Nesco FD-37A Food Dehydrator for Herbs, Fruit, Beef Jerky, 4 Trays, Speckled White

While it is true this machine doesn't come with all the bells and whistles of the expensive machines, It does great. I ordered two extra trays for it which means 6 fairly large trays to work with. That is a lot of food. It does have some noise with it about maybe like a hairdryer on low. It is set to 160 to work so it gets pretty warm in the room it is in. I use mine in the laundry room and shut the door. I could also use the porch. The fan works great and it has dehydrated my items evenly and very quickly, all six trays without having to move trays around. The beef jerky flavoring that comes with it taste great! We used hamburger for a softer jerky since neither of us have teeth anymore. We thought our beef jerky eating days were long over and we both have loved it during our 42 year marriage. A good time table is to check on the progress every 2 hours for doneness, you can go 4 hours for the first check. If this is were a more expensive model with a timer that would be convenient. But for the price and performance, it is no trouble at all to give it a peek from time to time. It was amazingly easier to clean than I thought it would be. That was no problem at all and only took a couple of swipes with a wet rag and it was done! Beside the jerky I dehydrate oranges and tried blueberries also. The orange slices didn't survive my checking on them and so I didn't have any left by the time the beef jerky was ready. They were to understate it delicious and well dehydrated. The blueberries were in too long and came out everlasting gobstoppers. They were well dehydrated and had a lot of taste, but too hard for us toothless people. This is a great inexpensive machine for dehydrating anything you may care to. It is pretty quick about it also. Just try not to taste oranges too much before the rest of the items are ready!

My wife loves chilies. If she can't eat something spicy her mood is affected in a negative way. In her country they dry the chilies outside but that process was too slow so I bought this dehydrator. I was concerned the non-adjustable temperature would be too high but that has not been an issue. I'll load up all 4 trays and it'll take about 6-10 hours to completely dry the chilies depending on size. The only negative is the noise from the fan. Another reviewer stated it sounded like a hair dryer on medium speed which is very accurate. When the temp outside was warm we ran the machine on the screen porch but now the temps are cooling off we run it in our basement so sound isn't an issue. Satisfied and would recommend if you are looking for a reasonably priced, easy to use, basic dehydrator.

Overall, I’m impressed with the value for the price! It’s simple to use with its fixed temperature control at 160°F, which is perfect for dehydrating fruits like bananas and strawberries. The 400-watt power ensures even heat distribution, and I’ve had no issues with uneven drying. The clear top is a nice touch, making it easy to monitor the process without having to open the trays. The unit is expandable up to 7 trays, which is great for larger batches, though I only use the 4 included trays for now. One thing to note—this dehydrator is fairly loud, so I tend to use it in the garage or somewhere it won’t be disruptive. For anyone looking for an affordable, no-frills dehydrator for fruits, jerky, and snacks, this is a solid choice. Just keep in mind it’s basic and doesn’t offer variable temperature control. Overall, great value!

I've used this dehydrator quite a bit since I've bought it, but it works great. We now have delicious home made banana chips. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there on the internet for getting your foods the way you want them if the manual they include isn't enough for you. (ie: getting your chips crispier). A lot of people have complained about the noise. Having ptsd I am very sensitive to repetitive noise and this was a lot quieter then I was expecting from other users reviews. It was much quieter then "box fans" as some have claimed. I submitted my warranty information online without a problem, so should the motor go, as some others have claimed, I am sure that will be covered. I have never used a food dehydrator before so I cannot compare it to others in any way, but the clips that hold all the trays together do seem they should be sturdier and latch on a bit easier. Other then that, so far I am very happy with this and the price I paid for it. Update 1/19/14 I've been using the fruit marinade that By SANDRA J BALKE posted in her review on June 28, 2011, with one tweak. Bananas and certain apples just don't tend to come out sweet enough with just the honey and water marinade So what I have done is taken 1 packet of my favorite sweetener, melted it in a tbsp of warm water, and then add the rest of the water and honey she recommends (and a bit of cinnamon when doing apples, yummy!). I've also made sure (especially with the strawberries) to either spray my trays with a non stick spray or rub them down with a light coat of vegetable oil for easier removal of the fruit. The trays are very easy to hand wash this way, even with the sticky strawberries.

I don't write a whole lot of reviews on amazon except for stuff that people might be on the fence about buying and everything I buy I look at reviews and see what people are saying about it. Wish everyone would leave reviews cause it would show exactly what's good and bad and I think that most people that are happy with there purchase don't leave a review cause don't feel the need to get revenge for bad product and don't wanna waste the time to write a review if everything went well with the purchase.Anyways. Used this dehydrater six times and so far I'm very happy with it. Cooks faster than another newer model nesco i have tried which is a plus. Heats up the room though and is NOISEY. I don't mind either of those cons. Would rather save the extra $20 than buy a new model especially when it cooks faster than them. I don't know how you could possibly melt the plastic on it like others have stated unlike you kept it on way longer than you should. I've had mine on for 14 hours with no melting plastic. Only things I've tried is venison and bananas and both turned out great. Fast dehydrating. If your going to do spices or other delicate foods might go for a different model cause can't change tempurture but if you kept an eye on them sure you could do spices. But so far it's prefect for my needs and will be back if it breaks down any time in near future to say so though doubt it will cause the motor seems better built than a newer model I tried rescently also.

I've wanted to dehydrate food for years but never tried it, but now that I'm gardening seemed the right time. Also, I live in SoCal where everything grows. I wanted to keep produce from going to waste as well as make healthy snacks. I couldn't be happier with this dehydrater. Well, OK, in a perfect world we wouldn't use plastic, but I have to balance price point and weight limit when we move. I couldn't justify the price or weight of stainless. Plus, Nesco is made in the US, and I buy US made when that's an option. Nesco includes a detailed booklet with charts of prep and processing time for fruits, veggies, and meat, which is part of customer service, so remember that before buying a brand from overseas. There's no guess work here. You're given the optimal prep specs for this machine. The operation is obvious: plug in and turn on or off. My first attempt was organic bananas from Costco. They cost very little more than regular bananas but have SO much more flavor! Better quality to begin with means better flavor dehydrated. My first batch deserved a little celebration in the way of presentation for my blog, but that got unwrapped and eaten quickly! The bananas and strawberries were round 2. Dehydrated strawberries are so good in cereal! I had a couple of fails: blackberries and raspberries. Those turned out like purple Styrofoam. I didn't refer to the Nesco provided booklet. My fault. Nuts and Bolts: There's no temp control, but that means it's uncomplicated. Instead of temp, you adjust time. A 14 hour cycle might not be convenient for everyone, but it's fine for me. It's as loud as having a box fan running but military housing dishwasher. (slightly quieter than a drive through car wash) Layers stack easily, so it's easy to expand. I bought the expansion, and I haven't come close to needing it yet. That would require a whole lot more prep than I want to do. That expansion pack was over zealous. I suggest newbies save their money.. Clean Up: Remove the food immediately or it will get stuck making cleaning harder. The racks don't fit in my sinks, so I can't soak them in there. I recommend soaking in a plastic storage tub and scrubbing with a brush if you, too, have Barbie sized sinks.

I really like this product because I wanted to go ahead and make all natural treats for my dogs and then I know what's going into them when you go to the pet store you don't know what type of stuff that is added to the treats I make chicken feed dehydrated I make chicken necks turkey necks pig ears dehydrated hearts and gizzards and I plan on making a lot more variety treats for my dogs this is a great dehydrator for the money sometimes it takes a little longer for them to dehydrate but that's fine I plan on buying another Nesco a different one to see how this one works so I'll have to dehydrators just make sure that you get a warranty because you don't know if it's going to crap out and a couple years so at least you can get a new one so I'll let you know on my next one how this is going to go but so far so good I've been using it about every day which my husband gets kind of annoyed by it but I enjoy it and my dogs love the dehydrated treats so if anybody is a dog lover Phil definitely want to buy this product for the money

As a first time user of this product, the beef jerky turned out a whole lot better than I expected. I discarded the seasoning mix that it came with because it didn't list the ingredients. I conjured up my own marinade of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and a splash of sake. Bought a couple pounds of thinly sliced extra lean beef and cut them into 1&1/2 inch wide strips. Marinated it overnight and tried the dehydrator for the first time the next day. Because the meat was so thin, it was done in less than 3 hours and it was PERFECT! Any longer and the slices would probably have been too dried out. So simple to use and clean. The whole batch 'disappeared' in less than 2 days! The product is a little noisy like a hair dryer running on low but it doesn't bother us at all. Being a jerky lover, I'll probably be using this machine a lot. No more having to buy packaged jerky riddled with preservatives and msg. Very happy with this purchase!

Like

Easy to clean, set up and use. Made bacon jerky, tofu jerky, dried coconut, dried strawberries, dry cured salami. I love this thing, its cheap and works well. Cons: - its big! about 16" across so you need some counter space for it. - its loud :( you would not want this running in your living room while watching TV.

I tried reaching out to the company with no luck to replace my malfunctioning item. Very disappointing experience!

Funciona excelente, lo recomiendo al 100

Wow - this arrived 2 days ago and tried it today for the first time - luckily I was home as the house would have burnt down! Followed the instructions as per the included manual and within 2 hours the whole thing melted. According to the manual the basic drying time is from 4 to 12 hrs. Massive safety issue and about to follow up - see another Australian customer had the same issue 3 days ago - if only I'd seen that review