Nesco FD-61 Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator + Nesco LT-2SG Snackmaster Add-a-Tray, Set of 2

I bought the SnackMaster Encore, Model # FD-61, to replace my 25 yr old one that had been a gift from my father. This is a very good unit to dry herbs, fruits, veggies, and flowers. It is very easy clean-up since the blower is top-mounted instead of at the bottom. My old one had the blower at the bottom so it was always full of seeds and/or sticky juices which were very hard to clean up. Having the items with suggested temps listed on the blower unit is helpful. This unit is also much quieter than my older model. & my husboan really appreciates that feature! It holds up to 12 trays so I can do multiple types of fruits/veggies/herbs at one time. The Recipe & instruction manual is also very helpful, esp. if you are a novice at dehydrating. I also bought the Nonstick Round Silicone Dehydrator Sheets which help with the cleanup.

I've had a few dehydrators over the years but the biggest issue I had was the time it took to make jerky. This was the main reason I held off on buying one for the last few years. The Nesco FD-61 made this issue a moot point. I've made 5 batches so far and the average time is 4 hours. The negative reviews seem to be about the fact the item doesn't have an on/off switch and there is no timer. I prefer it doesn't have an on/off switch so I don't forget to unplug it. As far as a timer, this works so quickly, you'll want to keep an eye on your food and not rely on a timer.The only issue I had (at first) was it only comes with 4 trays. I was going to order 4 more but after realizing how quickly this dehydrator works, I only orders 2 more. Yes having 8 trays would be nice, but I was worried about the whole thing getting knocked over by mistake. With 4 trays I can dehydrate about 2 pounds of sliced tri-tip at a time (more if I really wanted to really squish it in the tray. 6 racks will be perfect and Amazon has the trays with free Prime shipping.I can't wait for the spring when our fruit trees start producing to try out some other things but that is only a bonus. Definitely a 5 star item!

This is the second Nesco dehydrator I have owned. The first one lasted around 10 years. Except for the color of the plastic, the new one seems to have the exact same design as the first one. I have used the new one only once, but it worked just like the old one. I highly recommend this product.

Pricey but worth the money. This is our second one. The first one still works after 20+ years we just needed a second one for a second home. Obviously I'd buy again.

I bought this to create healthy snacks for my precious dog, Holly. Not to mention some snack stuff for me.I have only used it for sweet potatoes, yams, and bananas so far, but it has really worked out great. In fact it is so efficient that I have cut the published recipe cooking times in half. My husband plans on using it to make london broil jerky so I will update my review later.Some people complain about the sound, but this one is in my kitchen and I don't really notice anything offensive or annoying. Maybe its a white noise kind of thing. Clean-up is easy - just clean the trays with a sponge and let them air dry for a few minutes before stacking them away.I think that this will be a terrific appliance as time goes on and I experiment some more. An excellent purchase.

Thinner, lighter material used in comparison to my old one.Barely fits the other trays but I'll make due.We'll see how well it holds up, my old one was bought used and I had it for about 5 years.

I purchased this dehydrator on a whim after my sister told me about her experiences with dehydrating fruits on a "small family basis". As of this writing I have owned my dehydrator approximately 5 weeks. I have dehydrated apples, Roma-tyle tomatoes and onions.The Nesco is easy to use and comes with a reasonably complete instruction manual giving the methods and times for various fruits and vegetables. All of my produce has been hand-cut so I am unable to make my slices/cuts as uniform as the book states....so the drying time is frequently a little longer than the book would suggest. However, the book also gives instructions on how to recognize whether a product is properly dried. My apples have been a great hit with my husband and with my mother-in-law.I think this dehydrator would be great for anyone wanting to do small batches or as a first dehydrator....I did do some research prior to buying this particular model and this model had extremely good reviews from other Amazon buyers, especially that this model has a 500 Watt power source.

We have used this unit for husband's hot pepper flakes this summer. (We can't hang strings of habeneros in our area, too humid here). This unit has worked beautifully. Pretty quiet, I had the maximum number of racks of hot peppers going in the kitchen for several days at a time, and they dried just like they were supposed too, and made great pepper flakes.Some people have had an issue with fumes from the hot peppers (habaneros and red carribeans, in our case) -- I had no problem at all with irritation. To be sure, they will create a smell -- I kind of liked it -- but no burning fumes.Can't say much about durability since we only bought it this year, but so far so good. Used it maybe 6 times. Would buy again.

Excellent, does & says what it's suppose to do. Thank you for an HONEST ad!

the item is brill, the delivery was early the item was as stated, works well and overall well worth the money was very pleased with this product would recomend to enyone

Gave this as a gift and my boyfriend loves it, used it once a week.

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