The Cube Freeze Dryer From Prep4life - Review and Test
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- There's a new freeze dryer in town and we're going to test it out. Here's my affiliate link, go to p4lfood.com/?r... Use coupon code: freeshippete and you'll get free shipping with the purchase of The Cube freeze dryer. Warranty information below.
Links below (affiliate)
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Warranty information
The CUBE freeze dryer has a limited 3 year warranty.
One year full warranty
The CUBE freeze dryer carries a one year full warranty within the continental United States for
the original registered owner. This covers all manufacturing defects for one year from the date
of purchase (see exclusions below). This also includes repairs if deemed necessary by Prep4Life
and only by authorized technicians. The product must be properly registered (see registration
section) within 30 days of purchase for warranty to come into effect.
Three Year Limited Warranty
Three year limited warranty on the closed refrigeration system for the original registered owner
including the condenser, compressor, evaporator, and all copper tubing (see exclusions below).
Exclusions
North America outside continental 48 states
In Alaska, Hawaii and Canada all warranty periods remain the same as above but the consumer
will be responsible for shipping of parts and professional repair services done outside of the
Prep4Life factory or not by an authorized technician.
International
Cube freeze dryers purchased in countries outside those listed above carry the same warranty
periods but the consumer will be responsible for shipping of parts and professional repair
services.
Consumer Misuse
Any misuse deemed by Prep4Life will be the responsibility of the consumer which may include
but not limited to:
1. Proper connection to a power source without an extension cord.
2. Proper installation of shelving unit, if removed.
3. Properly removing power source during cleaning and service.
4. Properly determining dryness of food and packaging for storage.
5. Operating the freeze dryer with enough air flow space (at least 4 inches on each side).
6. Parts installed not supplied by Prep4Life.
7. Service performed by technicians not approved by Prep4Life.
8. Improperly attempting to freeze dry harmful chemicals.
9. Allowing water to contact electrical circuit boards, wires, or connections.
Food Storage and Status
Prep4Life will not be responsible for the proper storage and status of food after the drying
cycle. All food dryness and storage will be the responsibility of the consumer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food storage long term
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Warranty information and owners manual pdf download is in the description under the video. Click "Show more"
Good to see some competition in the FD market. Curious how it holds up. Personally, I prefer having the pump separate but I can see the appeal of having it all integrated. Can't wait to see some follow up videos after 6-12 months of heavy use. Maybe share another video soon of how easily it cleans up, power usage, temperature tolerances, how it handles a power failure, etc.
Same here. I chose the HR with oil pump, and recently learned that the other ones use metal on metal, which isn't supposed to be good. I don't know if they're all the same that way, though. I didn't realize there are several other companies out there making these now.
Hello Pete, like the video and I own a Harvest Right Medium freeze dryer (2 years +). The advantage I see in the Cube is the capacity and where the oil pump is. The biggest disadvantage I see is that the Cube only appears to offer an oil free pump where Harvest Right offers not only the oil free pump, but two lessor oil pumps at a considerable cheaper price. I have the premier pump which requires the oil to be changed (takes 5-10 minutes and is extremely simple) like every 20 cycles. The cost of the medium Harvest Right with the premier pump is approximately $1,600 cheaper than the cube. To me at least, this is significant. Keep up the great videos. Best regards
The oil pump is not, by any measure, the 'lesser' of the selections.
The oil cooled pump will out perform any oil free pump.
Only people who are unbelievably lazy or have zero confidence in their abilities would prefer the oil free pump.
We have them in our lab and they work fine there, where they never have to work against a solid dead head. They work fine in a vacuum chamber for the same reason.
For a food freeze dryer we EXPECT them to run against a dead head for 12-50 hours. This is very hard on any pump, but for a pump with no cooling and or lubrication it is EXTREME duty.
When the oil free pump dies it can be scrapped. The oil filled pump can be rebuilt.
The only problem is what do you do if you can't get oil for your pump?
@@GreenWitchHomestead Better yet, what if the pump breaks down or if there is no electricity? I suppose anything can happen.
@cliffmolz8719 as things stand the chance of loosing all acsess to oil is far grater then loosing all access to electricity.
I can get power from other sources, like sun wind or water. but I can't make oil
@@GreenWitchHomesteadYour oilless pump will grind itself to death years before the oil pump does. And if you also have a centrifuge, you can separate the water from the oil and possibly get many more reuses out of each fill.
So HR has competition. Not entirely a bad thing. I just want to point out; if I'm correct, you compared this to the HR Medium and compared pricing as similar, in the $4500 range. I thought that was pretty high so am on the HR site right now and their medium unit is listed at $3200 regular/$2900 slashed price. I've had mine for about 1.5 years and the pricing hasn't really hasn't changed. With tax and shipping, I paid just under $3000. I understand you get more with the P4P .....but I think the price comp is misleading. HR's large is priced at $3600 and the X-large is at $4800. I just want to offer a bit more clarity in the pricing statement. HR provides the pump and packaging materials as well, just not a cart/stand to put it on.
I think the P4P comes with the oil free pump only. Check harvest right price with oil free pump option and they're about the same
I got the harvest right with the oil free pump with mine and paid around $4400.
Have any of you looked at the Stay Fresh freeze dryer?
Thanks for the demonstration and overview, Pete. I am happy to see that there are now a couple of other manufacturers getting into the home freeze dryer market. Competition is the only way to get improvements in the product, reduction in cost, and improvement in customer service and tech support. Without competition pressure, the consumer gets only what the manufacture feels like providing.
I like my Harvest Right large machine, but like many other folks I had all manner of issues right out of the box. Getting this resolved was more than a little frustrating. After paying so much for a product I did not appreciate the need to do my own troubleshooting and repair work before even being able to run the first batch of food through the unit (faulty touch screen and drain valve).
Take care and God Bless.
I agree totally, I think HR put there product out too soon or not enough testing or just use cheaper parts. I've also had problems with vacuum leaks, tearing down the machine, and loss of refrigerant.
That's why I was happy to hear that prep4life had some freeze dryers running non stop for two years, that tells me a lot about the quality of the machine.
I was almost ready to get a HR medium, but I’m loving the cube pro model. Smaller footprint but larger tray capacity and Wi-Fi is a game changer for me. Just got to get my ducks in a row first.
Love my HarvestRight!!! Looks like a great machine, I wonder why they didn't put the control panel at the top? I do like the fact that HarvestRight has a competitor.
Thanks for the overview. I am about to get a freeze dryer, and up until 2 hours ago, I didn't know there was another one to see. I'm glad you showed the comparisons for this one and the HR. I did go check out their site.. I really would jump in on this one. But, it's taken me a couple of years to get where I can "finally" buy one. I know the cube will do more food. I'm just trying to justify having to pay a couple grand more +, over 200 bucks shipping. I'm really going to have to pray about this one. Thanks!!
There is another new company called stay fresh and they are less expensive.
I know it's a big expense and I know what it feels like to buy a large HR with extra stuff for over $5,500 and have had vacuum and refrigerant leak problems. The Cube was built much to address these and many other problems HR has. Just search on UA-cam "harvest right fail". Also The Cube is built in the USA, there are off brands but they are built in China.
😂 how many parts in the cube is not built in China?@@petebeasttexashomesteading
@@flyfreezedrying9842 Good point.
I know people who worked for companies making "American Made" products that really only require a small percentage in order to use that label. Then, they would ship in cheap foreign parts where they were supposed to be American. Always a rush to hide those when the customer came to visit🙄
@@petebeasttexashomesteading u can get that Large HR for 4500$ now, i paid less than 5500 Canadian, shipped here and everything. Who is selling it for 5500$ USD?
Thank you for the thorough demonstration. Best I have seen.
Glad it was helpful!
The cube looks really good. Nice presentation
Thank you 👍
You’re doing a great job Pete! I’m excited to see some competition, I think they’ll get a lot of orders because of your videos. Very well done! I hope you get to keep the machine.
Thanks me too 🙂
I'm impressed with the machine!
Great video. I used the link and coupon code to order a Cube for a mother's day supprise (May 14). Keep making great videos, I have benefitted much from them (SW Arkansas),
God bless!
Wow awesome 👍 that is a wonderful mother's day gift.
This is sooooo exciting!!!! If I could give HR negative stars on a review I would. They are a company that DOES NOT CARE about fixing lemon machines. After nearly two years of owning a HR and only 4 months with it working, this is exciting!!!! PTL❤
I feel your pain, I have a large HR and have had multiple problems. I've had this only a short time but I can see that it's built much better and more efficient.
Love your demo Mr. Pete, so i ordered one last week expensive yes i agree but i like the compact design, oil less pump. Cant wait to use it.
Awesome 👍
I searched freeze dryer on FB! & your video came up! Thank you! I’ve been wanting a freeze dryer but we have not purchased one because HR is just too big of a machine and with the pump and everything it just took up too much space. I’m considering this machine once we move next year! I love the fry canning option and the internal pump.
Thank you for this video. Nice to know you aren’t being paid to do this nor got the machine free. Very tired of videos saying how wonderful HR is when they don’t have to deal with normal problems customers have. Harvest Right has been in business far longer than people think. They should have problems worked out by now. Their customer service is awful. Will never buy another HR again, looking forward to competition and the prices becoming more reasonable. This unit is Made in the USA of USA parts or assembled in the USA of overseas parts? Hope you’ll do an update video after you’ve used it for a while. Thanks!
Thank you for the review
You're welcome
Good Video - Nice to see some competition, I've had a HF Med for years and it does the job, it'll be interesting to see how well these do in the market.
Would rather have a oil pump and save the 1400 bucks. Sad they make ya pay the highest price... Nice video thanks for showing it..
Nice i want me one for sure now
Interesting comments on your video Pete. Everyone risks stepping into it when they post to UA-cam. I'd say right off; I like the design much better than the HR. I always thought the HR looked like a front load washer. Never understood the round opening. I've read many complaints about HR's not working upon initial set-up, having to do some type of repair, get parts shipped, etc. I've also read too many bad reviews of HR support. At this price for any of these machines, my expectation is that it work as advertised without me spending time troubleshooting issues on the phone with a tech. All this being said, Prep4life may follow in those same footsteps. This does look like a better designed unit. It is a bit on the pricey side. People taking about the built-in pump... open the case and there it sits, what's the big deal? Thank you for the video! Hope it lives up to your expectations.
We have had multiple problems with the HR from the moment we hooked it up, we had vacuum issues and now we have to turn the power off as the screen freezes. We did a reset as was suggested and it worked for a few cycles and yesterday it burned our trays of food. Luckily, we have a month left before our one year warranty expires. HR must be aware of their FD having the same issues with their latest freeze dryers. I was shocked when customer care said , "you unfortunately have been sent a bad machine, ." Not something you wanna hear after spending a few thousand dollars and certainly not happy about them not wanting to send me a new unit after multiple conversations and software updates. So, even if they replace the equipment, we the customer are expected to take the machine apart and install it. This could be dangerous and honestly unfair to ask of your customers. I am not a qualified technician and frankly, I don't have the time to learn to be one. not to mention the horror and expense of losing all of your food when the FD fails.
All of this rant to say.. anyone considering purchasing a HR should know they will have a sub par customer service experience, very time consuming creating repair tickets online and hearing robotic responses when you finally do get a call. I have yet to speak to a supervisor. Not sure what happened to their customer service. Be aware that you only have a one year warranty for a very expensive machine that has a high probability to have issues. Be aware that they have no onsite technician available, you will be repairing all issues on your own. HR discourages sending new FD when they clearly have lemons. An honest company would extend the warranty and repair or replace faulty parts.
my question .... does the Cube have a 3 year warranty and do they have technician avail to repair any issues?
I'm really curious to see how it holds up. Im constantly working on my harvest right. Finally junked it and bought a stay fresh. It's way better quality, but I haven't had it long enough to say it's more reliable.
Stay fresh are made in China but time will tell if it's good or not.
Thanks pete for the savings code!!!
No problem 👍
This would be great for the seniors that I grow gardens for. As a Pastor on a small SS check this is way out of my price range. I teach people to grow food and with luck, we will have a very large harvest this year here in Florida. Maybe in my next life! I would have loved to have one of these to preserve the harvest. Ma 2
Your next life? Just wondering since you said you’re a pastor. Where will you be in your next life?
@@dandelion1239 My plan is to be sitting by a nice campfire with Derek, Lamar, and 'the boys. I never tell others how to show their faith. Just don't be a jerk, should work for everyone. Ma 2
@@lindalannon2039 I asked a simple question. I guess you take offense to being asked if you’re saved. Sad sad sad. And as a “pastor”, you call someone a jerk? Really? For talking about eternity? Hmmmmmm…
And if you’re a woman, the Bible says you cannot be a pastor.
@@dandelion1239 I have no idea what you are talking about...
@@dandelion1239 I found it... How is telling people that they should not be jerks and respect others a bad thing? Please explain this to me and... don't be a jerk! Being nice should work for everyone. Pastor Lannon says God does not care for such behaviors!
I also feel like if they stand behind their product...a 1 year warranty for a $5500 machine doesn't boast confidence in their quality of product. If they boast how good their pump(the highest part likely to fail) is as it is working for 2 years non stop, you would think the warranty of that would be at least 2 years
Funny part I was saying why harvest uses a round hole for a rectangular then the Cube came out Awesome! Amazing Review and demonstration Brother! You and your Lady are an Amazing team! Question what is the cost of electricity for one batch of food? Because you are running a freezer chest and freeze dryer. And would it be cheaper to do the mason jars instead of the mylar bags? Trying to get an idea of what Inverter , batteries and solar panels I need for this amount of how much power this uses! Best Regards!
Thanks, in my next video I'll be using an energy usage meter to see how much it used. As far as bags or mason jars, mylar bags would be for long term like 5,10 or 25 years but mason jars would be good for less than 5 years because the seals will leak by then.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Brother, Awesome Thank You for responding back and the information! Best Regards!
Round is safer for pressure vessels. That square pressure chamber will fatigue over time at the corners and crack, which will cause a vacuum leak or implosion. The round chamber spreads the forces better and prevents fatigue. Notice the ice cracking noises when that chamber was repressurized? That was from the walls flexing. Yes, you will get some with a round chamber, but nowhere near that extent.
I wish the little instruction window was up higher.
Not sure how any of the FD companies think a debt-ravaged consumer can afford a $5k machine...glad I got my HR on sale last year.
I've been unimpressed with HR's responsiveness (tho they help when you get a hold of them), but my FD has been great. Until these paid promotions are over and the new units get some runtime, we have no idea how good these new competitors are.
With that said, I'm glad HR is getting some competition.
Yeah, that’s a really good point as well. I’m glad I got mine on sale as well, but noticed that you can still get a medium HR for about $2695 and that includes everything as well. Even that is a stretch right now for many people. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better. $5000 for a machine plus $300 shipping? It was kind of disingenuous to find a link where it had the HR medium at about full MSRP and not for what you can find it pretty much at any hardware store or online.
Curious why this place doesn’t include oxygen absorbers.
A lot goes into manufacturing a machine like this and companies are also paying more for parts, labor and the whole manufacturing process, they can't just give these machines away and be profitable. This machine seems to be built better than HR but time will tell.
I don't own a freeze dryer at this point in time but I have been considering a home freeze dryer for over a decade, so I am quite familiar with the Harvest Right line of freeze dryers, and virtually all of their shortcomings, as well as their strengths.
I'm a blunt kind of person, so I will just state up front that anyone who wants to purchase an inexpensive freeze dryer, is on a *fool's errand* and is destined for a big disappointment. If you are not mechanically inclined, and or don't understand the physics & science behind the concept of the freeze drying process; then it's easy to boldy state that home freeze dryers should have a price tag similar to a refrigerator.
The technology for freeze drying is *far* more complicated than the technology for simple refrigeration where foods are traditionally kept at a constant temperature somewhere between 2°F to 8°F above the freezing point of water in order to retard, not eliminate, the process of decomposition. Consumer refrigeration is designed to work at a temperature range of +34°F to +40°F, with the mean average temperature of most people's home refrigerator being approximately +38°F. Likewise, home freezers are designed to work at a temperature range of 0°F to +15°F.
I agree with everyone that competition in the home freeze drying market is welcome, and destined to hopefully remove some of the quirks that many people dislike about the Harvest Right line of freeze dryers.
That being said, I'm not too hopeful that the cost of a home freeze dryer is going to be substantially reduced from their current prices as the vacuum pumps have *ALWAYS* had expensive price tags. And, the oil-less vacuum pump has an exponentially higher price tag than does the most expensive vacuum pump requiring oil.
My father was a first class refrigeration mechanic, and there was marital discord in the late 1960's when he purchased a small, portable vacuum pump to substantially reduce the amount of time necessary to check his new refrigeration installations for proper seals, and function.
The last point that I want to address is the modern person's laziness, and complete contempt for getting their hands messy with something like changing the oil in a vacuum pump.
*ALL* mechanical objects with moving parts *REQUIRE* lubrication. *PERIOD* There's no parliamentary debate on this issue, it's just an essential part of any mechanical device, and has been so for thousands of years. Oil-less vacuum pumps have to be lubricated, the same as do vacuum pumps with oil. The oil-less vacuum pump just has a self-contained oil reservoir that is sealed. Once the oil in that reservoir is degraded beyond a certain point, the oil-less vacuum pump starts to become less efficient in pulling a vacuum, and eventually fails. When you purchase an oil-less vacuum pump you are buying a hell of a lot of convenience, but when that pump needs to be replaced, and it *WILL* need replacing eventually, it's going to cost a lot more.
The owner of the *Retired at 40* freeze drying channel on UA-cam found this out. If used casually, the oil-less vacuum pump is *PROBABLY* an OK investment. If used constantly the oil-less vacuum pump *IS NOT* a good investment.
Changing the oil in a vacuum pump is not anywhere as dirty, and messy, as changing the oil in a motor vehicle. The premium vacuum pumps that Harvest Right is using are a lot better than the first 2-3 pump choices that Harvest Right made back when they first started selling home freeze dryers. I know *EXACTLY* why Harvest Right used those early vacuum pumps, and it was strictly a matter of attempting to keep the cost of the freeze dryer as reasonable as possible. It took them a few years, a hell of a lot of complaints, and an equally large number of warranty claims, before Harvest Right realized that trying to economize with the vacuum pump was costing them more in warranty repairs & free replacement parts, as well as lost consumer confidence; then the upfront cost to spec the freeze dryers out with a better pump.
Would like to see head to head test under identical conditions
Would have liked to have seen the ice in the freeze dryer after the demo and to see the time it needs to defrost it.
Also, what is the warranty period and is an extended warranty available. Where is the machine manufactured and how are the repair’s handled. Thanks for your demo…
I have the Harvest Right, but haven’t used it yet. I am looking at deep freezes to pre-freeze the food. What size deep freeze would be good for the medium-sized freeze dryer?
I haven’t been entirely happy with the customer service of HR so far. I developed kidney problems and was put in the hospital and they shipped the HR without asking me for a shipping date and then wanted me to pay for FedEx for the extra storage fees since I wasn’t home to accept it. So, free shipping went up to well over $150. And FedEx was a nightmare. Who ships this? I noticed it isn’t free shipping so that is an added expense.
The deep freezer I used in the video is a 7 cubic foot freezer, you can pick one up at the big box stores for around $275 or less. The freeze dryer is shipped from their facility in Utah and they used a trucking company to deliver the one they sent me.
you can freeze dry ice cream sandwiches and strawberry ice cream ;-) taste so good.
Hopefully competition drives the cost down some.
Also, what about doing repairs to this with everything being internal? Is it easy to get to things if you need to fix things yourself?
Exactly. Vacuum pump failure happens and even the oil-free pumps need to be serviced with how often some of us use our units. All-in-one units sound good on the surface until you have issues. Time will tell.
Prep4Life will help you diagnose the problem and help you fix it at home first and send you parts if needed before having to send it to them, just like HR.
From what I can see, this is a better built machine than HR. I asked them the same question about the pump and they told me that the pump in near the back and is easily removed to replace.
I would love to review one of these but this is what I notice right away. Wifi is a cool feature. Screen under the door where moisture can get to it. It holds 25% more than a medium because the chamber is square. I can't imagine how that wouldn't be lots less efficient. The oilless pump inside the machine is a great thought, but has got to make that thing hot. Time will tell hiw long it will last. It's cool that is made in the USA. I would like to see if it's just assembled in the US or if it's actually fully made in the USA.
Yep I thought the same things and now that I've had it running for a while, I can answer some of those questions. The screen being under the door worried me too but I noticed that the door seal does not collect moisture/condensation from the air because it does not get cold or ice up there like my Harvest right. The only thing I can see with having a square chamber is that it has less total volume than a round chamber so there's less air for the vacuum pump to remove. The internal pump is very efficient for it's size and amazingly produces almost no heat. That tells me that there's very little friction with this scroll vacuum pump. I know it's built here in the U.S. but is every part built here? I doubt that anything that we buy here in the U.S. that says is built in the U.S. is totally made here especially the electronics.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading cool. It will be interesting to see an update. Thanks for getting back to me
For $4795 you can get Harvest Rights new X-LARGE freeze drier that can do 35 POUNDS of food per batch and 5000# per year, and it comes with many accessories, Anyone overpaying $4995 for this absurdly designed freeze drier in this video is not a very smart consumer.
I ran 3 batches through my harvest right freeze dryer before it broke. I've been trying to get it fixed for over a year now.
@@123woullard I've ran mine non stop since August with only one issue where the tray heaters wouldn't shut off getting up to 250 degrees. Called Harvest right had to press the reset button on the back of the tray holder, back up in running in less than 24 hours.
I've done around 35 loads in my medium harvest right since receiving July 5th.
I've replaced the screen and main board, replaced the door, and recently was getting the vaccum error. In the time since I've had it, it hasn't worked for about 2 months of the time.
I wish I got a cube instead.
@@Truth_Unleashed With that Cube having the vacuum pump putting off all that heat right next to the condenser and control panel enclosed inside with limited air flow to cool them. I would suspect you'd be having far more problems.
I don't have both, so obviously, I can't compare, but I am on my 42nd batch in a medium HR with the premier pump (oil pump) since getting it in November.
I have had it running almost continuously with breaks around holidays. I have filtered the mineral oil 2x. I pull the rubber seal out a bit before closing the door to make sure the door pressure compresses it a bit, and that has solved the issue I had with not achieving a full vacuum.
I like the shape of the cube for fitting more tray room in the same space. I wonder if the cube shape will hold up to the external pressure the chamber is subjected to while maintaining a vacuum - the cylinderdesignwould have more structural strength if everything else is the same, but perhaps the materials make it a non-issue.
I like the cost difference of the premier pump on the HR, the mineral oil is inexpensive and the filter that comes with HR extends that life even further.
I like that the pump on HR is external. I place mine about a foot or so away from the machine so that there is plenty of air flow around it. It would also be simple to replace the pump - the vacuum tube and plug are all you need to contend with, and the pump is probably going to be the point of failure for the machine.
Nice to see competition entering the market, looking forward to see how this machine performs over time, but the requirement to purchase the oil-free pump with its hefty price tag would push me to another HR if I was to buy now.
Im in the process of buying a Cube and am trying to figure out where it will go. Do you know what the dimensions of the cart are? I couldn't find it on the website and when I called the manufacturer, they couldn't find the information readily either. 😊
I enjoyed watching your video. I know I'll be watching it over and over again when mine arrives.
The dimensions of the cart are very close to the freeze dryer. They are 18.5"wide 22" deep and 22.5" high I hope this will help you out.
Dang. This was on the top of my list for being usa made and the integrated oil pump but if it is only the size of the “Medium Harvest Right” then it is smaller than I was looking at. I was looking at the L or XL HR, L Blue Alpine (usa too), or 7 shelf Stayfresh. So happy to have searched for video reviews and saw yours. Family of 5 plus 2 others in the home and wanting to prep a good amount so I am scared the M is too small. One tray of bananas I froze in my upright to save wasn’t even a third of what I have to use. Thanks for giving way more information as the website was lacking a lot of information. Legit my column “chart” is empty for the Cube except for 4 trays, oil-free pump, wifi, and the size of the machine.
I just bought one today with your affiliate link, if you didn't see the commish go through, let me know and I'll call them.
Thank you so much 👍 it really helps us out on this channel. Thank you again.
Ya no problem thank you for the review! It’s the reason I got it. Went for the pro model, gotta get that wifi!
@@ThePatriotPirate Awesome 👍 you'll enjoy freeze drying a ton of food with it.
Wow...such a better design and operability than the Harvestrite machine.
I guess you need to look at the over all time saved and operating cost be like anything it will come down to cost for most and 5 vs 3 seems a bit steep, but I like the internal pump.
Thanks for the review..
Could you discuss the noise level compared to the harvest right.
Thanks
I'll do a video on that and other things soon, but the noise level is lower because of the type of vacuum pump it has and because it's internal. Also there's very little heat coming out of the machine compared to my HR which I have to run fans on it or I'll get a room temperature is too high warning.
Pete, you went directly from the test to fruit. Was there no mechanical/new car smell? I heard hr requires a bread run to remove chemical smells. Is this not needed? Please advise mine will be here in a few days. Thank you
Not necessary, just wipe the inside and shelves with a rag and soapy water if you like and you're ready to go.
I bought the cube freeze dryer and paid over $5,000. Not once have I been able to put food into the freeze dryer and close the door and start the machine. It takes a huge amount of time to adjust readjust and adjust The door again only to find out a couple of hours later that the door didn't seal. Very frustrating. When you pay that much money for a machine you should be able to just close the door and have it work!
The door needs to be adjusted. They have a video on that on their UA-cam channel. I had that happen to me once and adjusted the door so when closed, you can see the door seal push up against the door.
In my medium size HR my batches often fill almost the entire drum with ice. Where in the heck would all that ice end up inside the cube's tiny drum? I like how the HR screen is at the top of my machine, I like the external pump so it is easily serviced and don't mind the oil changes. How hot does the cube get in comparison to the HR? Also, with the holiday discount my HR was half the price of the cube. I struggle to fill 4 medium trays for 3 people already, so the additional space is a nominal factor for my household. I do have to run 4 fans to keep my harvest right machine and pump cool, so that could be a factor in cost savings over time if the heat output on the cube is much less. Thanks for the review.
Ice build up is not a problem as long as you don't over stuff the machine. That's funny that you run fans to keep your HR cool, I thought I was the only one. The cube puts out very little heat compared to my large HR.
vac pump needs located via quisk connect couplings outside or another room....not rattling underneath secured to a steel can. Regardless of oilless or not. too loud for any room.
Lots of questions. How is it for power usage, how is the support, how easy to get repairs and parts and I am sure I will think of more? Add on, what is the warranty?
The support would be much like HR. They will work with you to fix it at home if possible before having it shipped to them to fix. They will send you any parts you need to fix it once they know what's wrong. I'll do a future video on power consumption. The warranty is in the description under the video.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thank you. I have had very lax support from HR so I hope theirs is better!
Wish freeze driers were cheaper. In Canada it's almost 6000.00 for medium HR drier and some extra trays.
How good is the customer service? HR is horrible. Does it need any different electrical?
No special electric requirements, a regular 120 volt 15 amp wall outlet will work. As far as customer service, they've got back to me with all my questions.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading I was checking out their financing options. They may have to do a better in that area. Just a thought. :)
I would be curious as to why the price on the website is up $1000 from the pricing in the video in just 45-ish days? One year warranty is a bit disappointing as well.
When I made the video, it was on sale. The sale ended April 30. I think they were roughly $600 off the regular price.
Do you need to repeat the test procedure every time you use the freeze dryer? Is it less loud than the Harvestright? Controls should be higher...shouldn't have to bend over.
You only have to run the test when it's delivered to you new to make sure everything is working. It's about as loud as the HR but I don't really find it that noisy. Yeah the controls are a little low but you only have to use it to start and to end the freeze drying process.
I suspect ADA compliance on the height of the control panel.
Can you modify the time? Some people like to make the skittle treats if you leave them in too long they puff up too much and stick to each other
Maintenance free dout it atleast if problem with vauum pump can easy replace with out loosing the freeze dryer chamber
Depends what you are drying if one is faster than the onth
Could you ask them what brand/make/model of vacuum pump they use? That will allow us to better research the 2 year reliability claims.
The pump that is used here is by Scroll Labs Technology, and It's a dry scroll vacuum pump. Here's the info I got from it. Patent protected Floating Scroll Technology, Uncontaminated flow, No contamination of the media due to oil-free operation, No tip seal or PTFE dust, Maintenance-free, No tip seal or diaphragm, High performance and long product life, Compact size and high level of gas tightness, Very quiet and low vibration, Can operate in any installed position, Startup against air or vacuum.
The pump has only one moving part which is the scroll and I can tell you this from operating it, that it produces almost no heat which tells me that there's no friction and less wear and tear. So I see why the company feels that these vacuum pumps will last a while.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading thanks for this! Are you able to get the maintenance schedule for the pump?
Very nice! Wish I could afford one! Any giveaways?
There was a give away in June.
So there is still maintenance that has to happen with oil-less pumps to be rebuilt at certain amounts of hour usage, so do u disassemble the cube and send in the pump? Or do send in the entire unit?
One major difference is... they are just not available to actually purchase
Curious . . . how does the noise during the freeze dry cycle compare to the medium Harvest Right?
I don't have a medium HR so I can't tell you but I do have a large HR and it's quieter then the large HR
Does it hold a vacuum? Buddy of mine is having vacuum issues with his HR freeze dryer and it seems that is a common problem with that model on UA-cam with these things... $4500 to 4950 ... it better hold a good vacuum consistently and efficiently.
The Cube freeze dryer got to under 500 mTorr vacuum in under 8 minutes and held it very well. I also have a large Harvest right that I had vacuum issues with right out of the box. I had to tear the machine down and do many tests on it while emailing and calling to HR with no success. I finally found it was the treads where the vacuum sensor is. I also had to recently ship it back to HR because it lost all it's refrigerant. Just remember that cheaper is not always better.
Pete, my question is what style of dry vacuum pump are they using? Haven't gone through the operating manual, but in my experience, a machine with moving parts is not really totally maintenance free. Just a little dubious, not totally dubious. I think the style and efficiency is great. Just curious about that vacuum pump. Thanks for the demo. Competition is totally groovy in my point of view and putting this competitive home freeze dryer out there is a good thing.
The pump that is used here is by Scroll Labs Technology, and It's a dry scroll vacuum pump. Here's the info I got from it. Patent protected Floating Scroll Technology, Uncontaminated flow, No contamination of the media due to oil-free operation, No tip seal or PTFE dust, Maintenance-free, No tip seal or diaphragm, High performance and long product life, Compact size and high level of gas tightness, Very quiet and low vibration, Can operate in any installed position, Startup against air or vacuum.
The pump has only one moving part which is the scroll and I can tell you this from operating it, that it produces almost no heat which tells me that there's no friction and less wear and tear. So I see why the company feels that these vacuum pumps will last a while.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Pete, Thanks for doing the research and sending the information. I'll keep it in mind.
You sound like you are comparing the HR medium capacity with the HR large price.
So you skipped over the part I needed to know. When u put in the frozen food and hit start how long did it take to go from the "freezing" to the freez drying? We just got ours and ran all the tests. Put our first batch of fruit in all pre frozen and it's been siting in the 'freezing' screen for 2 hours hasn't even started the vacuumed cycle yet.
Is that normal?
Yes that's normal for all freeze dryers. The temperature has to get down to single digits or even minus before the vacuum pump kicks on.
@petebeasttexashomesteading yay. I was worried. All the vlogers show putting it in and taking it out. Lol no one mentions how long it sits in each cycle. It's nice to know that even with pre frozen food the 'freezing' cycle is the longest.
Should be enjoying my first freeze dried strawberry in a few hours
Interesting, test should all be automated (or as an option).. and it sounds a bit noisier? So, very much similiar to the HR then?
The good thing is the test only has to be ran once when you first get it and as far a noise, it's really not that noisy compared to my large HR with the external vacuum pump.
Wow!!
Location of the control screen should have been placed near the top of the unit. It looks uncomfortable bending down to view and operate the machine.
I really don’t think that you should compare this to the medium Harvest Right FD and claim it does 25% food as a selling point. I think you should compare this unit to the XL Harvest Right FD that does almost triple the amount of the Cube. The medium HR cost $2,895 the unit you are showing cost $5,299 with the special discount which is $400 more than the HR X-large unit. The cube will do about 17 lbs of food in one batch the HR will do 40-50 lbs in a single batch. The HR is a proven product and has been around for years and the reason they do not incorporate the pump into their unit is because the vacuum pump is usually the first major part to fail. I have used my medium HR pretty much nonstop for over three years and other than a few door seals it has worked flawlessly.
I have had a Harvest Right freeze dryer for 14 months. Has had major issues with support. The freeze dryer came not functional. It currently is still not functional.
I know how you feel. I've had many calls to HR for vacuum leak problems when it was new right out of the box and tearing down the machine to find it. Then lost all refrigerant do to it leaking and had to send it back which the whole process took one month.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading finally, yesterday the machine has been removed from repair ticket after nearly 17 months. They agreed to extend the warranty to the end of September this year. I haven't the time to fully test the Harvest Right machine at this particular time due to garden planting and newly hatched chicks along with 2.5 month old chicks. It's too hot to even run the machine this past week of temperatures in the 90s. They discovered a short in the wiring to the heating racks... so why didn't they listen in the first place.
I’m a big fan of the harvest right XL… HUGE 6 tray system with a very quiet reliable vacuum pump. I’m not sure if you can get much bigger than an XL without going commercial. The XL takes a 110 DEDICATED outlet. The 220 connection is too powerful, this would probably ruin the machine. You can produce twice as much product compared to the harvest large. I personally have four XL machines and one large harvest machine. Home depot sells the harvest machines with their normal promotions, no interest for 6 months to a year on new credit cards or in-store purchases.
OK Pete first of I am not coming after you, I am letting you know about PrepforLife Customer Serv. Saw your video on the machine and liked it. had questions about the oil free pump Used the contact button on there site and asked away . Is there any rebuild or periodic Maintenance due on the pump. Is it easy to remove from the machine. Is there any cost for the Maintenance and how much. Well have not heard from them as yet still waiting though. This info is not in the owners manual or anywhere on the site that I can see. So just a heads up you might want to check into that. I know HR had a Problem with that (800.00 to rebuild the old oil free after a year or so.) . I do like to watch your channel have gotten a lot of good ifoo from you.
Hi Gary, I asked them this question when they asked me to do the video and the owner told me that if the pump goes bad, they will send a new one. The pump is very easy to replace, it's in the lower back part of the machine when you take the back cover off. I don't know if there's a rebuild kit for the pump but I'll ask them if they do. They've ran some of their freeze dryers for two years non stop, that could not be done with a Harvest right I can assure you of that from my own problems I've had with my Harvest right.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thanks for the info. I have heard the stories about the old HR oilless pump not good , I do have the premium pump with my HR (Xternal) works great. Had a lot of problems with the Vac errors but since they upgraded the software It's been ok. I'm just a little concered they have not answered my email. not a good sign for CS.
I just talked to Prep4Life and they told me that there is no rebuild kit. They feel confident that after running them non stop for two years that these vacuum pumps will last a long time. They will replace the pump if it goes bad and it's under warranty too.
Hi Gary, We are happy to answer whatever questions you might have. We sent a few responses to your emails, but they don't seem to be getting through. Please check your promotional and junk mail folders. Thank you
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thanks for the update Pete. I will keep an eye out for any developement on them.
Ok, so now I've received my new Cube. How lovely - except it's not. I can't get it to form an adequate vacuum and of course the P4L website has absolutely NO troubleshooting information. I HATE that I read and watched every single Cube review and video I could find. And of course, not a single reviewer had this problem. Now, I'll be pulling out the food and will have to wait until Monday to take to tech support. What a shame.
If it's something simple and remedied on Monday, then I'll come back and update this review.
It might be that the door needs adjustment. Here's a video from their UA-cam channel that shows how to adjust the door so it seals properly. ua-cam.com/video/6bz-jZoRfzU/v-deo.html
My brother bought the Harvest Right medium with 5 tray capacity. On sale for around $2400.00. Oil is cheap. I don’t see an advantage to this machine
This looks exactly same as the 4patriot freeze dryer? Are they built by the same manufacturer? The 4patriots takes forever to freeze dry something simple. How about this “cube” thing?
I'm pretty sure that Prep4Life was selling them to 4patriots a while back. Now Prep4Life is selling them. This freeze dryer doesn't take that long to freeze dry.
after one year, what are your thoughts?
You had the freezer on for 30 minutes and it only went down to 64??
So which do you like better? I can't decide which one to buy....
The HR has been around for a while now but it has it's problems and I have had vacuum leaks and refrigerant leak problems with my large HR. The Cube freeze dryer is a fairly new machine but was built because of all the problems HR had and still has with their freeze dryers. I can't say the Cube will never have problems but prep4life feels that this machine will run trouble free for a long time.
$5000 for this machine? Most families can’t justify these prices.
I hate these paid commercials. Sorry, but I have to express my honest opinions. Too old to kiss you know what.
Yep it's expensive for a lot of people, that's why I drive a mini van and not a Cadillac SUV. A lot goes into manufacturing a machine like this and companies are also paying more for parts, labor and the whole manufacturing process, they can't just give these machines away. Also the old say applies here, you get what you pay for.
Also I was not paid anything for this video nor is this machine mine!
What kind of AC requirements are there? Does it need a dedicated circuit etc.?
It runs oh 120 volt 15 amp. I would try to run it on an outlet that doesn't have anything else running on it because you don't want to be freeze drying and then plug in a large appliance in and trip the breaker.
Is it quieter then the Harvest Right. Or does it still need to go outside
It's slightly quieter than the HR because the vacuum pump is internal.
do you have to PRE-FREEZE the product before freeze drying?
It's best to pre-freeze your food but not necessary. The freeze dryer will freeze it for you if you press "not frozen" on the display, but it will obviously take longer to freeze dry.
What is the noise level compared to Harvest Guard?
It's actually slightly less than the HR because the vacuum pump is internal.
But the prep for life FD is $5K! HR is like half that price!
How much heat does this generate while running?
Hardly any heat comes out of this machine which is amazing compared to my large HR.
Do you have to freeze what ever your gonna freeze dry first?
Yes except candy
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👍
I’ve wrestled with buying a FD for 3 years. My issues are electrical availability (going to have to have electrician upgrade/add to breaker box) space , and dealing with changing oil on the competition’s models.
If I buy one I will probably do mainly meats. Can you FD raw and cooked meat? How do you prep your meat? Thanks 😊
The Cube freeze dryer runs on a regular 120 volts 15 amp breaker, so it will plug in anywhere in your house. You can FD raw or cooked meats, just do them separately and make sure when you store them that you label the mylar bag raw or cooked.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading thanks so much. 😊👍
We have over 20 people just counting our kids and grandkids. No one in the family keeps more than a week of food other than my husband and I. We both have physical disability issues and I just can’t garden and can like I did. If I purchase this it will be to store food for our family for future use. Thanks again
Hi Linda, if you do proceed with the purchase of a freeze dryer for meats, one important thing to note is that raw or cooked, the less fat in the meat the longer it will keep. We have done both raw and cooked with great success. Best of luck to you trying to help your family get prepared!
The HR small and medium dryer doesn’t require a special outlet. I’m willing to try a cube, but I’m concerned about the amount of heat the pump will generate being enclosed in the cubes case. They get seriously hot! Not sure how the compressor and condenser will be able to cope with those conditions in the long run. Will be interesting to see. If it works out, great! Competition drives innovation! I own several Medium and Large HR dryers. No issues expect for a firmware update that had a bug. Oldest machine is 4.5 years old.
@@jpsabovebeyondfreezedriedg1961 I can tell you that the cube freeze dryer produces very little heat compared to my large HR. That tells me that there is very little friction going on in the vacuum pump.
Really love my harvest right, but this also looks interesting. Seems expensive.
It's better quality, less repairs. They've ran these for two years straight with out a problem and I can see even though we haven't had it long that it's built better.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading I looked at this weighing the option we felt like the pump inside is a big problem. We used to use those kinds of pumps and they won't last like oil vane pumps. Oil free pumps in general will all fail in about 1 year of use.
@@carolclarkson4859 yet the company did say their machines have run for 2 years straight...I wonder how much maintenance it has had in those 2 years and under what conditions. I have heard oiless pumps being maintenance free is not true. Even HR oiless pumps need to be sent in for servicing every x years and a large cost of shipping+labor.
It does not show your discount code, and I am up to place order. Is there a problem with it?
You should be able to put peteb4x4 at check out.
If you put the cube freeze dryer in your cart using my referral link at check out, there's a place to put the coupon code peteb4x4 so you can receive the four extra trays and silicone mats.
Try to refresh your page.
Only have the oil free version is a hard pass for me.
It’s too expensive for what you get. You can get a large HR with oilfree for that. Or even an XL with premiere pump. And no worries about problems with an internal pump or electronics at the bottom which is a design flaw HR corrected years ago. Hard pass.
I think HR uses a round drum for a reason as well. Can't remember why.
@@fr0gd0ggie I wonder if the round design holds up to the external pressure applied while maintaining a vacuum. A cylinder is a stronger design, just not sure if that will matter in this use.
@@svenholmgren5015 Yes it will! Listen to all the cracking noise of the ice when repressurized. That's the walls bowing inward and then moving back to their original position putting strain on the ice making it crack. You get some with the HR machine, but nowhere near what you hear with this one. That flexing is going to put a lot of strain on the corners of the chamber leading to metal fatigue and cracks. That chamber is an implosion waiting to happen.
Please do updates
I should have a video up next week.
How about now after almost a year? Still doing well?
5000.00 is WAY to expensive. Do you know how much freeze dried food you could buy with 5000.00!?
Your not thinking big enough. Do you realize how much more food you can create with a freeze dryer by making it your self.
Not much really. And it’s garbage food full of salt. I’m so happy to have a freeze dryer but still think Harvest Right is the best option.
why is it so darn pricey????
It's usually build and quality that makes things more expensive. I've had constant vacuum leaks and loss of refrigerant in my large Harvest right. Like anything you save money on, do you want to be constantly fixing it or using it.
So much more expensive than Harvest right freeze dryers
I agree but not all cars are the same price either. It's also about the quality.
Thats a lot of vacuum!
Not all parts are made in US Can't be, some parts ie computer boards are not made in US any longer, so just tell the truth
Yep, that's the world we live in today.
No thanks!
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Toooo rich for me