Nesco FD-1040 Gardenmaster Digital Pro Food Dehydrator, for Beef Jerky, Fruit, Herbs, and Snacks, 4 Trays, White

I had a dehydrator years ago and didn't know what to do with it so I gave it away and I'm glad I did because this is a much better unit. This is not for the lazy. It takes more work than stopping at the grocery store or fast food to prepare, dry and store the final product. So if you don't have the time or energy, I recommend passing on this. A co-worker at work makes jerky and because of the high cost in the stores, I knew I had to give it a whirl. I started looking for the best value and accessories and this unit caught my eye. So far, I have dried, apples, carrots, cilantro, oregano. As my garden starts producing, I expect this will get a lot more use! Can't wait for fall when apples are ready to make fruit roll ups. Pros: Timer, timer , timer and shut-off. this is a must have in my opinion Top mounted heater unit. No worries about the bottom getting spills or dirty Easy to clean trays. Just wipe off with soap, water and cloth Each tray seems to dry at about the same rate. Top may be slightly quicker being closer to the heating element Easy to read to set temp and time for what is being dried Mostly made in USA. This is always a plus for me Cons: Really none so far. If I was to list anything, I think it's a little large, warm and noisy (not terribly so) so I set it up in the garage. Bought 2 extra trays because four really aren't enough Not really a con, but as I mentioned, it is a little time consuming. But what isn't if you want something great. Can't speak to the jerky spice as I made my own recipe after reading many on line. And my jerky was the bomb!

I bought this a couple months before COVID, thank goodness! The price has gone up 40% since then. Maybe a coincidence. I can't be sure. My dehydrator has been working great though and shortly after I bought it I realized I needed a few more trays and screens. I don't use the type for making fruit rolls except when I'm dehydrating something that will get very messy or small. If you want a less expensive dehydrator, it's worth the money. I love the timer and the temperature setting. Washing it is a pain but I have an extra large sink on the one side and can submerge the entire tray into it. Wash them under the water or you'll end up spraying water everywhere. The picture shows a 1 quart mason jar (1 liter) with 8 large onions. I used 6 full trays. It was humid, not hot, and took a total of 2 1/2 days. I don’t trust ANY appliance to run overnight or when we’re not home so it was 2 1/2 days, no nights. Set at 135 degrees. I did lose quite a few pieces because I didn’t pour onto a cookie sheet first. 4 year update: There is a definite learning curve for the appliance. - Get more of the screens, everything should go on the screen because it will shrink and fall through the slots. - Smelly things like onions will stink up your house, if you’re able to, do the first few hours either outside or a screened porch. - The humidity in the air greatly affects the drying time so drying outside, on a humid day will take forever. - Use a mandolin or other chopper to keep pieces the same size for consistent drying times. - When you’re done, empty the food onto a cookie sheet and then pour from the cookie sheet in the jars or storage container. The hole in the middle of the screen and the open edges of the tray, makes it impossible to transfer straight to a jar, even when using a wide funnel. Dropping 20 pieces of dehydrated carrots means 3-4 carrots on the ground. -It’s loud. Not uncomfortable loud but I can hear it from a distance and it’s noticeable when it turns off and is suddenly quiet in the house. The noise is consistent and would probably help a baby sleep instead of waking her. ***If you are exceptionally sensitive to hot pepper, not dehydrate them inside.***

Love this thing! I have been in the market for a dehydrator and this one caught my eye for two reasons. 1. 1000 WATTS 2. Digital Timer Most dehydrators in this price range are plug in to power on and unplug to power off. If you make a batch of jerky at 7pm you have to get up at 3am to turn it off. That sucks! This machine has a digital timer built in so you can literally set it and forget it. It will power off when the timer expires. What I don't like: It only comes with 4 trays........SO BUY MORE TRAYS!!!!!! Four trays is not enough for most applications and I recommend at least 6-8 to start. You will find out if you try to make anything with 4 trays, you end up with much less finished product due to the dehydration process. I processed some potatoes for chips and filled up 4 trays with 5 potatoes. My finished batch was about half a bag of chips. Do yourself a favor and get some extra trays because once you start dehydrating you will be addicted! This machine is well built and also comes with one fruit roll insert tray and one of the fine mesh no stick insert trays. It also comes with a receipt book, jerky seasoning, and jerky cure. READ the manual or get another book about dehydrating so that you set yourself up for success!

This is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. A friend gifted us one 8 years ago and I've tried to "upgrade" a few times with some very popular brands but have always come back to this 15" Nesco. I really like it because it is much bigger than regular dehydrators. The only downfall is finding extra trays or tray liners because it isn't the regular size. I almost made the mistake and bought the manual one with a dial instead of the digital display. This one is so easy to set to the perfect temp and time. I love that the recommended temps are printed right on top so you don't have to look it up every time. The quality is great. Like I said before, we have another one that we have had for 8 years and our friend had it for years before gifting it to us. Cleaning it is a little tedious but using a dish brush and a scrub daddy really helps.

Me gusto mucho lo facil del control de temperatura y tiempo, es muy intuitivo y sencillo. Los materiales son muy resistentes y ligeros a la vez. Se limpian facilmente. Lo unico que no esperaba, aunque no es un problema, fue su tamaño, es voluminoso y grande. Desarmado se puede almacenar en cualquier lugar.

The drier works well, but it produces such a roar that you really don't want to be in the same room with it.

I've tried 3 other brands of dehydrators and this is by far the best one. At a 1000 watts it has extra power to spare and is expandable up to 20 trays. I currently use it with 10 trays and it's still a really efficient dehydrator that could easily take more trays.

Funciona de maravilla y deshidrata bastante rápido y muy bien la comida Sobre todo la comida deshidratada realza en su sabor ;Lo uso para frutas y para setas

We wore out the first one, researched again, and settled on the same model a second time. The trays can be a little hard to clean in a standard kitchen sink, especially if they need to be soaked. Works well for drying fruit, making jerky, and drying flowers. The only fail was bananas.