excalibur food dehydrator

[KarenH]

Hi everyone,
I have seen these food dehydrators mentioned on the forum a few times, and we are thinking of buying one.  Any feed back from members who have got one??  Would you recommend getting the 5-tray or the 9-tray one?
Thanks!
Karen

PS:  anyone else interested in getting one - www.vitality4life.com.au have them 25% off at the moment - as advertised in Organic Gardener magazine -much cheaper than anywhere else I have seen.

[timfulford]

I have not got an excalibur but I do have a dehydrator which I use quite frequently for herbs, fruit, mushrooms, ginger etc.
Great to use really useful. Would suggest that you look at one of the many books available on drying food before spending shed loads of money on this though.

[andiesenji]

I have  Excalibur dehydrators and first got a 5-tray some twenty-plus years ago and found it did nicely but still wasn't big enough.
After I moved up here and had a much larger garden and access to more fruits and vegetables, I got one 9-tray and about two years later a second one.  I use them all when things really start popping.

Before getting my first Excalibur, I tried several other and none had anywhere near the capacity I wanted and commercial units available at that time were simply too large and too expensive.

Besides regular dehydrating of fruits, vegetables, jerky, sausage, &etc., I use them for drying candied fruits and ginger, drying baked crackers and cookies that I want to be very crisp, drying bread for stuffing, drying homemade pasta &etc.  With the trays removed they are ideal for proofing bread doughs in the winter when my kitchen is fairly cool.  
They work efficiently and do not use a lot of energy.  

There are non-food uses.  I occasionally make fancy hand-made laid paper and I dry the leaves and flowers and then the pressed paper in the Excalibur.   A paper dryer made for hobby/semi-professional use costs well over $500. so the Excalibur is a bargain.
I know people who make jewelry and put the finished work in an Excalibur to dry the glue more rapidly.  

[KarenH]

Thanks so much for all your advice - especially Andiesenji.  I rang the company to buy one, and they have sold out - but at least they would let me back order one at the special price.  I took your advice and went for a 9-tray one  ($375 AUD with $15 delivery to Adelaide).  Cant wait to get it now and start trying it out!

[faffa_70]

oh I wonder if they would allow me to back order one as well - I have been hankering after one for ages and at 25% off it is almost too good to pass up 

[KarenH]

If you want the 25% off, you have to mention the advertisement in the latest issue of Organic Gardener magazine - otherwise they wont give it to you.  The free call number is 1800 802 924.  There is no special discount code on the page (they asked me for one, but there isnt one there) and the ad is on p43 with a Oscar Neo juicer and a composter (they asked me that too .......)
Good luck!

[faffa_70]

oh thank you!! I usually buy the Organic Gardener magazine but haven't this month (yet!) might do that on the way home from the school run today 

[Tebasile]

Hi Karen,
I have an Excalibur with 9 trays since 5 years. If I would buy a new one today, I would go for the new Tribest from Sedona:
http://www.tribestlife.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=79&idproduct=708 

[sue_h]

I've had a cheap round one for many years and loved drying my own produce and jerky. I'm finding it's getting a bit tired now and I don't use it as often any more. Maybe it's time I looked at getting another one. Now with the Thermomix I have so many more uses for it such as drying vegetables to make vegetable salt and garlic powder. Thanks for this post Karen, I'll scan the magazine in our local library.

[trudy]

Like you Sue, I felt that my old one was due for an update.  I have ordered one, will have to wait approx three weeks before it arrives.  The lady that took my order told me to go online to have a look at all the recipes and uses for the dehydrator as there is so much out there. 

[judydawn]

Can we have the link to that site please Trudy - be interested to see the different uses of one of these machines.  I shouldn't look but I will 

[trudy]

Hi Judy, Sorry I don't have any links.  All she told me to do was google dehydrator recipes.  When I did that up came a list and I just clicked on a couple.  When I have more time I want to have a better look.  This came about because I was asking what instructions came with the machine and the lady told me that she now gets all the recipes, times ect from the net.

[KarenH]

We will have to start a new thread for recipes using the TMX and then the dehydrator 

[Meagan]

I like the look of the Sedona from tribest. I have found two sources trying to get it in Oz. It has plastic parts that are bpa free which is great and has a glass door on a hinge, you can also use just half the space as it has two fans. The Sedona also has a digital display on the front of the machine. I am told the wait time will be about 2 months.

[timfulford]

There are lots of the machines shown on Ebay and if you 'Google' as well!