A friend of mine was given an excaliber dehydrator for christmas by her boyfriend. I asked her the other day how she was getting on with it as I have long wished for one. She said that quite frankly it doesn't do anything that you can't do in your oven on the lowest setting but that also it makes quite a noise that really disturbs her. Her house is quite small and fairly open plan so she doesn't like using it when she has to be there or is sleeping. She doesn't seem to be enjoying it and still spends lots of money buying expensive dehydrated products in the shop where I work.

Has anyone else had experience of this type of dehydrator which i understood to be the leader in its field and more specifically did the noise disturb you?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 10:57AM by flipperjan.

flipperjan,

I don't know how low your UK ovens go temp-wise, but I know the Excalibur is set to much cooler than the coolest setting my oven can get.

I cannot abide leaving a door on an appliance open while it is running for more than a moment, so that was a good reason to get a dehydrator. Before I got it, it was hard to go against years of parental instruction to leave the oven door ajar while its thermostat was clicking to adjust every so often. This was far more maddening a sound than the medium-loud whir that the Excalibur makes while in use, IMO.

I worried that perhaps running a dehydrator for two or three days nonstop was a drain on the electricity, which would be a good reason to not get a dehydrator. That didn't turn out to be the case, although it is still a waste of electricity if one doesn't make stuff in bulk, using every shelf to ensure that every kilowatt goes to work making food. If you're not that into dehydrated foods, the sound would be a nuisance. But your friend seems to really like them, so maybe she just needs to give herself more time to adjust to the noise the machine makes?

I've just had a quick look at my oven and the lowest setting is 50c which translates into 122F. I would never even try to use the oven for this purpose though - i couldn't bear to have it turned on for so long doing so little really for quite a lot of energy consumption. I will have this conversation with my friend...

Tam - you mention a medium loud whir - which sounds like it could be quite intrusive. Could you equate the noise to something else to give me an idea please?

Has anyone heard of the cuisinpro dehydrator? - I've seen them on e-bay and they are much cheaper than excaliber - but maybe inferior - you can't trust the sales pitch can you

Personally I run a fan at night or an air purifier to drown out other sounds with the white noise so this would not bother me. The ticking of a clock, the fridge turning on and off, cars driving by, voices outside, all work to make me insane so this steady hum is just perfect to help me sleep.
I'm a bit concerned about the heat it's going to generate in the house now that it's warmer out though. Perhaps we'll move out to the cottage for the summer months and run it on the porch when produce is fresh and ripe.

I have one.
Dont mind the noise at all.
In fact it gives off a nice "white noise" many folks buy special units for.

But to be honest,I never got out of it what I wanted,which was VERY crispy chips.Things never seemed to get to that point.

Vinny



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 01:50PM by eaglefly.

Vinny, I've read there is a balance between oil etc that produces very crispy end results. Have you tried the kale chips? Also, storage is an issue, it must be airtight or moisture will soften what you've dried out. I've had incredible crunchie marinated sunflower seeds that tasted just like roasted, they were stored in a glass jar with a screw on lid.

Golly - I have never heard of 'white noise'. We sleep in complete silence - no cars, no tick tocks, no nothing - so i find any noise extremely intrusive at night but it wouldn't be a problem for me as the house is big enough to get away from it - but when we live on a narrow boat? - guess I can put it up the other end then

Jan,

If the lowest your Excalibur is going is 50 c (122 F). [calculator-converter.com] then that's a farce. I own a 9 tray excalibur. Your dial should go down to 35 C... 95 F.

Paul

No Paul - I said my oven went down to 50c. In my original post I said that I had long wished for a dehydrator - which is why I am trying to get information about them now.

Thanks for this topic. Someone brought up the noise concern before, which has made me rethink my purchasing one at all. I have had dehydrated, flavored sunflower seeds and they didn't get as crunchy as dry-roasted ones do. I would like to make breads, crackers, and nori sticks so I am still planning on eventually buying one. I don't mind white noise (like a fan) but I do hope it's not loud enough for other tenants to hear.

flipperjan,

As I was writing the post I was thinking what the medium-loud whir compares to . . . maybe a vacuum cleaner two rooms away?

flipperjan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No Paul - I said my oven went down to 50c. In my
> original post I said that I had long wished for a
> dehydrator - which is why I am trying to get
> information about them now.

Jan,

Sorry, misunderstood. John Kohler did a video a few months back comparing the Sedona and Excalibur. I'd go Excalibur. But, it depends on your budget, goals. Here's the link [www.youtube.com] Best.

Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2012 08:15PM by pborst.