toxins remain so you can still get sick from it.
Answer: As long as you run it on high, as directed, you should not have a problem. The temperature of 160 degrees is the magic number for killing the nasties.
Q:
where is this product made?
Answer: Hi, I am the President/owner of Metal Ware the company that makes the FD-75A Snackmaster Food Dehydrator. The dehydrator is made primarily in our facility in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. We are a privately held company and have been for almost 100 years. The top of the unit is made in China. The trays, base, seasonings, care and use guide, packaging, fruit leathers, clean-a-screens are all made right here in Two Rivers. I hope you enjoy this product as we take great pride in making as much as is economically possible here in the USA. Please see our other USA made products like our bakeware which is 100% made in the USA.
Answer: Almost all Nesco products are made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin or Chaska, MN. They are all American made.
Answer: The trays appear to be made in the USA but the actual power unit is made in China. This was very disappointing as this is where the quality is most important. Likely a tray will not fail but if the dehydrator itself is by far more likly. It is like buying a car being sold as "made in America" just to find out that all of the guts are made in China such as the engine, transmission and so on.
Answer: The case and trays are of hard food grade plastic
Answer: Under the Wisconsin address it says "Made in China"
Answer: Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Answer: Mine says "Made in China". Very disappointing.
Q:
Can I make yogurt in it
Answer: I make yogurt (48 oz) once a week in my FD-75 using Nesco Convert-A-Trays purchased from Nesco website: Convert-A-Tray Set of 2 Speckled Item Number: CT-2SGP $14.95.
Q:
What is the maximum height food you can put on a tray (space b/w trays)? Also, how wide is each tray from the center to the edge? Thank you.
Answer: That's not how dehydration is done. You want the food sliced THIN and to leave ROOM between the top of the food and the next layer on the next tray up for airflow. It is essential for even, timely dehydration. If you cannot fit all the food in one dehydrator then you either need a larger one, to get more trays, or get more dehydrators.
Answer: It's funny that I just got a notification to answer your question because I making beef jerky right now! (About my 25th batch since owning) I can fit about 1.5 lbs of beef jerky on the 5 included trays. From the center of the trays to the edge is roughly 5 3/4 inches.
Answer: There is a total space between trays of almost an inch (7/8") 1/2" on the top side and 3/8" on the bottom. There is a center hole for airflow. This hole is 1.3/4". The radius from the hole to the outside wall of each tray is 5.1/4".
Answer: I use the Convert-A-Tray Speckled CT-2SGP (Nesco website) . They can be used as a regular tray or, with the removable center, can expand the height to whatever you need. (Nesco FD-75)
Answer: There is approximately 1 inch of clearance between trays. I have dried grapes into raisins with no problem. If you try to dry anything with a lot of thickness, you are going to increase the drying time substantially. This could result in the exterior of what is being dried to have a dryer texture than you might want. I have dried curly leaf kale where the leaves had to be slightly pressed down. The result was fine.
Answer: The trays are 12 inches wide and 1 and 1/4 inches high. The more trays you put on the longer it takes. I use 8 trays at a time to do sliced bonless ckicken breasts for snaks for my dog and all of her friends. I let them go for 24 hrs and everybody is happy
Answer: The height is about 1 inch.
Q:
Can you dehydrate blueberries or willl they fall through?
Answer: I'm just in the process of dealing with that issue. YES blueberries or anything else in that size range will fall through the fairly large web on the trays. I will get as many of the "Clean-a-Screens as I have trays. I would NOT get the solid fruit roll-up trays, as another suggested, for this purpose as they are solid and do not allow for air circulation.
Answer: I have never tried, however you can always put the fruit sheets on the dehydrator trays. they are solid for making fruit gels.
Answer: I think regular sized blueberries will be fine. But, just in case if I were you I would order the 'jelly roll sheets' pronto. I did and I use those for anything that may fall thru. Besides, you'll love using them to make other things too. they are worth buying!
Answer: They fall through. I use the small mesh inserts for blueberries, grapes, herbs, etc. Big help.
Q:
How can I make veggies crispy and crunchy like chips?
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: I'm not sure which veggies you're using, but slice them into thin slices.. say 1/8 inch or thinner. I've done banana and strawberry chips this way. There is no exact dehydrating time, but I usually set mine for 4-6hrs and check if they are done or need a little more time.
Answer: although I haven't made veggie chips yet, the dehydrator does come with a cookbook. it has tips and tricks, so I would imagine you would just put them in the dehydrator and let it go until you reach the consistency you like.
Answer: I've blanched the veggies as instructed but they still come out with the texture of tree bark. Still working on that.
Answer: No, they will never become anywhere close to as crunchy as chips.
Answer: bread and deep fry or bake
Q:
After 10 hrs. my 1/4" thick Banana slices still are "soft" in the Centers. Do they need to be dried to "chip like" so they don't mold or go bad ?
Answer: When I did banana chips I had a similar issue. Slice them thinner next time, less than 1/8", and plan to run the dehydrator longer, around 16 hours or so. Check it every couple of hours and remove chips that are sufficiently dried. As for food safety regarding these chips that are still soft, they are fine to eat within a day or so, or keep in the fridge, but I would not plan on storing them longer than that.
Answer: Yes they need to dry longer or be cut thinner. The more moisture you leave in the more likely they are to mold or rot, and/or do so sooner. Don't necessarily expect them to be chip-like crunchy but not soft either.
Answer: need to be dried , cut thinner next time
Answer: No, they won't last as long, but they are fine, if not mushy. I try to cut mine thinner and sometimes dry them longer.
Answer: Yes
Q:
what is the difference FD-75A and FD-75PR? The listing shows FD-75A but the reviews keep popping FD-75PR. The manufacturer site does not list FD-75A
Answer: Per Nesco customer service, FD-75A is sold strictly by Amazon. FD-75PR is sold by Nesco. THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!
Answer: One difference is that I cannot buy additional treys from Amazon. Three orders have all been wrong size and unusable!! (You know I double checked)
Answer: Both dehydrators are the same. The FD-75PR is simply a promotional bundle and they added some jerky seasoning packets.
Answer: Product Description
Answer: I am not sure what the difference is, but usually it means what comes with the product. Maybe an extra tray or whatever it may be. Sorry can't help you more.
Answer: Unfortunately I have no idea what the difference would be .. however, it probably has something to do with an "extra" something. Wish I could offer more.
Answer: NO Idea sorry But this one has no Timer. but Easy and best.
Q:
What is the difference between "Frustration-free" and "Standard" Packaging?
Answer: Have you ever got a pack of D size batteries and they put them in that tough plastic packaging that is just brutal to get into? Well, Amazon will send you those batteries (or whatever you are ordering) in a plain thin cardboard box that is super easy to open and is "Frustration-free".
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: No clue...however, this item came in easy to unpack fashion. No stuffing with extra packaging material, just the styrofoam inset holding the processor firm in the box.
Answer: It's Amazons custom packing that is supposed to make for easier opening. It's also recyclable and protects the product.
Answer: Not a clue.
Q:
turkey
Answer: Sucka!
Answer: Jive talkin'
Q:
What is the wattage
Answer: Your answer in in the description, at the top of the page.
Answer: 600W
Answer: If you scroll down on the listing, you will see a comparison chart for this dehydrator vs some others. The wattage is there for all the comparisons. This one is 600 watts.
Answer: This model the FD-75A is only 600 watts. Contrary to the product description which says that the "FD-75A and FD-75PR are the same item.", is false. The FD-75PR is 700 watts (according to Nesco's website).
Q:
Is it really supposed to be so flimpsy? The trays barely seem to stack up on top of each other evenly. I'm wondering if it will last over time. Thanks
Answer: It does seem flimsy when it comes to using the trays, but so far I had no issues with the trays after multiple uses and washes. You can always get a replacement tray if something happens to the current ones by going here http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-LT-2SG-Add-A-Tray-FD-61WHC-Dehydrators/dp/B000FG0ONC/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_y
Answer: This lasted all of four months with three uses altogether. It wasn't the trays that gave up though. It was the fan. Stopped working just like that.
Answer: I use 11 trays most of the time several times a week for either jerky, fruit or veggies and have done so for the several months I have owned this. I have had no problem with the trays or the unit and believe me it definitely gets a work-out around our house!
Answer: I have had no problems with the trays. This summer and fall, I have been drying tomatoes, green peppers, pumpkin slices, crowder peas and Fordhook lima beans. The dryer worked extremely well on all these vegetables.
Answer: I have mine a few years and use it about five times a month and no problem at all. Not flimsy at all even got one for a friend one as a gift he uses his more than l do
Answer: It's not flimsy at all, you just aren't stacking them aligned with each other.
Q:
Has anyone used it to dry herbs? If so how did it do?
Answer: It takes a while to get the temperature right (the temperature recommended took three days to dry the herbs), but once I figured it out, the drying worked really well. I usually set it at 120 - 125
Answer: It takes a while to get the temperature right (the temperature recommended took three days to dry the herbs), but once I figured it out, the drying worked really well. I usually set it at 120 - 125
Answer: It does great for herbs, they end up much more flavorful and colorful than the fan-forced air drying I did before I had the dehydrator, and only hours instead of days (which varies based on ambient humidity level).
Answer: I've done a couple of loads of Sweet Basil, Thai Basil, and Rosemary. As I recall, it took about 2 - 3 hours or so on Fruit/Nut setting. Does a great job. You just have to check it often to remove dried leaves to keep from overdrying. It's a great lttle unit. I put an inexpensive lamp timer on mine when I do jerky so I can let it work at night and not over dry. Highly recommend.
Answer: I dry cilantro and oregano and only take around 3 hours at 140*
Answer: keep in mind because it has a fan it dries very fast, just keep an eye on pretty much anything you are dehydrating with this. It is awesome that it takes less time, but a lot of recipes need adjusting for the time. My first attempt at jerky turned the meat to powder because I went by a recipe that said it took 17 hours. I have found it takes about 5.
Q:
are they bpa free
Answer: is this BPA free?
Answer: All dehydrators are BPA free. Practically every single thing there is related to food is bpa free EXCEPT certain older water bottles and the linings of some metal cans.
Answer: My box says BPA free received on 12-20-13 with 600 watt fd75pr unit.
Answer: Nesco says that "the food contact surfaces are made of ABS plastic, which is BPA free."
Answer: Read the description.
Answer: what is the wattage?
Q:
Is it ok to turn off the unit to check status of your food? Will this effect the process?
Answer: It is perfectly OK.Most of models have no OF/ ON switch,so the one and only way to check on your food is to turn it's OFF, to open lid to check on your food,then turn it's back ON.Good. Luck!
Answer: It only takes a few seconds to check the food, you can just lift the top off and set it on the table upside down while you check. It does not get too hot to hold, does not pose any burn hazards.
Answer: It's a very simple machine. You can turn it off or leave it on. I leave mine on and just prop the cover on something so the fan can circulate the air while I check progress. It's a nice dehydrator.
Answer: You can leave the unit on if you are just lift the cover off and check the contents. I left my running and put the cover on the counter top for about 30 seconds and it blew the thermo fuse inside.
Answer: Yes, it is fine to unplug it for a minute and check on the progress. Actually, if making beef jerky you should do this -- to pat off some of the excess fat -- a few times during the cooking process. I also check my dried fruit a few times too and have found I like to dry my fruit quite a bit longer than the instruction manual suggestions.
Answer: I check the chicken jerky about once every two hours. I just unplug, open the top, and even restack the trays in different order just to rotate the cooking. I don't know if it's neccessary, I didn't read anywhere that said I should rotate trays...I just do it. It's a very easy machine to use. I love it and my dogs love the chicken jerky.
Answer: You can turn it off or simply lift the top up and check...try and keep it to a minimum. A quick check.
Answer: It just expands the time. I have even left it off for several hours.
Q:
Can this dry out whole portabella mushrooms?
Answer: i have not done portabella mushrooms, but i have done regular white mushrooms. they came out very well. since they are from the same family more or less i would have to say you would have success with the portabella ones as well.
Answer: They probably wouldn't fit between the trays. If the do fit then answer is "yes"
Q:
Where is the written confirmation in the product that trays are from BPA free material?
Answer: The trays are made in Two Rivers, WI and are BPA Free.
Q:
Is this good for dying psilocybe cubenesis?
Answer: Yes! You can definitely dry mushrooms in the dehydrator.
Answer: mushrooms can easily be dehydrated in this Nesco.
Q:
what is the wattage
Answer: Your answer in in the description, at the top of the page.
Answer: 600W
Answer: If you scroll down on the listing, you will see a comparison chart for this dehydrator vs some others. The wattage is there for all the comparisons. This one is 600 watts.
Answer: This model the FD-75A is only 600 watts. Contrary to the product description which says that the "FD-75A and FD-75PR are the same item.", is false. The FD-75PR is 700 watts (according to Nesco's website).
Q:
This machine makes crispy apple and bananas? I live in Brazil and can't test after buying it... I will stay at an hotel for few days.
Answer: I make crispy apple slices in it all the time, my kids love them much more than the store-bought rubbery apple slices.
Answer: I tried a few apple slices, they were more shriveled up than crispy. Don't know the proper way to prepare them. My hot peppers did dry very nicely, they ground up to a powder.
Answer: Yes it will. I made the mistakes of not slicing the banana thin. 2nd time around went much better.
Q:
Is there a California warning?
Answer: Warning - California is very expensive and sometimes has earthquakes.
Answer: There isn't a California warning. The packing box does say BPA free.
Answer: All of our products are BPA free. Enjoy!
Answer: Not that I am aware of. Suggest you contact the manufacturer to respond to.your question.
Q:
gas
Answer: Beano?
Q:
I know 12 tray max is recomended but additional trays comes in 2 packs. Anyone tried using 13 trays max?
Answer: I have not used additional trays.
Answer: I use 13 all the time.
Q:
Can I use this dehydrator to make raw seeds/veggie crackers?
Answer: This is not a baking machine.
Q:
This was never $88 before black friday. i have had it in my cart for about a week, and it has always been $58. why the deceit?
Answer: I do apologize, we do not control pricing from Amazon. You may be able to speak with a representative for them in regards to this matter.
Q:
can I make astronaut ice cream in this??
Answer: This machine would not work for the Astronaut Ice Cream. The Astronaut Ice Cream needs to be freeze dried.
Q:
does it make crispy food?
Answer: Yes. If you leave it long enough.
Q:
Can you use it to dehydrate homemade pasta?
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: Never tried that but you can dehydrate fruit. I guess it would work as long as you keep eye on it before it petrified. May get too dried.
Answer: Yes, this dehydrator works great. I love it! It has sheets and mesh you can use, as well as the racks. Everything I've used it for, it's done an excellent job.
Answer: When we've made pasta in the past, we just air dried it on a pasta rack at room temperature. Should be no issue doing it in a dryer, just faster. To save a bit on electricity I would use low heat as air alone does the job. Might be a pain for longer noodles, but would be great for shells, etc.
Q:
was wondering, where and in what container do you all store the dryed veggies and fruit? In the refrigerator or freezer like the direction says?
Answer: In my experience well dried fruits and veggies will keep for years if kept totally dry. I use any container that has a good lid seal. Being a frequent COSTCO shopper, I love to reuse the large plastic containers that nuts, candy, salsa, and many of their other products come packaged in. Have also used plastic screw top pint gellato containers for small batches of things. As long as it's airtight it will work fine. No experience with jerk other than store bought, and that I would keep in the fridge for LONG term storage.
Answer: Hi Ingrid, I store dried fruit/veg in plastic containers, either use within a couple of months if not in fridge or feezer though, I guess they will keep longer but I'm not sure of the loss of flavour. Beef Jerky I make for my son keeps ages (when he leaves it alone!) I have kept dried apples for over a year without any lost of flavour but you need to keep it in a dry dark area to avoid colour loss. I've also dried herbs & stored in plastic bags just in the cupboard. good luck Kate
Answer: We use canning jars in various sizes, they seal tight and keep dehydrated product for a long time. We store them in the basement with the other canned items we do, it is a cool place for storage, but you could leave them anywhere provided the lids are tight. Hope that helps.
Answer: I store my beef jerky in a freezer bag kept in the refrigerator. It doesn't last long enough to worry that it might go bad. lol
Q:
What size are the trays (diameter), I have some old ones that are 13-1/2" in diameter from my old broken machine.
Answer: 13x3x13 that is what they are.
Q:
how many trays does this hold?
Answer: It comes with 5 trays but it can operate with up to 12 trays. Drying pressure automatically adjusts to number of trays.
Answer: They are all separate and stack on top of each other. Then the dehydrator part goes on top. You can do 1 tray only or keep stacking. So far, I have stacked 7 trays with my beef jerky and it took about 5 hours.
Answer: we have extra trays ,have successfully used 7-8 to dry tomatoes,peppers,herbs..check and swap trays, herbs take less drying time,but can do @same time
Answer: The manufacturer recommends using a minimum of 3 trays while dehydrating, which means 2 empty trays plus the tray you're dehydrating. I assume that's either a safety standard or quality standard as the first time I used it was with one tray and the pineapple chunks were like rocks.
Answer: I added two supplemental trays that I purchased at a local store. It works fine with seven trays to dry apples.
Answer: it comes with 5 trays
Q:
Whats the voltage? - I am looking for 220
Answer: I used 120 volts unit uses 600 watts
Answer: ...it is the standard 110 volts.
Answer: Its rated for 110V 60Hz only.
Answer: 120 volts.
Answer: 110
Answer: Standard 110
Answer: Unit is rated 120v.
Answer: 115volts
Q:
What is the manufacturer's warranty on this? Thank you!
Answer: There is a card in the package for a 1 Year Limited Warranty that you'd have to mail in. In a nutshell, the warranty says that Nesco will cover the appliance if it is defective, or something goes wrong while you're using it normally. If its damaged any other way, especially if you were to start using it a different way than intended, then it won't be covered. All you have to do is rip one half of the warranty card off, put a stamp on it, and send it out.
Answer: The warranty indicates "One Year Limited Warranty". There is more info regarding the warranty & their customer service number is 1-800 288-4545 if you have further questions. Hope this helps!
Answer: I have the warranty card and it's the typical one year materials and workmanship. You have to fill it out and send it in to register the product. Good luck and God bless.
Answer: Sorry, I don't know anything about warranties. I've had this dehydrator for a while and not problems. My elderly cousin has had it for several years and it works fine. Good luck.
Answer: I gave this as a gift to my son and do not have that info as he lives in another state. Will forward when I can find it out.
Answer: Well I am not sure...but they are taking it back so we will see if tbey fix it
Answer: 1 year.
Answer: Mine said one year.
Answer: Mine says one year.
Q:
So, I want to make chicken, venison, and beef jerky, can you use raw uncooked meat? or should I cook the meat first?
Answer: I bought this for my daughter in law and they made venison jerky using raw meat. It was delicious
Answer: I make chicken jerky using sliced raw chicken breast. I soak mine overnight in Nesco's jerky cure and spice. For beef I use 93% lean raw hamburger. For the hamburger I mix in 1 packet of cure and 1 packet of spice. I use their jerky maker, which is kind of like a small caulking gun, to make my strips. They turn out great.
Answer: Jerky should never be cooked first, you leave it raw, but make sure you marinate it first for flavor, soak it in whatever liquid and seasonings you want for flavor for a day or more, then dehydrate.
Answer: No need to cook the mes t first. Generally raw meat is cut in thin strips and cured in a brine or seasoned marinade for a day or so and then dried in the dehydrater. We made beef jerkey and it was far superior to what is offered for sale.
Answer: We make jerky with raw beef all the time. Never tried chicken or venison.
Q:
Watts
Answer: Watts what? 700 watts (stamped on the machine) is probably the answer. Here's the whole story, discovered because of your question:
Answer: UL stamp on machine says:
Q:
Does model number inside the top of the FD-75A actually show the model as "FD-75A" or "FD-75PR??" I just want to make sure they are ACTUALLY alike!
Answer: FD75-PR is on my actual dehydrator...my box is out in the shed, so I can't compare numbers right now....however....I DO LOVE my dehydrator!
Answer: Mine says FD-75PR inside the top of the dehydrator and on the box
Answer: FD-75PR is on mine
Q:
Does this make good kale chips? I'm a huge Brads Raw foods Nacho Kale chips fan, but they are really expensive and hard to get.
Answer: I havent tried kale chips (not a big fan of kale) but I made banana chips and they were awesome.(the good kind isnt very cheap in stores either) Its worth a try to make your own trust me! Kale is pretty cheap for a bag so you can try a few different flavors if you want without costing a tone. Just a warning: Ive had to play with the temperature a little bit when using my dehydrator. The booklet that comes with it isnt always right but close. I hope this helped
Answer: Makes amazing kale chips...obviously depends on the recipe, but I do them all the time...happy to give my recipe if you want..makes absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS kale chips... ;-)
Answer: Yes! Have made many batches.
Q:
Can a 5 lb roast for beef jerky fit into 5 trays, or does it require more room than just the 5 trays?
Answer: That depends on many things, how big and thick you cut the meat, just how wet it is. I would guess not, you would most likely have to do it in 2 possibly 3 lots. You have to leave room for air to circulate thru the trays, so you can't cover the tray totally full. The meat should be about 1/4" thick, with spaces between each slice, that's about the best answer I can give you. You could contact Nesco, they may have a better answer.
Answer: You're going to need between two and three batches with 5 trays to do 5lbs "properly". You're supposed to cut the meat very thin.
Answer: Really depends on how you cut it... I've put over 4 lbs of meat in there before but again its going to come down to how thin you cut the strips. If you go very thin you may need a couple more trays.
Answer: I've fit 4 pounds on 4 trays, so I think you could do 5lbs in 5 trays. I cut mine about 1/4"-3/8" thick for reference.
Answer: How do you fit jerky on round trays?
Answer: It possibly will need to be done in two batches, while you can really pack the meat in you need to make sure there is plently of air movement for good drying of the beef.
Q:
will i be able to make protein bars on here or "raw" pies?
Answer: Should be able to make protein bars
Answer: i have no idea, here are recipes from pinterest:http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=food%20dehydrator%20recipes&rs=ac&len=18 i hope that helps =)
Answer: I think so. Since it has a low heat seting for nuts and fruit rolls.
Q:
how many lb.of beef make a lb.of jerky and do you need to but suger to fresh fruit to dry it.
Answer: I have found that you end up with about 1/2-1/3 of the starting weight you start with. e.g. 2lbs of meat will result in about a lb or so of jerky depending on what kind of moisture content there is in the meat to start with. As far as sugar with fresh fruit, I would say no, dehydrating enhances the sugar taste and adding sugar usually is too much
Q:
Does anybody connected the dehydrator to a transformer before for usage out of USA? Would like to know the ratings of the transformer if you have.
Answer: Hi!!! I live in Costa Rica, but here we use 110V/AC. So, I don't had to connect the dehydrator to any transformer. Maybe you'll need to use the transformer if your're going to use the dehydrator in Europe (220V/AC).
Answer: The dehydrator should work well with a transformer if the transformer is large enough. The dehydrator draws 700 watts at 120 volts (about 6 amps). To be safe, the transformer should be rated at least 1000 watts.
Answer: sorry, can't help you with 100% accuracy, but i would think that as long as 120v/ac and 5 plus amps comes out the outlet end of the transformer that it would work fine.
Q:
warranty
Answer: My paperwork shows a"Limited One Year Warranty". Fill out and mail in. Am dehydrating pineapple right of the can as I type.
Answer: Did not Follow through with warranty no issues yet ( $ amount is reasonable for my first expierience ) so far I have dehydrated Pinapple apples green and red apples, Grapes to raisins , bannana chips , chantrell mushrooms and am about to hunt for walnuts . have fun with it.
Answer: Limited One Year Warranty applies to Nesco appliances purchased for personal or household use. Warranted to be free of defects in materials or workmanship under normal home use...
Answer: Good afternoon Sir, I can't tell you about the warranty, because I have not use it. Thanks
Answer: p43 of instruction booklet says one year
Q:
Has anyone made yogurt with this? I assume you are preparing your warm, treated milk and then pouring into the fruit leather liners? Tips? Thanks
Answer:
Answer:
Answer: I have not made yogurt in this. Just dried fruit, bananas and apples.
Q:
Do flavors mix?
Answer: More than aroma than the flavor but to a minor extent yes the flavors do mix. You can keep this in mind when stacking the trays and put the things most likely to flavor others where that is undesirable, towards the bottom as that is the path of airflow from top to bottom and out the bottom.
Q:
What are the outer overall dimensions? There are two different dimensions listed on the product page..
Answer: Which ever is the largest dimension.
Answer: It's 13.75 diameter and 13.75 height with the handle up but only about 12 inches high with the handle down. I don't know where they get 22 inches from?
Answer: It works great by the way.
Q:
Do i have to use jerky cure when drying beef? or can i use something else that will do the same thing?
Answer: There are some other salts that will do the same thing. If you're not using our NESCO Jerky Cure, another one that we recommend is Morton's Tender Quick.
Answer: I have used it a few times now and haven’t used the cure I have used my own seasonings or followed recipes on line that never called for the cure and it still turned out really good. :)
Answer: There are individuals who use celery juice as an alternative to nitrites/ nitrates. I don't know if your asking this particular question is related to the salts or other preservatives, but some feel comfortable not using the nitrates and nitrates. To each his own.
Q:
Is this a 5 drying tray or a 2 drying tray ? The description says 5 in one place and 2 in another, please clarify.
Answer: It comes with 5 trays. It has also 2 screens you place on top of the tray (perhaps there might be the confusion) and 2 covers for fruit rolls. Hope this helps.
Answer: Ours came (this was a time ago) with 5 and then, we purchased a couple of extras.
Answer: That would be a 5 drying tray.
Answer: Correction there is 5 trays
Answer: It comes with 5 trays. It can hold up to 12 if you want to buy extra trays
Answer: It is a 5 count.
Answer: 5 trays
Answer: 5 trays
Answer: There is only two with room for more
Answer: I had five
Product reviews of Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Gray
toni carswell : Good product/reasonable price
I have been researching dehydrators for a while now and this one came up on quite a few "consumer best" lists. For a "newbie" I think this was an excellent purchase. I was a little intimidated by the process so I went with the one that wouldn't be a huge investment if I decided it wasn't worth my time or effort. It really has been a game changer. I did know that I wanted one with a top fan and a temperature control. I would go for a back fan and the additional timer feature if/when I decide to purchase another. Overall I think this was exactly what I was looking for and it's SO QUIET! (My SO was actually impressed with how little noise it makes.) I definitely would recommend this product!
C. Smith : Homemade Dog Treats
I used it to dehydrate chicken feet, chicken necks, turkey necks, chicken hearts and gizzards for dog treats. I put it at 160F and less than 4 hours it’s ready to feed to the dogs. It’s so much cheaper to make homemade treats then buying it.
Dave : Not built to last, takes long time to dehydrate fruits
I've purchased three of these dehydrators over the last six years, and last me about two years before the heater fails. Each time, I would purchase a new unit and reuse some of the trays from the failed unit with the new unit. However, when you get to seven trays, it takes a long time for fruit to dry. I did call the company, and they said this dehydrator was 'not commercial', which must mean that you can only dehydrate items once in awhile or that you can't really dehydrate several batches of oranges or pears. Between the units failing, taking a long time to dehydrate the food, and the poor quality, I'm going to look at a different brand that can do a better job.
Erin M Biggs : Absolutely fantastic
I did a lot of research on these before buying. But I mean when you have over 3000 reviews and you’re still at 4 1/2 stars you can’t doubt this. It made the best jerky I’ve ever had! We used their spices (because they are free with it). Added soy sauce and red wine vinegar. It beats any store bought jerky! I kinda panicked not having a timer. But we have cell phones with them now. We’re doing fruit now! I can’t wait for it to be done. The aromas fill the whole house too! Don’t look anywhere else. This is the best!
Christina M : Amazing! Works perfect
I've been using this product for several months. I have made beef jerky, fruits, vegetables, dog treats, and candy. The plastic trays are durable and so easy to clean. I bought extra trays to go with it, so I'm running 14 trays each time. The heat is so evenly distributed that I don't have to rotate or flip anything. Everything comes out perfect every time. The temperature actually only gets to about 155. So any meat I put in the oven at 170 for an hour to make sure its safe. You cannot beat this product at this value. Its amazing for everything. I'm doing herbs and spices this week. I love it.
Robin A. Wendt : The best food dryer and preservative you’ll find!
Never had a purchase with which I have higher satisfaction. After several years it’s still going strong. And cleanup is very easy. The engineering on this is nothing short of perfect.
Sitting here as a covid-19 shut-in and looking at LOTS of venison in freezer. Making jerky has just not given me something to do but also a healthy snack for family and friends.
Will do lots of herbs this year too - sage, thyme, chives, oregano and rosemary.
Sitting here as a covid-19 shut-in and looking at LOTS of venison in freezer. Making jerky has just not given me something to do but also a healthy snack for family and friends.
Will do lots of herbs this year too - sage, thyme, chives, oregano and rosemary.
Diane Karraker : MAKING HEALTHY SNACKS FOR MY DOGS - NO MORE CHEMICALS
2 years ago I went to feeding my 2 dogs (terriers) human grade food after buying the expensive store bought food that was costing me a fortune. I now pay less for quality meats, fish, produce and starches to be feed to my dogs vs buying expensive pet food with ingredients I can't pronounce. However, I still had an issue with treats, especially for training. So I purchased this dehydrator and finished making their first batch of eye of round jerky and currently making chicken jerky as I write. Nothing added just pure meat. They LOVE IT to say the least. And I don't have to worry about unknown ingredients. We did that for ourselves 2 years ago also and have seen health issues disappear. Our motto is "If God created it and its natural unaltered, we can eat it" Our food bill went down some and we are healthy. Give yourself and your pets a gift of health by buying a dehydrator.
TheFakeFarmer : First use no heat
Filled up all the racks with venison. Set to 160 and checked every few hours. Eventually I figured out the heating element wasn’t working. Took it all apart. Nothing obvious was broken. Tried jumping the thermostat to at least see if the element would heat. No luck. There is a fuse, but it’s not common. I’m also not wasting time and money hoping it works. Unfortunately it was my first go at it and it’s well past the return date. Stuck with this thing now and it will just go in the garbage.
husky : DOA, no quality control.
Unfortunately my daughter didn't try using this gift until over a year after I bought it, or else I would have been able to just return it. When she did it failed immediately.
I was able to take it apart and found that the motor wasn't properly seated when they tightened the mounting screws at the factory, causing it to be crooked, which caused the fan blade to be crooked enough that it was hitting the case and had no chance of turning. The lack of airflow caused it to overheat within a minute after she plugged it in. Luckily there was a thermal fuse which blew, preventing a possible fire.
After properly seating the motor and replacing the thermal fuse, the unit now works.
This cheaply made item obviously has little to no quality control, and must never have been tested at the factory. Buyer beware. If you plug it in and don't hear a fan running, unplug it immediately to prevent it from overheating.
I was able to take it apart and found that the motor wasn't properly seated when they tightened the mounting screws at the factory, causing it to be crooked, which caused the fan blade to be crooked enough that it was hitting the case and had no chance of turning. The lack of airflow caused it to overheat within a minute after she plugged it in. Luckily there was a thermal fuse which blew, preventing a possible fire.
After properly seating the motor and replacing the thermal fuse, the unit now works.
This cheaply made item obviously has little to no quality control, and must never have been tested at the factory. Buyer beware. If you plug it in and don't hear a fan running, unplug it immediately to prevent it from overheating.
Kindle Reader : Did not even turn on.
This was my first food dehydrator and the machine did not even turn on. I wasted 5 trays of food because this machine did not work right out of the gate. I WILL be returning it. $75 plus the wasted food... I'm out a little over $125. NOT IMPRESSED! I'd give it less than a star if I could.
A. Morton : I chose this product over all the other ones available ...
I chose this product over all the other ones available on amazon because it says Made in USA. That's a complete lie. If you flip the lid over it says Made in China stamped on the product spec label.
anonymous : trays were redesigned from the older version of this model which means it is no longer ideal for my purpose
Bought this to have a second FD-75PR dehydrator for drying nuts. However was disappointed to find that the trays have been redesigned from those in the previous FD-75PR dehydrator. The previous trays had a raised ring that kept the nuts from rolling down through the middle. So now anytime it gets jostled, like when taking the top on and off, nuts drop down through. Also this means I can no longer clean the nuts outside and place them in the trays there and then carry the fully assembled unit inside to actually dry. These trays also appear to have some larger gaps that smaller items like berries fall down through. The dehydrator seems to dry in a reasonable amount of time still. I had been considering buying a third dehydrator to speed up the nut drying process but now I'm looking at other brands to see if one of them has trays that are better designed for my purpose. I had also been thinking about drying spare trays for this second dehydrator but now I will wait on that to see what I end up purchasing for the third dehydrator.
Khazar : Love it
I have been using the crap out of this thing and so far I love it. I dehydrated carrots (needs some cutting), zucchini, cabbage (shredded), peppers, jalapeno peppers, spinach, kale, pineapples, yogurt (spread it on the tray kind of thing inside) etc. I love it so far. I've been making vegetable powder to add to my soups. I haven't cleaned the trays in the dishwasher though. I'm worried that they'll break. So I've been hand-washing them.
Gabriel's Dad : Very simple to use with great results. **UPDATE June 2019**
** Update June 2019 - I've been using this dehydrator about every 2-3 weeks to dry fruits (mostly apples) and for making beef jerky. I soon realized that 5 trays was not enough to keep up with how fast my kids devour the dried apples and how fast I go through the jerky, so I've bought 4 additional trays since my initial purchase to increase the capacity. One thing I've noticed is that when I added the 4 additional trays (for a total of 9), the drying time increased by about an hour for jerky and about 1.5 hrs for the apples. It still doesn't dehydrate evenly (never did from the beginning), so I'm still rotating the trays at the halfway point to get even drying. This dehydrator is rated to use 12 trays, but given how the drying time increased and how it currently functions with just 9 trays, I'm not confident that this dehydrator can truly handle 12 trays, so I'm not going to be buying any more trays. However, that being said, the dehydrator is a workhorse and I haven't had any issues with the motor or the heater shutting off or any nonsense like that. Still very happy with this unit!! **
I was a little wary of buying this model because it didn't have an on/off switch. I'm not sure why that was going to bother me so much, probably because everything else seems to have one. But since i don't plan on leaving this dehydrator plugged in at all times (like my toaster or coffeemaker), I've realized that I really don't need an on/off switch for the dehydrator.
I was also wondering if I should spend some more money and get one with a digital temperature selection and wondering if I needed to step up from a simple dial control. After having used this dehydrator for the past month or so, I realized that the digital temperature control would have done really nothing other than add cost to the dehydrator.
The dehydrator itself works great. it's straightforward and easy, but there are a few things:
1. The dehydrator touts it's ability to provide even and equal airflow throughout the entire space so that you don't have to rotate trays. Well, that doesn't seem to work exactly as they hoped. I find that the trays closest to the heating and fan element (top) dries out much quicker than the tray on the bottom. It took me a few runs to figure this out, so now about half way through the drying process I swap the trays and put the top on the bottom and vice versa.
2. The trays stack well, but it is very difficult to get them perfectly aligned to satisfy my inner OCD. I'm not sure if they are designed to have as much wiggle room as they have, and I'm not sure how much it affects drying time and efficiency of the dehydrator, but it's annoying that the sides are not always flush fit.
3. The trays are a bit of a pain to clean due to all the nooks and crannies where the food juices get stuck and dry out. Nothing a little water, soap, brush, and elbow grease can't scrub out, but when there's about a 100 or so crevices in each tray, it gets very annoying. i guess i could throw the trays in the dish washer, but I'm always a bit wary about throwing delicate looking plastic things in the dish washer.
Otherwise, the machine works great and I've been able to make beef jerky at home to satisfy my cravings at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the grocery store, with the option to make the jerky as spicy or sweet or savory as i want. I've also used it to dry mangos and kiwis and this dehydrator has worked great. I've soon found out, as many others have, that I definitely need more than the 5 trays that come with it.
I was a little wary of buying this model because it didn't have an on/off switch. I'm not sure why that was going to bother me so much, probably because everything else seems to have one. But since i don't plan on leaving this dehydrator plugged in at all times (like my toaster or coffeemaker), I've realized that I really don't need an on/off switch for the dehydrator.
I was also wondering if I should spend some more money and get one with a digital temperature selection and wondering if I needed to step up from a simple dial control. After having used this dehydrator for the past month or so, I realized that the digital temperature control would have done really nothing other than add cost to the dehydrator.
The dehydrator itself works great. it's straightforward and easy, but there are a few things:
1. The dehydrator touts it's ability to provide even and equal airflow throughout the entire space so that you don't have to rotate trays. Well, that doesn't seem to work exactly as they hoped. I find that the trays closest to the heating and fan element (top) dries out much quicker than the tray on the bottom. It took me a few runs to figure this out, so now about half way through the drying process I swap the trays and put the top on the bottom and vice versa.
2. The trays stack well, but it is very difficult to get them perfectly aligned to satisfy my inner OCD. I'm not sure if they are designed to have as much wiggle room as they have, and I'm not sure how much it affects drying time and efficiency of the dehydrator, but it's annoying that the sides are not always flush fit.
3. The trays are a bit of a pain to clean due to all the nooks and crannies where the food juices get stuck and dry out. Nothing a little water, soap, brush, and elbow grease can't scrub out, but when there's about a 100 or so crevices in each tray, it gets very annoying. i guess i could throw the trays in the dish washer, but I'm always a bit wary about throwing delicate looking plastic things in the dish washer.
Otherwise, the machine works great and I've been able to make beef jerky at home to satisfy my cravings at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the grocery store, with the option to make the jerky as spicy or sweet or savory as i want. I've also used it to dry mangos and kiwis and this dehydrator has worked great. I've soon found out, as many others have, that I definitely need more than the 5 trays that come with it.
Bytore : Warning! Not was not safe for jerky.
This dehydrator is supposed to reach 165 degrees to make safe jerky. After trying to make numerous items including fruits and a couple batches of jerky I had nothing but issues. Nothing would completely dehydrate. I decided to test the operating temperature. Using temperature probes I use for my smoker I learned my unit only gets to 144 degrees. I will say that the temperature was uniform from the top tray to the bottom though. I liked the build and the thermostat feature, but it is getting returned today.
Jordan : Great dehydrator
I love my dehydrator. I've had it or about a 2 years now and it was one of the best purchases I have made. The price is great for what you are getting and so far I've had great result with mine. I dehydrate a lot of food for backpacking and camping trips and it has made my backpacking and camping food prices drop so much because I just make my own meals rather than buy those overpriced packs of freeze dried food. Granted this is a dehydrator and not a freeze drier so food doesn't rehydrate as easily as it would if it were freeze dried but this is so much cheaper and I don't mind the extra crunch in my food. I also use it to dehydrate fruits and vegetables when they are about to go bad for snacks and such. This little thing just has so much use. There are a lot of dehydrators on the market and I searched but for the price I think this is one of the best on the market. It's pretty quiet when it's on, just sounds like a fan. Doesn't use much electricity, is safe to leave running overnight, and has 5 trays to do lots of dehydrating at once. Granted just don't put onions and pineapple in there together or you will end up with pineapple that has an onion taste to it. It comes fully equipped with different tray inserts so you can dehydrate different shaped things without stuff falling through, it comes with a handy booklet, and packets of seasoning for dehydrating meat. This was a fantastic investment and I've gotten so much use out of mine. It's good for people who are looking to save money when it comes to packing food for trips and camping and stuff like that. It's also good for people who want to have dehydrated food for themselves or their kids but don't want to spend a bunch of money on dehydrated snacks. It does take a little more prep time than just buying prepackaged food but money wise it's well worth it and you know exactly what you are putting into your body.
Alanni : Would NOT Recommend
This was my first food dehydrator purchase. I got heavily invested into videos, articles, and recipes over the summer about dehydrating and I spent months debating if I should buy one and if so, which one? I did plenty of research and decided on this one due to positive reviews I read and it being on the more affordable side. From my experiences since making the purchase, I regret buying this one and would not recommend it. I don’t know if I will even continue this hobby. My food dehydrator takes 3-5x the amount of time it says it will take to dehydrate something, even in smaller batches. This adds up on my electricity bill, not to mention the inconvenience of not knowing whether your food is finished because it’s already been well over the suggested dehydrating time.
K. Leann : Great little dehydrator but experement with times yourself.
I love this thing. I use it a lot to make dried snacks and my own beef jerky. I just recommend for the jerky to not use ground beef, it's far too greasy and never seems to properly dehydrate and just leaves a big mess at the bottom. Plus the ground beef likes to strick to the trays I found and rips apart when you try and pull it off.
What I do instead for jerky is get a roast and either have the store slice it thin or cut it thin myself then slice into strips as I did in the photos and let it marinate overnight in a ziplock bag before laying it out. You don't have to trim the fat away if you don't want. (I don't) A nice 3-pound roast just fits on the 5 trays that come with this. Don't be afraid to pack it in tight, the strips shrink down as it cooks.
The cooking time for jerky will vary depending on the thickness of the sliced meat and how you like your jerky, rather really dry and hard, or still chewy. Around 4 hours makes jerky where it's still nice and chewy, though thicker slices may need an extra hour or two.
When just starting out I recommend checking on the status of what you're making every 2-3 hours to get a feel for how long something might take. This works really good as I found going by the time in the instructions can leave some thing's like jerky a bit overdone, very dry and snapped in half when bent overdone. The jerky in the photos was in for 4 hours and was dry and still very chewy like store bought jerky.
Cleaning is easy, while the trays don't quite fit in my small dishwasher, a quick swipe with water and a sponge does the trick. For aid, I also place one of the tray mats meant for fruit rollup like snacks at the very bottom below the trays to catch any drips while cooking and that's easy to wipe down as well.
What I do instead for jerky is get a roast and either have the store slice it thin or cut it thin myself then slice into strips as I did in the photos and let it marinate overnight in a ziplock bag before laying it out. You don't have to trim the fat away if you don't want. (I don't) A nice 3-pound roast just fits on the 5 trays that come with this. Don't be afraid to pack it in tight, the strips shrink down as it cooks.
The cooking time for jerky will vary depending on the thickness of the sliced meat and how you like your jerky, rather really dry and hard, or still chewy. Around 4 hours makes jerky where it's still nice and chewy, though thicker slices may need an extra hour or two.
When just starting out I recommend checking on the status of what you're making every 2-3 hours to get a feel for how long something might take. This works really good as I found going by the time in the instructions can leave some thing's like jerky a bit overdone, very dry and snapped in half when bent overdone. The jerky in the photos was in for 4 hours and was dry and still very chewy like store bought jerky.
Cleaning is easy, while the trays don't quite fit in my small dishwasher, a quick swipe with water and a sponge does the trick. For aid, I also place one of the tray mats meant for fruit rollup like snacks at the very bottom below the trays to catch any drips while cooking and that's easy to wipe down as well.
Rob W : If I knew it was this easy to make great beef jerky
If I knew it was this easy to make great beef jerky, I woulda bought it long ago. The book explains how to make different things, and I think I've tried about 85% of them. The temperature control is easy to read/use. Clean up is easy if you do not put them in a dishwasher, but if you do, do not use heated drying or they may warp a little (one tray did on my set). Not unusable, but it is a little warped.
So far I am still using it after about 6 weeks of ownership, hopefully I continue to use it. I will say, no more throwing out older fruit though, I just slice it up and throw it on the dehydrator until I have dried fruit.
So far I am still using it after about 6 weeks of ownership, hopefully I continue to use it. I will say, no more throwing out older fruit though, I just slice it up and throw it on the dehydrator until I have dried fruit.
Southern Charm : I love it! It dehydrates a variety of foods to perfection
We use this dehydrator often. It is fun to make all the varieties of foods and herbs. They all come out to perfection and the process is pretty quick. This light gray speckled unit appears well made and is not really noisy. It has a low hum which I don't mind. I may use it outdoors if the weather is hot because it gives off some heat from the fan which is common with dehydrators. I made some cinnamon apple slices and they were delicious! There are some nice recipes in the booklet. This came with flavor packets for jerky but I haven't used them yet. I have made lots of beef and chicken jerky for my dogs and they gobble them and I know they are all natural and safe for them. I only use pure chicken breast or very lean beef and do not add anything else. I pound the beef or chicken to be more uniform in size. I dried basil and oregano perfectly and the special tray it comes with was used so they won't fall out. The trays are sturdy and fit nicely with stacking. I haven't used the fruit leather things, but I will in the future. I will be experimenting with more foods and herbs in the future. I highly recommend this dehydrator!
Patty B : Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator,...
To be quite honest, our first unit (same one) lasted for several years of dehydrating tomatoes, bananas, sweet potatoes, etc... This unit stopped working properly after less than 3 months. We got a refund for it and moved on to a better unit.
Donna D. : I really wanted to like this.
After reading many reviews, I decided on this dehydrator. When it came in, I was so excited. I had beef marinating for a little over a day and I was anxious to make my beef jerky. I lined the trays with the meat and turned it on. Meanwhile, while I waited, I decided to order a set of 2 more tray because I still had some beef left that I couldn't fit on the trays which meant another 4-5 hours instead of all at once. After a mere three hours, I saw something weird happening with the trays. They were starting to bow out and steam was escaping from the sides of the dehydrator. Immediately I cancelled the order for the additional trays and I put in for a return on this item. This is not acceptable. The plastic was definitely flimsy but with all of the rave reviews and the fact the the temperature was only at 160 degrees, I didn't think that something like this would happen. I will try another brand because I really want a dehydrator. My search continues.
Tom O. Chamberlin : Great machine for preserving fruit!
Good Value for the money.
Easy to use.
Patience required but the results are worth it.
I have dehydrated several batches of peaches and apples. They were a big hit. Obviously the end product depends on the starting product. That said the results were spectacular. The fruit was sweet and great tasting. None of the dehydrated fruit I have bought commercially even comes close in flavor. I soaked the fruit briefly in lemon juice to reduce bacteria and prevent browning. The lemon juice added flavor and the fruit stayed nice looking. I intend to buy another of these for the next season.
Easy to use.
Patience required but the results are worth it.
I have dehydrated several batches of peaches and apples. They were a big hit. Obviously the end product depends on the starting product. That said the results were spectacular. The fruit was sweet and great tasting. None of the dehydrated fruit I have bought commercially even comes close in flavor. I soaked the fruit briefly in lemon juice to reduce bacteria and prevent browning. The lemon juice added flavor and the fruit stayed nice looking. I intend to buy another of these for the next season.
Paul Lee : Great gift for dehydrated foods
Got this gift for my son in law, who was always going to a convenience store buying beef jerky. He mentioned that he would like to make his own version instead, and saving money buying that at the store....not to mention all of those unwanted ingredients in those products that are not so good for you....My son in law has put this machine to use and it has not disappointed....He goes to a grocery store and orders a specific cut of meat cut from the butcher so that he can make his jerky his way....This has been one product that he said its "the gift that keeps on giving", and appreciates having this product. This was a purchase well spent and I recommend anyone interested in something like this to consider this product.
TheFakeFarmer : First use no heat
Filled up all the racks with venison. Set to 160 and checked every few hours. Eventually I figured out the heating element wasn’t working. Took it all apart. Nothing obvious was broken. Tried jumping the thermostat to at least see if the element would heat. No luck. There is a fuse, but it’s not common. I’m also not wasting time and money hoping it works. Unfortunately it was my first go at it and it’s well past the return date. Stuck with this thing now and it will just go in the garbage.
Gabriel's Dad : Very simple to use with great results. **UPDATE June 2019**
** Update June 2019 - I've been using this dehydrator about every 2-3 weeks to dry fruits (mostly apples) and for making beef jerky. I soon realized that 5 trays was not enough to keep up with how fast my kids devour the dried apples and how fast I go through the jerky, so I've bought 4 additional trays since my initial purchase to increase the capacity. One thing I've noticed is that when I added the 4 additional trays (for a total of 9), the drying time increased by about an hour for jerky and about 1.5 hrs for the apples. It still doesn't dehydrate evenly (never did from the beginning), so I'm still rotating the trays at the halfway point to get even drying. This dehydrator is rated to use 12 trays, but given how the drying time increased and how it currently functions with just 9 trays, I'm not confident that this dehydrator can truly handle 12 trays, so I'm not going to be buying any more trays. However, that being said, the dehydrator is a workhorse and I haven't had any issues with the motor or the heater shutting off or any nonsense like that. Still very happy with this unit!! **
I was a little wary of buying this model because it didn't have an on/off switch. I'm not sure why that was going to bother me so much, probably because everything else seems to have one. But since i don't plan on leaving this dehydrator plugged in at all times (like my toaster or coffeemaker), I've realized that I really don't need an on/off switch for the dehydrator.
I was also wondering if I should spend some more money and get one with a digital temperature selection and wondering if I needed to step up from a simple dial control. After having used this dehydrator for the past month or so, I realized that the digital temperature control would have done really nothing other than add cost to the dehydrator.
The dehydrator itself works great. it's straightforward and easy, but there are a few things:
1. The dehydrator touts it's ability to provide even and equal airflow throughout the entire space so that you don't have to rotate trays. Well, that doesn't seem to work exactly as they hoped. I find that the trays closest to the heating and fan element (top) dries out much quicker than the tray on the bottom. It took me a few runs to figure this out, so now about half way through the drying process I swap the trays and put the top on the bottom and vice versa.
2. The trays stack well, but it is very difficult to get them perfectly aligned to satisfy my inner OCD. I'm not sure if they are designed to have as much wiggle room as they have, and I'm not sure how much it affects drying time and efficiency of the dehydrator, but it's annoying that the sides are not always flush fit.
3. The trays are a bit of a pain to clean due to all the nooks and crannies where the food juices get stuck and dry out. Nothing a little water, soap, brush, and elbow grease can't scrub out, but when there's about a 100 or so crevices in each tray, it gets very annoying. i guess i could throw the trays in the dish washer, but I'm always a bit wary about throwing delicate looking plastic things in the dish washer.
Otherwise, the machine works great and I've been able to make beef jerky at home to satisfy my cravings at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the grocery store, with the option to make the jerky as spicy or sweet or savory as i want. I've also used it to dry mangos and kiwis and this dehydrator has worked great. I've soon found out, as many others have, that I definitely need more than the 5 trays that come with it.
I was a little wary of buying this model because it didn't have an on/off switch. I'm not sure why that was going to bother me so much, probably because everything else seems to have one. But since i don't plan on leaving this dehydrator plugged in at all times (like my toaster or coffeemaker), I've realized that I really don't need an on/off switch for the dehydrator.
I was also wondering if I should spend some more money and get one with a digital temperature selection and wondering if I needed to step up from a simple dial control. After having used this dehydrator for the past month or so, I realized that the digital temperature control would have done really nothing other than add cost to the dehydrator.
The dehydrator itself works great. it's straightforward and easy, but there are a few things:
1. The dehydrator touts it's ability to provide even and equal airflow throughout the entire space so that you don't have to rotate trays. Well, that doesn't seem to work exactly as they hoped. I find that the trays closest to the heating and fan element (top) dries out much quicker than the tray on the bottom. It took me a few runs to figure this out, so now about half way through the drying process I swap the trays and put the top on the bottom and vice versa.
2. The trays stack well, but it is very difficult to get them perfectly aligned to satisfy my inner OCD. I'm not sure if they are designed to have as much wiggle room as they have, and I'm not sure how much it affects drying time and efficiency of the dehydrator, but it's annoying that the sides are not always flush fit.
3. The trays are a bit of a pain to clean due to all the nooks and crannies where the food juices get stuck and dry out. Nothing a little water, soap, brush, and elbow grease can't scrub out, but when there's about a 100 or so crevices in each tray, it gets very annoying. i guess i could throw the trays in the dish washer, but I'm always a bit wary about throwing delicate looking plastic things in the dish washer.
Otherwise, the machine works great and I've been able to make beef jerky at home to satisfy my cravings at a fraction of the cost of buying them at the grocery store, with the option to make the jerky as spicy or sweet or savory as i want. I've also used it to dry mangos and kiwis and this dehydrator has worked great. I've soon found out, as many others have, that I definitely need more than the 5 trays that come with it.
Marie : BIG BANG FOR YOUR BUCK! BEST DEHYDRATOR YOU WILL EVER BUY! I'VE USED DEHYDRATORS FOR OVER 40 YRS.
I've owned this unit for many years. This 1, I bought for our son. He wanted a good one and to start making his own jerky snacks.
I ordered him the exact model I own. It will serve him well for many many years to come. I've made endless pounds of jerky for family and friends.
Never disappointed in the results. I like this dehydrator because you have a temperature control for what you are doing. My ancient unit didn't have this. You had 1 temperature and that was it. Sturdy,cleans up easily,stores easily. Can be expanded by adding additional racks. Comes with 5 racks. Those 5 racks will hold 3 lbs. of meat to make into jerky. I've also dried fruit ,onions and chives in this unit.
Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A ...You'll never be sorry you purchased this.
I ordered him the exact model I own. It will serve him well for many many years to come. I've made endless pounds of jerky for family and friends.
Never disappointed in the results. I like this dehydrator because you have a temperature control for what you are doing. My ancient unit didn't have this. You had 1 temperature and that was it. Sturdy,cleans up easily,stores easily. Can be expanded by adding additional racks. Comes with 5 racks. Those 5 racks will hold 3 lbs. of meat to make into jerky. I've also dried fruit ,onions and chives in this unit.
Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A ...You'll never be sorry you purchased this.
LegoDad : Ripoff, never gets more than 131 degrees
I've been using a Nesco Jerky Express dehydrator for a lot of years. Worked great. I had to rotate the trays, and cook the beef afterwards to get it to 160, but that was expected.
When my gun that came with it broke, I gave it away and bought this instead when I bought a new gun. I checked reviews, saw this was one of the few that got to 165 degrees, supposedly negating the need for baking in the oven to kill any organisms.
Imagine my disappointment when it never got above 131 degrees, no matter how many hours it ran.
So I'm still forced to cook my beef in the oven, when I purchased this to negate that step.
Can't return as I already had broken down the box it arrived in and put it out for recycling yesterday, so I'm stuck with it.
When my gun that came with it broke, I gave it away and bought this instead when I bought a new gun. I checked reviews, saw this was one of the few that got to 165 degrees, supposedly negating the need for baking in the oven to kill any organisms.
Imagine my disappointment when it never got above 131 degrees, no matter how many hours it ran.
So I'm still forced to cook my beef in the oven, when I purchased this to negate that step.
Can't return as I already had broken down the box it arrived in and put it out for recycling yesterday, so I'm stuck with it.
Sarah Jamieson : Broken and sad
I used to love my dehydrated for dog treats, it did just what I needed to do, it was easy to clean, it was quiet, but I’ve only had it for 9 months and it just randomly broke. I turned it on just like I always do, and the fan wouldn’t turn on and it started smelling like something was burning so I immediately unplugged it. It hasn’t worked since. I only use it like once a month. It’s supposed to have a 1 year warranty so I contacted the website and haven’t had any contact. I’m so sad because I loved this dehydrator, but it’s not worth it if it’s going to break.
SRS : Who knew how much one could dehydrate!
We bought this dehydrator originally to make sweet potato rawhide's for our dog after buying some at a specialty store for an outrageous sum of money. Now that one of our dog's is unwell and limited to what she can eat we looked for a way to make these ourselves. The basic Nesco unit is generous with its stacks so we could dehydrate about 7 lbs of potato at once. We have tried one of their recipes for potato chips but will opt not to do that again but it was fun to try. So we've used it four time so far and are happy. The only reason I gave it four stars for durability is because we've had it three weeks. The only other things that I would point out are that it is rather large and can be noisy. When it's running we always think our oven is turned on!
Robert C. : Nope
Plastic doesn't line up, trays are warped. Unit doesn't power on unless I jerryrig the cord to pull at a 90 degree angle. Oh and it smells like burning plastic on use. Avoid this item unless you're looking to cash in on a insurance policy.
T & K : We love this, only planning on making jerky and it is perfect!
I just got this in the mail, I actually marinated the meat as I saw the tracking tell me it was almost here. I also bought two packs of two extra trays. I had the meat sliced (bottom round on sale at Safeway for $1.97 a pound) earlier in the day. The butcher said he sliced it on #5 on his meat slicer after trimming all the visible fat off the roasts. I marinated it overnight; one bag with the three packets of marinade and curing salts that the dehydrator came with and another with a concoctions I figured out by reading on the internet. I got up this morning and put the meat on the trays. One 4 pound roast filled all 9 trays I had and I set it outside and plugged it in. I am not going to do anything the rest of the day except let the machine run. For the first batch I am not even going to turn the meat (well that doesn't mean my husband won't!)
I can say this, the machine was easy to load, the trays are very spacious and when it didn't quite line up with the tray below it, I just tapped gently and it fell into place. By putting pressure on the top after applying the motor/lid, I was also able to wash the outside before I carried it outside and plugged it in on the patio.
I will follow up if I am not happy about anything, but so far, I love it!
I can say this, the machine was easy to load, the trays are very spacious and when it didn't quite line up with the tray below it, I just tapped gently and it fell into place. By putting pressure on the top after applying the motor/lid, I was also able to wash the outside before I carried it outside and plugged it in on the patio.
I will follow up if I am not happy about anything, but so far, I love it!
anonymous : trays were redesigned from the older version of this model which means it is no longer ideal for my purpose
Bought this to have a second FD-75PR dehydrator for drying nuts. However was disappointed to find that the trays have been redesigned from those in the previous FD-75PR dehydrator. The previous trays had a raised ring that kept the nuts from rolling down through the middle. So now anytime it gets jostled, like when taking the top on and off, nuts drop down through. Also this means I can no longer clean the nuts outside and place them in the trays there and then carry the fully assembled unit inside to actually dry. These trays also appear to have some larger gaps that smaller items like berries fall down through. The dehydrator seems to dry in a reasonable amount of time still. I had been considering buying a third dehydrator to speed up the nut drying process but now I'm looking at other brands to see if one of them has trays that are better designed for my purpose. I had also been thinking about drying spare trays for this second dehydrator but now I will wait on that to see what I end up purchasing for the third dehydrator.
Southern Charm : I love it! It dehydrates a variety of foods to perfection
We use this dehydrator often. It is fun to make all the varieties of foods and herbs. They all come out to perfection and the process is pretty quick. This light gray speckled unit appears well made and is not really noisy. It has a low hum which I don't mind. I may use it outdoors if the weather is hot because it gives off some heat from the fan which is common with dehydrators. I made some cinnamon apple slices and they were delicious! There are some nice recipes in the booklet. This came with flavor packets for jerky but I haven't used them yet. I have made lots of beef and chicken jerky for my dogs and they gobble them and I know they are all natural and safe for them. I only use pure chicken breast or very lean beef and do not add anything else. I pound the beef or chicken to be more uniform in size. I dried basil and oregano perfectly and the special tray it comes with was used so they won't fall out. The trays are sturdy and fit nicely with stacking. I haven't used the fruit leather things, but I will in the future. I will be experimenting with more foods and herbs in the future. I highly recommend this dehydrator!
Sarah Jamieson : Broken and sad
I used to love my dehydrated for dog treats, it did just what I needed to do, it was easy to clean, it was quiet, but I’ve only had it for 9 months and it just randomly broke. I turned it on just like I always do, and the fan wouldn’t turn on and it started smelling like something was burning so I immediately unplugged it. It hasn’t worked since. I only use it like once a month. It’s supposed to have a 1 year warranty so I contacted the website and haven’t had any contact. I’m so sad because I loved this dehydrator, but it’s not worth it if it’s going to break.
Michael Burnstein : Broke Immediately
It arrived yesterday. I had meat ready and I laid it all out, seasoned it, and placed it on several racks in the dehydrator. When I plugged it in the fan came on. I unplugged it, placed the top on and plugged it back in. I marveled at how quiet it was. Then I realized it wasn't working for the last 2 hours. There appear to be no lights or other indications of power/operation on this model.
Amazon is providing a no hassle replacement. Let's see if the next one works.
Amazon is providing a no hassle replacement. Let's see if the next one works.
TheGrogMaster : Value for the buck, but ....
Bought this to replace an older 300 watt bottom heat 5 tray unit, which could take 10-12 hours to dry 3 lbs of jerky meat (net 1 lb). I also use a slicer for consistent thickness, which is a must. The older unit was not so much fun, since I flip and rotate the strips every 2 hours. This 600 watt top heat unit does the same in half the time using 5 trays. I’ve also dried 6 pounds of beef with this new unit using 11 trays, but with this many trays my dry time increased back to 10-12 hours again, which was disappointing. Overall happy with the unit for this price point. But it is still plastic and the tray grates are flimsy, so handle with care, and clean up takes some time (soapy soak and a gentle brushing). Also, you do have to make sure to properly align the tray stack to insure consistent air flow. Not a gripe necessarily, but they don’t always line up perfectly when stacked. I will probably invest in a more powerful and heavier duty unit with dishwasher safe metal trays down the road.
jerry collins : Needs Improvement
I found no improvement in drying performance over the bottom blowers, of which I have two. I must rotate the trays as drying proceeds. A check with the infrared thermometer showed a 3 to 4 degree drop in temperature for each tray from top to bottom. While drying split Italian plums overnight at 135 degrees, some drying occurred on the top tray, none occurred on the bottom tray. At the highest heat setting the temperature peaked about 10 degrees less than the selected temperature, even on the top tray. I was disappointed that the unit did not deliver on the recommended temperature for safe meat drying. I kept the dehydrator, knowing its limitations, for drying fruits. On the plus side the trays from my old Harvest Maid dehydrators fit this model. It is light weight and cleans up well.
Jeff : Great dehydrator but temp is way off...
I bought this dehydrator sort of like many people did: after reading the things you can do with it, I got all excited, thinking, "I'm going to dehydrate EVERYTHING and it's going to be amazing!!!" Of course, in reality that doesn't really happen. When people say you'll use it for a while and then it will collect dust, I totally get how that could happen. Fingers crossed, it hasn't happened to me yet.
So, from my point of view, I see a number of excellent things about this dehydrator and one main problem. Let's start with the good stuff.
So far, I've used the dehydrator to make a couple of batches of each of:
- Apple chips (thin apple slices soaked for a few hours in a combo of lemon juice and cranberry juice, then dried)
- beef jerky (this dehydrator comes with a starter park for jerky, plus I made my own marinade the next time)
- chicken jerky
- bacon bits (the ends and "bad cuts" of my own home-cured, smoked bacon, finely chopped, cooked, and then dehydrated. best bacon bits you will EVER taste)
- sweet potato dog treats (just sweet potatoes sliced lengthwise and dehydrated. Healthy, and she goes NUTS for them)
- chicken jerky dog treats (regular, inexpensive frozen chicken breast cut into strips and dehydrated, she goes nuts for those too).
The jerky is better than the packaged stuff by a pretty wide margin. There are all sorts of ways to modify it to suit your tastes, of course. My wife didn't care for the fruit dehydration at first because she was expecting crunchy apple chips like you can get at the store. They don't come out like that. They're still pliable and soft. The benefit is that all of the vitamins are still intact, whereas if they were baked to the point of crunchy, all of that good stuff goes away. You also need to grow accustomed to the relatively small yield -- slicing three whole apples and dehydrating them results in about one sandwich baggie worth of apple chips! Three pounds of meat going in will get you around one pound of jerky. So don't think you're going to make your own jerky to save money. If you're lucky you might break even (not including the time and effort, and not including cost of making the marinade or the electricity used to run the dehydrator all day). The real benefit is the flavor and lack of preservatives, etc.
It comes with five trays, but you can use as few as four (I don't know why you need a minimum of four, and I wish you could just use what you need). It also comes with a couple of inserts for small things and fruit leather type stuff. There is no power switch, you just plug it in and it starts going. The temperature can be dialed in from 95ºF to 160ºF as printed on the top (remember that problem I mentioned? yep. see below.)
The temperature seems to be pretty consistent from top to bottom. It uses a system that circulates the air not just through the middle, but also out along the edges via hollow walls on the outer circumference of the trays. It seems to operate similar to a thermostat. The fan is always on, but the heating element shuts on and off depending on the internal temperature of the unit. Once the temp falls below a certain threshold, the heater kicks back on to get it into the right range. You can tell when this happens, but you really need to be listening in order to hear it because it's very subtle.
So, I love it. What about that problem I mentioned? Well, I have tested the actual running temperature of the dehydrator against the printed values on the dial, and they're not even close.
I used several methods to determine the temperature:
1) A pointed directly into an exhaust vent (see photo) with the dial set to the maximum 160ºF.
2) A long wire probe connected to the above thermometer, which I mounted near the center of the dehydrator on the third tray (routed up through an exhaust vent so as not to introduce any error from external air coming in where the wire is inserted). I ensured that the probe touched nothing but air while reading, and watched the values at both the 135ºF setting and the 160ºF setting. (see photos)
3) An analog metal probe thermometer placed deep into a lower and an upper exhaust port.
4) A digital metal probe thermometer ( ) inserted into both the upper and lower exhaust ports
In all cases (except #3, which responded too slowly) I was able to see the lower temperature at which the heater kicked on, as well as the upper temperature at which the heater turned off (in theory, this would be right around the number printed on the dial). The numbers were effectively the same in all tests.
- At the 135ºF setting on the dehydrator, the actual temperature maxed out at around 120ºF, at which point the heater turned off and the temperature dropped slowly until the heater came back on.
- At the 160ºF setting (maximum), it was the same story but with an actual temperature topping out at around 135ºF.
What concerns me is this unit's suitability for jerky -- the minimum recommended temperature for any meat is 160ºF when making jerky. I'm not too terribly concerned about the beef jerky because I routinely eat beef at a much lower temperature than that (though it does make a good case for refrigerating the jerky in this case), but the chicken jerky could have gone pretty badly!
It could also be that it's just mine that has this problem, I don't know. But for me, part of the reason for getting this model instead of some of the cheaper ones is because of the adjustable temperature. And now it looks like it has to be on maximum pretty much all the time anyway? Hmm...
Without the temperature issue, it would have been 5 stars. But this drops it significantly, because that's HALF of it! Heat and air.
So, from my point of view, I see a number of excellent things about this dehydrator and one main problem. Let's start with the good stuff.
So far, I've used the dehydrator to make a couple of batches of each of:
- Apple chips (thin apple slices soaked for a few hours in a combo of lemon juice and cranberry juice, then dried)
- beef jerky (this dehydrator comes with a starter park for jerky, plus I made my own marinade the next time)
- chicken jerky
- bacon bits (the ends and "bad cuts" of my own home-cured, smoked bacon, finely chopped, cooked, and then dehydrated. best bacon bits you will EVER taste)
- sweet potato dog treats (just sweet potatoes sliced lengthwise and dehydrated. Healthy, and she goes NUTS for them)
- chicken jerky dog treats (regular, inexpensive frozen chicken breast cut into strips and dehydrated, she goes nuts for those too).
The jerky is better than the packaged stuff by a pretty wide margin. There are all sorts of ways to modify it to suit your tastes, of course. My wife didn't care for the fruit dehydration at first because she was expecting crunchy apple chips like you can get at the store. They don't come out like that. They're still pliable and soft. The benefit is that all of the vitamins are still intact, whereas if they were baked to the point of crunchy, all of that good stuff goes away. You also need to grow accustomed to the relatively small yield -- slicing three whole apples and dehydrating them results in about one sandwich baggie worth of apple chips! Three pounds of meat going in will get you around one pound of jerky. So don't think you're going to make your own jerky to save money. If you're lucky you might break even (not including the time and effort, and not including cost of making the marinade or the electricity used to run the dehydrator all day). The real benefit is the flavor and lack of preservatives, etc.
It comes with five trays, but you can use as few as four (I don't know why you need a minimum of four, and I wish you could just use what you need). It also comes with a couple of inserts for small things and fruit leather type stuff. There is no power switch, you just plug it in and it starts going. The temperature can be dialed in from 95ºF to 160ºF as printed on the top (remember that problem I mentioned? yep. see below.)
The temperature seems to be pretty consistent from top to bottom. It uses a system that circulates the air not just through the middle, but also out along the edges via hollow walls on the outer circumference of the trays. It seems to operate similar to a thermostat. The fan is always on, but the heating element shuts on and off depending on the internal temperature of the unit. Once the temp falls below a certain threshold, the heater kicks back on to get it into the right range. You can tell when this happens, but you really need to be listening in order to hear it because it's very subtle.
So, I love it. What about that problem I mentioned? Well, I have tested the actual running temperature of the dehydrator against the printed values on the dial, and they're not even close.
I used several methods to determine the temperature:
1) A pointed directly into an exhaust vent (see photo) with the dial set to the maximum 160ºF.
2) A long wire probe connected to the above thermometer, which I mounted near the center of the dehydrator on the third tray (routed up through an exhaust vent so as not to introduce any error from external air coming in where the wire is inserted). I ensured that the probe touched nothing but air while reading, and watched the values at both the 135ºF setting and the 160ºF setting. (see photos)
3) An analog metal probe thermometer placed deep into a lower and an upper exhaust port.
4) A digital metal probe thermometer ( ) inserted into both the upper and lower exhaust ports
In all cases (except #3, which responded too slowly) I was able to see the lower temperature at which the heater kicked on, as well as the upper temperature at which the heater turned off (in theory, this would be right around the number printed on the dial). The numbers were effectively the same in all tests.
- At the 135ºF setting on the dehydrator, the actual temperature maxed out at around 120ºF, at which point the heater turned off and the temperature dropped slowly until the heater came back on.
- At the 160ºF setting (maximum), it was the same story but with an actual temperature topping out at around 135ºF.
What concerns me is this unit's suitability for jerky -- the minimum recommended temperature for any meat is 160ºF when making jerky. I'm not too terribly concerned about the beef jerky because I routinely eat beef at a much lower temperature than that (though it does make a good case for refrigerating the jerky in this case), but the chicken jerky could have gone pretty badly!
It could also be that it's just mine that has this problem, I don't know. But for me, part of the reason for getting this model instead of some of the cheaper ones is because of the adjustable temperature. And now it looks like it has to be on maximum pretty much all the time anyway? Hmm...
Without the temperature issue, it would have been 5 stars. But this drops it significantly, because that's HALF of it! Heat and air.
K. Leann : Great little dehydrator but experement with times yourself.
I love this thing. I use it a lot to make dried snacks and my own beef jerky. I just recommend for the jerky to not use ground beef, it's far too greasy and never seems to properly dehydrate and just leaves a big mess at the bottom. Plus the ground beef likes to strick to the trays I found and rips apart when you try and pull it off.
What I do instead for jerky is get a roast and either have the store slice it thin or cut it thin myself then slice into strips as I did in the photos and let it marinate overnight in a ziplock bag before laying it out. You don't have to trim the fat away if you don't want. (I don't) A nice 3-pound roast just fits on the 5 trays that come with this. Don't be afraid to pack it in tight, the strips shrink down as it cooks.
The cooking time for jerky will vary depending on the thickness of the sliced meat and how you like your jerky, rather really dry and hard, or still chewy. Around 4 hours makes jerky where it's still nice and chewy, though thicker slices may need an extra hour or two.
When just starting out I recommend checking on the status of what you're making every 2-3 hours to get a feel for how long something might take. This works really good as I found going by the time in the instructions can leave some thing's like jerky a bit overdone, very dry and snapped in half when bent overdone. The jerky in the photos was in for 4 hours and was dry and still very chewy like store bought jerky.
Cleaning is easy, while the trays don't quite fit in my small dishwasher, a quick swipe with water and a sponge does the trick. For aid, I also place one of the tray mats meant for fruit rollup like snacks at the very bottom below the trays to catch any drips while cooking and that's easy to wipe down as well.
What I do instead for jerky is get a roast and either have the store slice it thin or cut it thin myself then slice into strips as I did in the photos and let it marinate overnight in a ziplock bag before laying it out. You don't have to trim the fat away if you don't want. (I don't) A nice 3-pound roast just fits on the 5 trays that come with this. Don't be afraid to pack it in tight, the strips shrink down as it cooks.
The cooking time for jerky will vary depending on the thickness of the sliced meat and how you like your jerky, rather really dry and hard, or still chewy. Around 4 hours makes jerky where it's still nice and chewy, though thicker slices may need an extra hour or two.
When just starting out I recommend checking on the status of what you're making every 2-3 hours to get a feel for how long something might take. This works really good as I found going by the time in the instructions can leave some thing's like jerky a bit overdone, very dry and snapped in half when bent overdone. The jerky in the photos was in for 4 hours and was dry and still very chewy like store bought jerky.
Cleaning is easy, while the trays don't quite fit in my small dishwasher, a quick swipe with water and a sponge does the trick. For aid, I also place one of the tray mats meant for fruit rollup like snacks at the very bottom below the trays to catch any drips while cooking and that's easy to wipe down as well.
Tabletguy : Does not line up properly
Just recieved this unit and I have had another one in the past but this time the quality seems to have went down the drain. The main cover that has the temp switch on it does not line up at all. The cover has to warp spots on two sides making it impossible to create a nice "seal" to hold the heat in for dehydrating the food. Some people said theirs were fine so it could be a bad batch. Also This one I ordered was from the frsutration free packaging
Anthony D. Czesak : Heater died after four uses.
I love eating jerky which is why I was so excited to purchase my own dehydrator. I made several large batches over a period of several months. The fourth time I was going to make jerky the unit did not start at all when I plugged it into the outlet. There was no burning smell, no noises, no clicks...nothing. It had already passed the warranty date. It's a simple heating element with a fan and vertical stacking trays of plastic. The trays are a pain to clean. Adjustable temperature control is important, but I only ever got to do meat instead of use the other settings. To be fair, I don't think it accurately knows what temperature to sustain. It would be interesting if someone did some tests to see how accurate the temperature control is. I want to buy another one but I don't want to be burned twice. I want something that will hopefully last longer so I may invest in a more expensive model with better functionality. The circle shape of the unit is hard to store in small kitchens.
jerry collins : Needs Improvement
I found no improvement in drying performance over the bottom blowers, of which I have two. I must rotate the trays as drying proceeds. A check with the infrared thermometer showed a 3 to 4 degree drop in temperature for each tray from top to bottom. While drying split Italian plums overnight at 135 degrees, some drying occurred on the top tray, none occurred on the bottom tray. At the highest heat setting the temperature peaked about 10 degrees less than the selected temperature, even on the top tray. I was disappointed that the unit did not deliver on the recommended temperature for safe meat drying. I kept the dehydrator, knowing its limitations, for drying fruits. On the plus side the trays from my old Harvest Maid dehydrators fit this model. It is light weight and cleans up well.
SRS : Who knew how much one could dehydrate!
We bought this dehydrator originally to make sweet potato rawhide's for our dog after buying some at a specialty store for an outrageous sum of money. Now that one of our dog's is unwell and limited to what she can eat we looked for a way to make these ourselves. The basic Nesco unit is generous with its stacks so we could dehydrate about 7 lbs of potato at once. We have tried one of their recipes for potato chips but will opt not to do that again but it was fun to try. So we've used it four time so far and are happy. The only reason I gave it four stars for durability is because we've had it three weeks. The only other things that I would point out are that it is rather large and can be noisy. When it's running we always think our oven is turned on!
Gms2slo : Highly recommended, makes unbelievable jerky
Awesome machine. Purchased this after recommendation from "jerkyholic.com", awesome choice! This machine + his recipes have made my jerky the most popular in town! The only negative is that all of my family + friends keep hounding me to make jerky! This unit + 1 pack (2 trays) of add on trays will hold an average size london broil roast from you local supermarket. When it is on sale, I buy a couple of roasts (average size as packaged by your local supermarket) and get going. I have done three roasts (about 6 hours each) consecutively with NO problems. That is consistent results after 18 hours of continuous use! It was only unplugged to unload / load trays. I use a cheap light timer plugged into outlet as an automatic shut off, that way I don't have to babysit the machine because it does not have an automatic shut off. Highly recommended, worth the price.
JessicaW : Heater died after only 4 months
We bought this in July, used it a couple times to make some backpacking food, and then let it sit until November. When we tried to make some jerky, the heater was dead.
We had the same model previously and it lasted several years, we probably ran it 1000+ hours. Maybe the manufacturing quality has gone down.
We had the same model previously and it lasted several years, we probably ran it 1000+ hours. Maybe the manufacturing quality has gone down.
wrm : Awesome machine!
We've had our dehydrator for almost a year now and so far, it has been great! We have dehydrated just about every fruit imaginable, as well as, beef, venison, and fish. At one time, we ran this dehydrator for a solid 10 days straight because we purchased a case of apples at the local market and wanted to make apple chips. Not once did it quit working or dwindle in performance. Here's the scoop:
Pros:
- It dehydrates the same from the top rack all the way to the bottom rack. We were skeptical at first given the fan and heating element are at the top of the unit and there's nothing at the bottom, but the unit circulates the heat and air adequately enough to dehydrate the bottom rack the same as the rest.
- It has a quick reference guide on the unit itself. Not only do you get a booklet that tells you the "how to" of dehydrating various items, but there's a quick guide at the top of the dehydrator that tells you what temperature to set for various items. If you're like me and threw away the book, this comes in handy.
- It's big enough to dehydrate a hefty portion of [whatever]. At full capacity, we have dehydrated 12 fuji apples in one shot or 3 lbs of jerky in one shot. I use a jerky gun with hamburger meat to make my beef jerky and at full capacity, I have enough jerky to last me as solid three weeks.
- It's durable. We have ran this at least twice a week for the last year. If I had to guess, I would say we have at least 1500 hours of operation on this machine and it still runs like a champ.
Cons:
- There's no timer to turn it off automatically. My jerky usually takes 10-12 hours to make. The problem is, if I start it at 5pm, I better be up at the butt-crack of dawn to stop the dehydrator or I'm going to have some ultra dry jerky. Having no timer forces you to anticipate your schedule before dehydrating anything.
Overall, we're extremely pleased with this dehydrator. We feel like we have gotten more than our money's worth with it. If you're looking for a good, reliable dehydrator, then look no further!
Pros:
- It dehydrates the same from the top rack all the way to the bottom rack. We were skeptical at first given the fan and heating element are at the top of the unit and there's nothing at the bottom, but the unit circulates the heat and air adequately enough to dehydrate the bottom rack the same as the rest.
- It has a quick reference guide on the unit itself. Not only do you get a booklet that tells you the "how to" of dehydrating various items, but there's a quick guide at the top of the dehydrator that tells you what temperature to set for various items. If you're like me and threw away the book, this comes in handy.
- It's big enough to dehydrate a hefty portion of [whatever]. At full capacity, we have dehydrated 12 fuji apples in one shot or 3 lbs of jerky in one shot. I use a jerky gun with hamburger meat to make my beef jerky and at full capacity, I have enough jerky to last me as solid three weeks.
- It's durable. We have ran this at least twice a week for the last year. If I had to guess, I would say we have at least 1500 hours of operation on this machine and it still runs like a champ.
Cons:
- There's no timer to turn it off automatically. My jerky usually takes 10-12 hours to make. The problem is, if I start it at 5pm, I better be up at the butt-crack of dawn to stop the dehydrator or I'm going to have some ultra dry jerky. Having no timer forces you to anticipate your schedule before dehydrating anything.
Overall, we're extremely pleased with this dehydrator. We feel like we have gotten more than our money's worth with it. If you're looking for a good, reliable dehydrator, then look no further!
Rob W : If I knew it was this easy to make great beef jerky
If I knew it was this easy to make great beef jerky, I woulda bought it long ago. The book explains how to make different things, and I think I've tried about 85% of them. The temperature control is easy to read/use. Clean up is easy if you do not put them in a dishwasher, but if you do, do not use heated drying or they may warp a little (one tray did on my set). Not unusable, but it is a little warped.
So far I am still using it after about 6 weeks of ownership, hopefully I continue to use it. I will say, no more throwing out older fruit though, I just slice it up and throw it on the dehydrator until I have dried fruit.
So far I am still using it after about 6 weeks of ownership, hopefully I continue to use it. I will say, no more throwing out older fruit though, I just slice it up and throw it on the dehydrator until I have dried fruit.
robin spindler : takes forever to dry anything
This takes way longer than it should to dry everything I put on it. Mostly I dry very thin sliced tomatoes, sliced habaneros, greens, and herbs; in most cases they have to get crispy dry because I pulverize them in a blender and then screen them to make powder. If I just wanted the food to get leathery this might be worth three stars.
I had an American Harvest dryer that I bought decades ago; this brand was bought out by Nesco. My AH dryer finally stopped working and I wanted to buy one just like it but now the company has been taken over by Nesco. But it looked the same. So I bought it. And oh what a difference; it takes way longer to dry food, and I have to turn up the heat more than I like to do to get the food to dry.
What makes it worse is that between the old and new dryer I moved from very humid eastern Nebraska to the dry climate of Arizona. So my new dryer should dry faster in this environment. But it doesn't; it dries way slower.
Nesco says they will send me a new head. I hope it works. I don't know if I trust this vendor though, since they sold me a model in 2020 that was made in 2012.
I had an American Harvest dryer that I bought decades ago; this brand was bought out by Nesco. My AH dryer finally stopped working and I wanted to buy one just like it but now the company has been taken over by Nesco. But it looked the same. So I bought it. And oh what a difference; it takes way longer to dry food, and I have to turn up the heat more than I like to do to get the food to dry.
What makes it worse is that between the old and new dryer I moved from very humid eastern Nebraska to the dry climate of Arizona. So my new dryer should dry faster in this environment. But it doesn't; it dries way slower.
Nesco says they will send me a new head. I hope it works. I don't know if I trust this vendor though, since they sold me a model in 2020 that was made in 2012.
Madeline H. : Works great, but trays are much cheaper than before
Had to replace my old one of these that randomly died. Ordered the exact same model. However, the trays that come with this are definitely lower quality than my old set. The tray on the right is the older one, and on the left is the new one. The new tray feels much more flimsy and the screen part is bowed out on all them.
Aside from being disappointed in the racks, the dehydrator works just fine. I made jerky with it, and did notice that it doesn't dry the meat completely consistently. There are areas on the rack that dehydrator slower, which I didn't notice with my last one.
Still, it's a decent dehydrator for the price and does the job. The only reason I didn't buy something different was that I already had trays from my old one, therefore double the capacity.
Aside from being disappointed in the racks, the dehydrator works just fine. I made jerky with it, and did notice that it doesn't dry the meat completely consistently. There are areas on the rack that dehydrator slower, which I didn't notice with my last one.
Still, it's a decent dehydrator for the price and does the job. The only reason I didn't buy something different was that I already had trays from my old one, therefore double the capacity.
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