I've seen several people recommend the Excalibur 9 tray dehydrators. Is there another brand that is also good, but less expensive? I'd like to get one, but can't afford to shell out quite that much right now.

Thanks!

Have you looked on ebay? There are a bunch on there and I hope to get one myself within the next few weeks.

I have a Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster. It's way cheaper than the Excaliburs. The only problem is that if you want to put in something taller than about 1/2 an inch, you have to buy this "expand-a-tray" thing which is an extra 25-30$.

Please see this thread. http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=7131&highlight=dehydrating

Since this link (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/dry/dehydrator.html) was all the way at the bottom of the thread Amy pointed to, I'll copy it here. Good info there.

Can you use a solar dehydrator? There's one that's basically a lot of trays suspended in a net bag, with a zippered door. You just hang it in a tree, on your balcony, etc. No electricity needed.

My husband is building me a very elaborate solar dehydrator, I'll post pics when it's finished.

I got my excalibur 4 tray dehydrator from a friend so it ended up not being as expensive. I'd definitely recommend the excalibur over the american harvest. Try looking on ebay or other discount online places.

whoops, sorry about posting again when this has already been talked about. I know how frustrating that can be. Thanks for the link, Amy.

I did look on eBay before I posted here...a lot of the prices were comparable to another web store link on this site, or more expensive.

Can you use a solar dehydrator in the tundra? I could probably use it in the summer in Minnesota, but the winter might be a different story. Fabulous idea though!! I'd love to see pics when it's finished.

Here are pics of the solar dehydrator my husband made.

So far we have only four drying racks made, but eventually there will be ten, each about 20 inches by 17 inches.

Our only problem with the unit is it tends to get too hot! Over 150 degrees F on a clear day, so I have to partially cover the collector with a towel. We're planning to install a solar fan to pull air through faster, which should both keep the temp down and speed drying.

Plans:


http://www.littlecolorado.org/solar.htm