Sheri McNeil, you are correct. I have a Nesco - American Harvest, and have really liked it. The heated air is blown up the sides of the trays through dedicated airways. The lid closes this airway off at the top which then forces air volume to flow through each of the trays towards the center which is then circulated again. The amount of air passing through each of the trays is mostly balanced because the back pressure in the outside airway is balanced. The bulk of the air is recycled but enough is refreshed to allow humidity to escape. It works very well, and although I cycle the trays because I'm used to doing that with lessor quality dehydrators, it doesn't seem to make much difference. I'll probably stop doing that. The thing is that I rely on reviews to provide advise, and this one really misunderstands the Nesco air drying process. This dehydrator has been great. The only con that I can make is that extruding jerky onto the round trays is more challenging than square trays, but that is very minor. I would certainly recommend this dehydrator to my friends.
Thanks, I caught that as well. I'm going with the Nesco, Other reviews have said Excalibur is not worth the rather huge difference in price. I use my bathroom heater to proof bread, don't need that.
@@benmarston07 Check out the review at wirecutter.com, they liked the Gardenmaster a lot, but avoid the other Nesco models which have the fan on the top rather than the bottom. They didn't like the Excaliburs as much, but some have said the Nesco runs hotter than the posted temperatures, and the Wirecutter review didn't temperature check each of the settings. Thus, their claim that the Nesco dried faster is a bit unclear. Is it because of the bigger motor / airflow, or because the Nesco runs hot? Regardless, for the money the Nesco is a solid pick and, a circular shape is probably always going to have better airflow.
To each his (or her) own. I do a Lot of drying and 4 dehydrators. 2 American Harvest/Nesco units. Both are jerky snack master Pros plus a Garden Master. My other unit is a Cabela's 160 liter commercial grade . (Cabela's older style) All the Nesco units have fan and controls on top. For the ease of use and clean up and Cost, my favorite one is the Nesco/American Pro Snack Master unit w/12 racks on each. At 70 years of age, I have about 40 years drying time in and have formed my opinions from the school of very hard knocks. Yes, I know, very opinionated. To each his own.
I bought a Nesco and was so frustrated with the juggling of trays that I ended up buying an Excalibur. I wish I would have just saved the money I spent on the Nesco and put it toward an Excalibur. I don't rotate trays in my Excalibur and am very happy with how evenly it dries. I also use it to rise bread, culture yogurt, & dry canning flats and rings so they don't rust. I LOVE it!
Great review. Just thought I would share- I have 2 of the same nesco dehydrators that you are showing. Both have 25 trays. I fill them full of tomatoes and rotate every 5 hours. Items dry in the same amount of time as 8-10 trays. Thanks for your videos, I am new to your channel.
Thank you for the in depth review! I vote for the Nesco Gardenmaster. I only use mine for venison jerky, and it works great. Comes with 8 trays, 8 fruit roll sheets, and 8 clean-a-screens for $118 online at the big HD orange home improvement store :) And you have the air flow wrong for the Nesco. The air blows up through the sides of the trays and comes out each tray. The hole in the middle is for the air to go back down to the bottom.
I have a Nesco American harvester Gardenmaster Dehydrator and Jerky Maker 1000 watt, mine is the top fan / auto shutoff and timer digital, capacity 20 trays (uses same trays as the 30 tray model). next time ya use your nesco, listen closely to the clicking noise if your model has it, its very faint when it runs when its cycles. when ya add more trays, this clicking changes to adapt the fan(s) + motor to put out the correct pressure to the number of trays ya have in the dehydrator. When nesco says its capacity is 30 trays, go ahead and shove 30 trays in it, itll take it. With the Nesco, you don't need to rotate, what ya need to do is watch very carefully how full you stuff the trays, make your slices thin, or small pieces, if your having problems with it drying the top and bottom trays just leave those two trays empty. heres another idea with the nesco, bring it to 30 trays , and use them all, and when loading the food, load them in every other tray, but always keep the top and bottom trays empty (for better air flow)
I know im asking the wrong place but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any tips you can offer me!
@Tony Sutton I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im in the hacking process atm. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
I think the Nesco is good out of the box with nicely made, well designed trays, and has a small footprint on a counter. I appreciate the non-stacked trays of the Excaliber which gives you the ability to remove, replace or even rotate the trays on the Excaliber at will or to create space for chunkier food and to make yogurt and so on. One choice for the buyer is whether they prefer round or square trays. I only see this as affecting fruit leathers and how they'll be cut or shaped when done. Nice video, you covered everything.
I got a Nesco/American Harvest 500w for $10 at a garage sale and I absolutely love it! It was never used! It has the fan on top! Thanks for the comparison video!!!
Thank you so much for making this video! I am thinking about starting with an inexpensive dehydrator, just to get the feel for it and then purchase the Excalibur when I'm feeling more confident and ready to get more fancy!
I own and use both..... I prefer the Nesco! It runs sooooo much quieter than the Excalibur!! My Nesco had its fan on the underside of the LID. I limit it to using no more than 12 trays at a time.No problems. I'm constantly adjusting the trays on the Excalibur because the vibration of the fan makes enormous noise! The Nesco can barely be heard. My choice after all these years is the NESCO. I dehydrate year round so my two machines do a lot of work!! And...... The Excalibur trays and mesh sheets are not sink friendly for cleaning and the Nesco trays and mesh liners DO fit in a standard sink for cleaning. Just saying.....
I am not even a beginner. I'm an explorer. I just got the Nesco Gardenmaster for $60 from a Craigslist advert. Your review has been very helpful. I am happy w/my purchase, keeping my investment cost low until I see how deeply I get into food preservation.
I have a newer Nesco and it worked fine until recently, The heat is no longer there. I bought an Excalibur and I believe the price is lower than a few years ago. Mine came to $270.00 with the timer and I got white which is more expensive also,,, Very nice video thanks
I just recently bought an Excalibur, and while it is a very nice machine, I just not as in love with it as I had hoped I would be. It holds a lot, but I find that I need to turn the trays as well as rotate. My little nesco , which I have had for many years, still does a very respectable job. I don’t think you can go wrong with either one.
I recently (2015) bought the Garden Master and they only recommended 20. And since the heat element is in the base and heat rises I find that rotation is helpful depending on what I do. Rotation helps fruits or meat more than herbs. Cleaning the trays seems it might be easier with the Excalibur.
WOW So much information. I didn't realize you could d cottage cheese and yogurt in the Excalibur. I Love the way you explain the dehydrator cycle and reducing and moving the products. I do that. A great amount of information and experience results. Thank you for this video.
I think the Nesco American Harvest has heat that comes up around the sides of the trays and then is pulled down through the center by the fan at the bottom. It is a very good design for drying evenly.
Great video! I'm an Excalibur owner, pondering a Nesco (thrift store/used type buy). (Gotta joke: no timer? But does it have WiFi, Bluetooth, IoT, and a app for my phone?!?!?) I started using parchment paper. The Ex does need/benefits from rotation. Footnote: Doing strawberries makes the house smell SO good! ..worth the price of admission!
Which model you purchase is important. I have the much older Excalibur and there is no need to rotate trays. The air flows side to side. I have 2 of that model, and they make enough noise they live in the garage. I used a relative's Nesco when I had massive amounts of fruit and lots of kids in the house and that was enough to pick up a third Excalibur, super cheap, for a few year's use.
Re airflow in the Nesco item, the manufacturer descriptions describes the airflow as being 'forced' up the sides and then across the trays. If you look at the base, you can see how the air comes up from the sides of the fan assembly.
Thanks so much for this review. It has really helped me make my purchase decision. Not really liking the airflow on the Nesco. I am going with the Excalibur. The engineering seems much better on the Excalibur.❤️
I imagine you have already purchased but there was misinformation in this review. The fruit rollup trays will NOT block the airflow on the NESCO. The air flows up the sides of the try and is drawn into the center hole. It is actually quite good airflow.
Great review, really helpful. When you are rotating trays, do you turn off the machine, move them all around and replace the lid and turn back on? Or how does that work to rotate the trays? Also, you said the Amer. Harvest has a hole in the top. So all the air is going up and straight out? Does it add heat to your room, making the house warmer? Thanks again.
+Life In Our Rv Yes, turn off the machine especially if you have herbs or light food in the dehydrator as they might blow around. In the American Harvest the air goes up through the trays to help dehydrate the food. Both units get a little warm (not anything to worry about safety wise), but no, they don't add heat to your house.
Sheri McNeil, you are correct. I have a Nesco - American Harvest, and have really liked it. The heated air is blown up the sides of the trays through dedicated airways. The lid closes this airway off at the top which then forces air volume to flow through each of the trays towards the center which is then circulated again. The amount of air passing through each of the trays is mostly balanced because the back pressure in the outside airway is balanced. The bulk of the air is recycled but enough is refreshed to allow humidity to escape. It works very well, and although I cycle the trays because I'm used to doing that with lessor quality dehydrators, it doesn't seem to make much difference. I'll probably stop doing that. The thing is that I rely on reviews to provide advise, and this one really misunderstands the Nesco air drying process. This dehydrator has been great. The only con that I can make is that extruding jerky onto the round trays is more challenging than square trays, but that is very minor. I would certainly recommend this dehydrator to my friends.
Thanks, I caught that as well. I'm going with the Nesco, Other reviews have said Excalibur is not worth the rather huge difference in price. I use my bathroom heater to proof bread, don't need that.
Are they as good as the Excalibur? Just there meant o be the 'Rolls Royce' of dehydrators but not sure which to get
@@benmarston07 Check out the review at wirecutter.com, they liked the Gardenmaster a lot, but avoid the other Nesco models which have the fan on the top rather than the bottom. They didn't like the Excaliburs as much, but some have said the Nesco runs hotter than the posted temperatures, and the Wirecutter review didn't temperature check each of the settings. Thus, their claim that the Nesco dried faster is a bit unclear. Is it because of the bigger motor / airflow, or because the Nesco runs hot? Regardless, for the money the Nesco is a solid pick and, a circular shape is probably always going to have better airflow.
Thank you@@tyroneedge8267I will check that out. Cheers stay well
To each his (or her) own. I do a Lot of drying and 4 dehydrators. 2 American Harvest/Nesco units. Both are jerky snack master Pros plus a Garden Master. My other unit is a Cabela's 160 liter commercial grade . (Cabela's older style) All the Nesco units have fan and controls on top. For the ease of use and clean up and Cost, my favorite one is the Nesco/American Pro Snack Master unit w/12 racks on each. At 70 years of age, I have about 40 years drying time in and have formed my opinions from the school of very hard knocks. Yes, I know, very opinionated. To each his own.
I bought a Nesco and was so frustrated with the juggling of trays that I ended up buying an Excalibur. I wish I would have just saved the money I spent on the Nesco and put it toward an Excalibur. I don't rotate trays in my Excalibur and am very happy with how evenly it dries. I also use it to rise bread, culture yogurt, & dry canning flats and rings so they don't rust. I LOVE it!
Great review. Just thought I would share- I have 2 of the same nesco dehydrators that you are showing. Both have 25 trays. I fill them full of tomatoes and rotate every 5 hours. Items dry in the same amount of time as 8-10 trays. Thanks for your videos, I am new to your channel.
Thank you for the in depth review! I vote for the Nesco Gardenmaster. I only use mine for venison jerky, and it works great. Comes with 8 trays, 8 fruit roll sheets, and 8 clean-a-screens for $118 online at the big HD orange home improvement store :) And you have the air flow wrong for the Nesco. The air blows up through the sides of the trays and comes out each tray. The hole in the middle is for the air to go back down to the bottom.
I have a Nesco American harvester Gardenmaster Dehydrator and Jerky Maker 1000 watt, mine is the top fan / auto shutoff and timer digital, capacity 20 trays (uses same trays as the 30 tray model).
next time ya use your nesco, listen closely to the clicking noise if your model has it, its very faint when it runs when its cycles. when ya add more trays, this clicking changes to adapt the fan(s) + motor to put out the correct pressure to the number of trays ya have in the dehydrator. When nesco says its capacity is 30 trays, go ahead and shove 30 trays in it, itll take it.
With the Nesco, you don't need to rotate, what ya need to do is watch very carefully how full you stuff the trays, make your slices thin, or small pieces, if your having problems with it drying the top and bottom trays just leave those two trays empty. heres another idea with the nesco, bring it to 30 trays , and use them all, and when loading the food, load them in every other tray, but always keep the top and bottom trays empty (for better air flow)
Great tip! Thx
I know im asking the wrong place but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..?
I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any tips you can offer me!
@Rodrigo Leroy instablaster :)
@Tony Sutton I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im in the hacking process atm.
Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Tony Sutton it did the trick and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much, you saved my ass!
I think the Nesco is good out of the box with nicely made, well designed trays, and has a small footprint on a counter. I appreciate the non-stacked trays of the Excaliber which gives you the ability to remove, replace or even rotate the trays on the Excaliber at will or to create space for chunkier food and to make yogurt and so on. One choice for the buyer is whether they prefer round or square trays. I only see this as affecting fruit leathers and how they'll be cut or shaped when done. Nice video, you covered everything.
I got a Nesco/American Harvest 500w for $10 at a garage sale and I absolutely love it! It was never used! It has the fan on top! Thanks for the comparison video!!!
Thank you so much for making this video! I am thinking about starting with an inexpensive dehydrator, just to get the feel for it and then purchase the Excalibur when I'm feeling more confident and ready to get more fancy!
Did you get the Excalibur? what do you think of it?
I own and use both..... I prefer the Nesco! It runs sooooo much quieter than the Excalibur!! My Nesco had its fan on the underside of the LID. I limit it to using no more than 12 trays at a time.No problems. I'm constantly adjusting the trays on the Excalibur because the vibration of the fan makes enormous noise! The Nesco can barely be heard. My choice after all these years is the NESCO. I dehydrate year round so my two machines do a lot of work!! And...... The Excalibur trays and mesh sheets are not sink friendly for cleaning and the Nesco trays and mesh liners DO fit in a standard sink for cleaning. Just saying.....
Pat's Kozy Kitchen which nesco do u have please
Which nesco do u have
What a thorough review and creative ways to use the dehydrator. This video is very helpful. Thank you!
Put a fruit roll up sheet on the bottom tray to catch any drippings. Wouldn't that work?
I'll try that, good idea
I am not even a beginner. I'm an explorer. I just got the Nesco Gardenmaster for $60 from a Craigslist advert. Your review has been very helpful. I am happy w/my purchase, keeping my investment cost low until I see how deeply I get into food preservation.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video available, I really appreciate the experience you bring to this review.
I have a newer Nesco and it worked fine until recently, The heat is no longer there. I bought an Excalibur and I believe the price is lower than a few years ago. Mine came to $270.00 with the timer and I got white which is more expensive also,,, Very nice video thanks
I just recently bought an Excalibur, and while it is a very nice machine, I just not as in love with it as I had hoped I would be. It holds a lot, but I find that I need to turn the trays as well as rotate. My little nesco , which I have had for many years, still does a very respectable job. I don’t think you can go wrong with either one.
Very helpful. Thanks! I have a Nesco and I'm considering a used Excalibur.
I recently (2015) bought the Garden Master and they only recommended 20. And since the heat element is in the base and heat rises I find that rotation is helpful depending on what I do. Rotation helps fruits or meat more than herbs. Cleaning the trays seems it might be easier with the Excalibur.
In-depth and fantastic review.
WOW So much information. I didn't realize you could d cottage cheese and yogurt in the Excalibur. I Love the way you explain the dehydrator cycle and reducing and moving the products. I do that. A great amount of information and experience results. Thank you for this video.
song at the beginning
Me: 😳
Thinking about buying an Excalibur or an Nesco/American Harvest? Can't decide? This might help.
I purchased the Excalibur based on your review. It is SUPER NICE! It became a piece of furniture and is used all of the time year round.
Thanks so much for your kind words. Yes, I love the Excalibur dehydrators....:)
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is so helpful.
Excellent video! I am going with the Excaliber! Thank you!
I'm glad you found the information helpful!
If you use the nesco overnight in your kitchen will it heat up the house blowing hot air?
I think the Nesco American Harvest has heat that comes up around the sides of the trays and then is pulled down through the center by the fan at the bottom. It is a very good design for drying evenly.
I have a Nesco and I've never stacked more than 20 trays with daily rotation and have never had something go bad before drying completely.
Bought the Excaliber for my daughter. I have a Large Saltron for years.
Great video!
I'm an Excalibur owner, pondering a Nesco (thrift store/used type buy).
(Gotta joke: no timer? But does it have WiFi, Bluetooth, IoT, and a app for my phone?!?!?)
I started using parchment paper. The Ex does need/benefits from rotation.
Footnote: Doing strawberries makes the house smell SO good! ..worth the price of admission!
Which model you purchase is important. I have the much older Excalibur and there is no need to rotate trays. The air flows side to side. I have 2 of that model, and they make enough noise they live in the garage. I used a relative's Nesco when I had massive amounts of fruit and lots of kids in the house and that was enough to pick up a third Excalibur, super cheap, for a few year's use.
thank you for sharing. I'm gonna start to dehydrate. I didn't like canning so much.
Re airflow in the Nesco item, the manufacturer descriptions describes the airflow as being 'forced' up the sides and then across the trays. If you look at the base, you can see how the air comes up from the sides of the fan assembly.
thanks for letting us us know even if I use 1 tray to dehydrate, I must use 4 Nesco trays in total.
I have 2 excalibur with timers and have loved them
I wish someone would turn them on, Ive heard complaints about the noise. Trying to get noise feedback.
ua-cam.com/video/xaQPOo5Qrzo/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for this review. It has really helped me make my purchase decision. Not really liking the airflow on the Nesco. I am going with the Excalibur. The engineering seems much better on the Excalibur.❤️
I imagine you have already purchased but there was misinformation in this review. The fruit rollup trays will NOT block the airflow on the NESCO. The air flows up the sides of the try and is drawn into the center hole. It is actually quite good airflow.
The comments below looks like Ford vs Chevy.. Seems both are good, I'll go with the Excalibur. Thank you for the video! :)
Awesome video! I really appreciate your review. Thank You!
I am very pleased with my Nesco.
Great review, thanks!
this video is acouple years old so maybe there is a new Excalibur. I like how it has multiple uses
Awesome comparison, thank you
for price of excalibur they should give roll up sheet
Superbly done!!
Can you leave a dehydrate on you dehydrate on overnight?
Very thorough review and comparisons. Thanks for posting. Subscribed.
Thank you for making this video!
10honeybeeautiful100, so glad you found it helpful!
Helpful, thanks!
Great review, really helpful. When you are rotating trays, do you turn off the machine, move them all around and replace the lid and turn back on? Or how does that work to rotate the trays? Also, you said the Amer. Harvest has a hole in the top. So all the air is going up and straight out? Does it add heat to your room, making the house warmer? Thanks again.
+Life In Our Rv
Yes, turn off the machine especially if you have herbs or light food in the dehydrator as they might blow around. In the American Harvest the air goes up through the trays to help dehydrate the food. Both units get a little warm (not anything to worry about safety wise), but no, they don't add heat to your house.
perfect, thankyou!
Thank you!
the non stick sheets (teflon) are they reusable?
*****, Yes, the non-stick sheets are completely reusable.
great video
Hie which dehydrator would you recommend for more liquid foods like Indian curries?
Hey. Did you ever figure out which dehydrator works best with Indian curries?
@@barkhaagarwalla yep.. Indian ones work best.. The foreign ones don't work as well with Indian foods
@@shivangishanghvi4300 thanks. Do you have a brand that you would recommend?
Does consume lot of electricity?
The Nesco she shows uses 1000 watts. I like the Nesco model Fd-75pr because it is 600 watts.
Great job thanks
i made my own mesh sheets out of window screen and my solid ones out of cheap cut
ting sheets
Oh Gosh, that's really not safe, because the window screen mesh might not be food safe.
@@SeedToPantrySchool I agree, but that's exactly how we used to do it in the 70's.
Nesco dried quiker for me
Fucking awesome, this helped me choose which one to go with
Juega de viva !
😄
Good job!