Customer Reviews

Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray Food Dehydrator - White

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased my White 9 tray Excalibur 3000 series 2 years ago and I'm so very pleased that I did!

I purchased it directly from Excaliber and not through Amazon or any of its third party sellers. At the time, Excaliber/KBI direct was the only way to purchase the 3000 series white model but the price was good, shipping free, the service excellent ~ plus, and a big plus with me, a free 10 year warranty!

As it is quite a large(but light-weight)appliance, the white is less imposing than the black model in my small white kitchen. It has worked exceedingly well to meet the requirements of my raw vegan diet. It did get a lot of use the first year that I had it, more so then than now. I have been eating less dehydrated food so don't use it as often as I first did but still I find it easy to use and handy when I do need a dehydrator and I'm glad to have one.

My only problem, and it's a minor one, is the noise. It is not especially quiet but I still give it 5 stars. I have remedied the problem easily enough by simply moving it to another room when I am dehydrating an item that requires a longer drying period, such as the tomatoes I'm dehydrating right now which have been drying for 3 days at low temperature.

If you are shopping for a good dehydrator, Excalibur is the one to buy. I recommend getting the 9 trays too. You'll be glad to have them over the smaller ones. And do shop around for the best price and consider Excaliber for that warranty.

I ordered this not knowing what to expect, there are a lot of great reviews out there, then there are some that would have you believe this thing is a shoddy product with no intentions of ever working. But for the options out there and having spoken with several people about this product I figured I would pick one up.

I have used the dehydrator several times now and I must say that I am thoughly impressed. Turn it on before you go to sleep and by the time you wake up voila, dried stuff. Heat works lovely, fan blows relatively quiet. Keep in mind that when you read reviews that say this thing is HUGE, believe them, this thing is the size of a Volkswagen!!! Yet thanks to it's size it can be stuffed with food to suit your drying needs. I cannot state enough how much I love this product, it is without doubt the best thing for my lifestyle. Now I just can't wait until I can harvest my garden and have dried spices and veggies to go with my dried fruit.

If you are still on the fence about this dehydrator go check youtube and watch some videos, one nice lady has about 15 videos of stuff that she has done and tips for storage, and all of it was done using the Excalibur! Oh and yes the food preparation and storage are just as important as drying times and temps. A little practice is required to get it just right to your liking, my bananas needed an extra 2 hours of drying time to get them as crispy as I like them, and also be aware of your ambient humidity, as drying will take longer when there is more moisture in the air. Most things associated with drying are common sense others need to be read in books, but all in all a very worthy hobby or food storage practice.

Have fun and happy drying!!!


Update: April 19 2011. Still working great for me, we have dried small mountains of food! We have taken great strides in figuring out what works and what doesn't when it come to drying. My kids love making their own snacks and life is healthier.

XCELLENT product! Nice large size makes it easy to prepare for the week to come! I can make raw breads, freeze my extra! I run a 2 week rotation! I use this every other day normally, preparing parts of the meal that require time in the dehydrator a day in advance.............works out WONDERFULLY!

I bought extra teflon sheets soon after purchase. It is a little noisy, however since it puts out some heat it will be going in the garage for the summer, looking forward to drying my large tomato crop

Our Excaliber 3900 dehydrator is fantastic. We are having a lot of fun with it. Shipping was very fast. No problems.

Other than it being HUGE on my counter - it's terrific. The food tastes terrific!

After 2 weeks of using every day, I've had no problems.
It's summertime now and humidity is high. Logic says everything will dry faster during winter months when humidity is much better/lower.

The re-hydrated foods are surprisingly pleasing.

The 3900 runs quietly and does not generate the room heat I had been concerned about during hot weather. Much of the air recirculates before exiting.

The trays and mesh are easy to clean and work with.

Excalibur's claim that the machine runs for only about 5 cents per hour is 'questionable'. I cannot prove nor disprove that claim, but have my doubts, especially given that my air conditioner has to do some extra work during hot weather. Excalibur also gives a cost comparison of different processes of food storage. They are way behind on several prices. (The book is dated February, 2009). They do not publish the formula or the actual cost per kilowatt the estimate is based on. I'd like to see an independent lab's results based on today's energy costs.

Obviously, running a dehydrator during cold weather, with furnace active, is more energy efficient than during hot weather.

All the same, even if my energy costs are triple their published figure, the savings and convenience appear well worth it in elimination of food spoilage and my ability to purchase many items at sale prices. Many frozen items from my crowded freezers are now dehydrated and properly packed in mason jars with oxygen absorbers.

I had built a dehydrator out of a hot plate, exhaust fan and a file cabinet to see if I would like dehyrating my garden crops. It did not take me very long to decide that I needed a more effective unit. I watched the great Excaliber web site multiple times before deciding which unit met my needs. I have been running it day and night, literally, since it arrived. If I do not have any fresh items, I go to the freezer and dry the frozen veggies from last year. I do not have to move trays because of some not drying at the same time. The trays clean up very easily with soap and water. I am well on my way to not having to freeze or can my crops. The only thing I would like is for the mesh to be dish washer safe. Other than that, It has met all of my expectations.

After years of buying expensive dried fruits, herbs, jerky, and fruit leathers I ordered this product. So far the dried fruits and veggies turn out much better than anything from the store. The motor/fan are fairly quiet so noise is at a minimum. Could not be happier with the purchase.

Have had this for a year and LOVE LOVE LOVE it so much! Oh, the things I've made, the things I will make!!! A great buy! A bit noisy, but we have it in our utility room so I just close the door and let it do its thing. I did not purchase the paraflex sheets, I just use parchment paper and it works great! My 13 year old son used it to make a raw treat recipe for his math class (an assignment in fractions/measurements). We use it for all kinds of raw recipes and have been very impressed! To sum it up in a few words: YUM, NUTRICIOUS FOOD-NO HOT KITCHEN! yay!