I'm in the market for one and I'd like to be able to dry out a variety of foods including stuff like chili or spaghetti sauce.

Any recommendations?

I just bought the Cabelas commercial 80 liter and while being a little bigger than what I need it's very nice and works great!

Also still on sale!

Bump to the top.

My kids bought me a Nesco/American Harvest model 4-5 yrs ago and it has worked perfectly for everything ranging from fruit, chili, jerky, dog treats (dried game trim) to deydrated yogurt. I'm sure it was under $100.

You can spend a lot more but I'm not sure it's necessary. Like most things, you can wander down a rabbit hole of details if you want but in this case you are just heating/drying stuff which the natives did for years without electricity and digital controls.

We've had this one since 2011 but if we had to do it again we'd get one with the stainless, slide-out trays/shelves:

L'Equipe 528 6 Tray Food Dehydrator, 500-watt

We have 2 American Harvests. They work very well for everything from fruit to jerky. They're very light and portable, too, so they're easy to store in the off season. We've dried bushels of apples, cherries, prunes, and nectarines (give the nectarines a try for a really great snack).

Arra and RC, for things like chili or spaghetti sauce, does it come with a different set of trays?

There is an insert that lays on the tray to hold liquidy materials. I think its called a fruit roll sheet.

My kids bought a few extra trays to stack on to the ones that come with the machine so I could do more at one time. I think I have 5 or 6 trays and maybe the same number of the fruit roll sheets.

I found it. Look at the "frequently bought together" package deal. I think that is probably what they got me. My unit looks a little different because of age but I think it's the same model. The fruit roll sheets are actually white but the photo has the fruit puree on it.

https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A...mp;psc=1&refRID=9P3HM722ZHCA3VF5WWV0

Thanks!

I have the cabelas 80 and although kinda big it works awesome. Very user friendly and I have been nothing but satisfied. You can also dehydrate a lot of items all at once in it cause of its size. Plus there are tons of racks that can be stacked and used or removed as needed. Very happy with it

Cabela's Open Country here, works great.

I use a Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro available at Amazon.

I used it for jerky, chili, soups, .... It comes with the trays to do want you want.

LEM 10 tray from Academy sports.. works great.

Plus 2 on the new cabela's version.

The old model really suffered from hot spots.

The new one (which is 20% off at cabela's currently) is perfect for making lots of jerky.

I typically do batches and make 18# at a time. The new version is a set it, and forget it - kind of affair.

If you plan on quantity, the Cabela's one is a good deal.

I have an Excalibur and want to start making meals for the boat and hunting.

Anybody have a source for good recipes and instructions?

For starchy/fatty liquids, sauces, etc one needs to go to a freeze dryer. One can not leave those types of things in a fruit type dryer at warm temps without some interesting things happening.

Small sample size freeze dryers can be had for $500+. Serious grocery drying and one moves up into the $3 grand range for bottom of the line stuff.

One is talking serious bucks and a considerable power draw.

Cookie just picked up a Cabelas fruit type dryer that looks pretty spiffy. Even has the word "digital" on it. Seems to take a long time, however, to do things like apple and banana slices. With a little engineering and a good stack of racks, I think I could do a better/faster job on top of our wood stove.

"Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook" is excellent and comprehensive, along with a couple of the standard backpacking food books. I like the ones by the Conners and Linda Yaffe. Excalibur also has quite a few recipes on its website.

My Nesco has always been fine, though I have overdried many batches of jerky, had problems with some items being too tall for tray clearance, and get a little tired of shuffling trays. My GF just gave me an Excalibur (dryer of choice among the prepper/serious gardening crowd), and seeing its timer, improved capacity and clearance, stainless trays, ability to handle various deeper trays you likely already have (like pie plates or toaster oven trays) and even drying, I can see why. Their website isn't that great, but there are deals to be had in sales, refurbished, and packages there. They aren't cheap, even on sale, but this thing will pay for itself in a reasonable time frame.