Customer Reviews

Nesco American Harvest FD-1018P 1000 Watt Food Dehydrator Kit

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Somewhere in my life - I think in Boy Scouts - I developed a taste for beef jerky. Years later, in grad school, I realized I could make it at home, as well as dry fruits and vegetables for snacks, with a magical machine called a dehydrator. At the time I picked up a cheap machine - $24, I think - from Wal-Mart. I was able to make some ground beef jerky, dry some fruits and make my own ground red pepper from peppers I grew in pots in the porch. Soon, the dehydrator lid was cracked, the trays warped, other things got my attention, and forming jerky strips from ground beef was tedious without a jerky gun, so the machine got put up for a number of years.

Six or seven years later, I'm in my career and new house. The interest in making jerky and drying foods is renewed, bolstered by an interest in drying foods for camping. I tried to use the old machine. It's only temperature control was a variable vent on the lid - but you still didn't know what temperature you were drying at. (which can be the difference between safe jerky, and jerky that will make you quite sick) I'm probably lucky I never got sick. The airflow was also quite inconsistent. One end of an item would be overdried, while the other end wasn't dried at all. These things would just ruin entire batches of food. Additionally, there were no drying sheets available for it to make leathers ("fruit roll-ups," but you can also dry things like spaghetti sauce.) I decided to get a better dehydrator.

I researched dehydrators, and found several books and online reviews pointing to the American Harvest (NESCO) Gardenmaster. The FD-1018 and FD-1010 are the same machine, but the FD-1018 includes more trays, more leather sheets, more mesh sheets (a finer mesh than the tray which allows drying of smaller objects, like chopped veggies, without falling through the trays), and a book on drying.

The most important features of this dehydrator are the temperature control (dry veggies at 135-145F, meats at 145-155F), and the fact that it is carefully designed for uniform airflow on every sheet. This last advantage cannot be emphasized enough. With the Gardenmaster, I don't have to worry about moving items around and shuffling trays for consistent results. It's actually pretty amazing how well it works!

The Gardenmaster has been getting a workout making jerkies, fruit leathers, and dehydrating vegetables for taking to camp.

As for choosing the FD-1010 or FD-1018, if you're investing this kind of money, I'd highly recommend going to the FD-1018. The price difference more than made up for the cost of purchasing the additional trays, additional accessories and book separately (at least when I purchased it). You will find that you can EASILY fill a half dozen trays. (I used 5 trays the other night to dry just 2 lbs of ground beef jerky.) You don't want to overcrowd foods. You also get enough leather sheets for all of the trays and enough screens for all of the trays. It's frustrating to find that you have enough trays for your drying task, but only have 2 or 3 screens or sheets. The book HOW TO FRY FOODS by Delong is also included. I intend to cover that in an individual review, but it is a worthwhile book and much more substantial than the directions you'd otherwise receive with a dehydrator.

If you don't want to spend this kind of money until you see how much you'll use it, you may want to try the smaller NESCO FD-50 Snackmaster, which also has temperature control, although it only goes to 145F, which is the minimum for meat. As I said, NESCO seems to know the secret of uniform airflow, and I expect this knowledge to be extended to the FD-50.

Don't try to skimp too much on a dehydrator, or you will pay for ruined food, wasted time and frustration. If it is in your price range, you will no be disappoined with the FD-1018 Gardenmaster.

UPDATE: If you're upgrading to this from a less powerful model, beware that it may dry MUCH faster! I've ruined a couple of batches of jerky - turned REALLY leathery - before I realized I was OVERdrying! Can't leave it drying jerky overnight.

I already own the FD-50 (the smaller version). I found myself wanting more capacity. I did a lot of research but had been so happy with the smaller Nesco I just decided to get its big brother with all the accessories (screens, trays)

I wasn't disappointed.

Preformance - Same as the smaller version, Jerky in 4 hours, apple chips in 6. Higher capacity for sure but not night and day difference from the smaller one. This ones strenght comes in that you can stack a whole lot of trays.

Features - A dehydrator with an off switch. What a concept. Put a timer on it and maybe you'll be in the 20th century! Why they can't put these things on is beyond me. I still use a light timer but at least now I don't have to unplug it.

Build - One another area of improvement over it smaller brother. Seems to be built a lot better. Has more weight to it and just seems like a higher quality item.

If you want a deydrator to handle volume don't hesitate to get this one. Its got plenty of features, power and capacity.

If you are tired of paying too much for dried fruit at the store I strongly recommend a dehydrator. I chose this one based on the good reivews and I haven't been disappointed. Special Note: the more trays the better! To limit drying time I slice fruit very thin so that takes up more trys. Also, there is work involved in the prep and clean up so why not get most fruit out of a single drying session? This is not a quiet item so plan on using it in a different room.

Pros: Great product, easy to use, easy to clean
Cons: Noisy, Out of date booklet.

Special Note: Dried honeydew mellon is wonderful!

The important aspects to look for when looking for a good dehydrator are accurate temperature control, good air flow, and adequate space for the amount of food that you want to dehydrate. I strongly feel that this machine does a superb job fulfilling each of those criteria.

I've had this dehydrator for awhile now, and have pretty much put everything I have in my kitchen into it. I've made tons of beef, elk, and deer jerky with great results. I've dried carrots, peas, corn, tomatoes, garlic, onions, star fruit, pears, strawberries, grapes (into raisins), bell peppers, jalepenos, and various garden herbs. I've even made my own chicken base with this thing. It's great.

In a home kitchen, some may complain about it being a little loud. That should be expected seeing as it is nothing more than a fan and a heating coil with a bunch of plastic trays stacked on top. I think it takes up too much space to keep in the kitchen or living room anyway, so I store mine in the basement where it can make all the noise in the world without bothering anyone. I have used this at work in the professional kitchen, and with the humming and whirling of the vents and ovens and other noise makers throughout the kitchen, it seems virtually noise free.

I've had it running non-stop for as long as a six weeks straight while drying out my garden in preparation for the winter, and have not noticed any problems with over heating or wear. As simple of a design as it is, it seems to be built fairly solid. I'm definitely happy with my investment.

A couple years ago I bought the Ronco and reviewed it (the review is way back there now). I took my own advice and bought this Nesco and oh man am I happy!

I can do three times the amount Jerky in half the time as with the Ronco and don't have to worry about the trays cracking while washing. If you are considering paying the extra $$$ for the Nesco over the Ronco, don't. It's a no-brainer. The Nesco does more Jerky faster, eliminates the need to turn the racks, and you don't have to use kid gloves to handle the trays.

Highly, highly recommended.

I bought this item rather than the FD-1010 model because it includes 8 trays, 8 roll-up sheets and 8 screens. I think this was a great deal. I originally thought of just waiting to see if I would actually need that many screens and roll-up sheets and then buying them separately later. I'm glad I decided against that because my first drying recipe involved a total of 6 trays, each with a roll-up sheet.

The only downside to this item is that it doesn't include a timer. However, in all my research, I wasn't able to actually find a dehydrator with a timer. I just use a Christmas light timer instead. I don't find this item too bulky either. I store it on top of my fridge when not in use. I've been using it to prepare RAW foods and am happy with the lower temperature settings that are available (as low as 95 degrees). I am hoping to find a way to dry meat without having to purchase the preservative sold by Nesco (I'm allergic to the spice packet ingredients and don't need the spice packets sold along with the preservative).

I bought a 1018 from a Nesco dealer. The first time I plugged up the dehydrator and turned on the motor, it sounded like a screwdriver was hitting the fan blades. I took the trays off, and the sound stopped. The trays were all warped and causing the fan shroud to push into the fan blade. I contacted the vendor and they said the manufacturer was responsible. I called the manufacturer and they said that I could return the 2 week old item for repair AT MY COST. The "helpful" customer service lady (insert sarcasm here) at Nesco said that me paying for shipping was in the warranty and I should have read the warranty beforehand, then hung up on me. Maybe "made in America" is not what it used to be.

Buyer beware!!

Love this dehydrator used a couple different ones but loved this one- the 1018 is basicly the 1010 with 4 eatra trays and liners etc. at least that what mine is! But this machine works great I've used up to 18 trays so far and it has no problem drying! If you want a dehydrator this is the one to get!

I have been dehydrating tomato, banana, apple, kiwi, herbs,and beef jerky since I purchased this. My friend who suggested to get one with fan and tempreture control is responsible for choosing this product. And she was right! There is nothing I can think of the cons on this product. I am very happy to use Nesco dehydrator and can recommend it to my friends.

Call me crazy. First, understand, I am no pioneer woman, but the Nesco American Harvest 1000 Watt Dehydrator Kit is what I asked from my husband for Christmas last year. He indulged my whim, secretly thinking this would be another one of those appliances that takes up lots of space; that I would use it once or twice and then watch it collect dust until it ends up on Craigslist.

A full 10 months later, I am happy to report that he was wrong! This baby has gotten a workout! I make a batch of jerky for the kids every couple of months. The jerky is particularly useful for road trips when everyone is a bit hungry but we don't want to stop. Also great for an afternoon outdoors, biking, hiking, and football practices. The perfect high protein snack to tide everyone over!

I routinely make fruit roll-ups, they are a cinch using the fruit roll sheets included in the kit. Using a two-pack of applesauce purchased from the warehouse store, I simply put a bit of oil on the sheet, pour on the applesauce and turn on the dehydrator. It's that easy! It makes me happy when my son asks for a snack and I ask him what he would like, and he asks for these. Simple and healthy.

I intended on trying to dry some roma's from the garden this summer, but my harvest was meager. Maybe next year. I hear other fruit dries beautifully as well.

The good stuff: Lots of research went into choosing just the right model, and I am glad he spent a little extra to get the bells, whistles, and all of the extra trays included in this kit. I can make jerky from 5 lbs of beef in one sitting. Others with less trays take multiple days to make this amount. The included book is all you need to get started and the higher wattage helps to reduce cooking time. No need to shuffle trays with this model.

The other stuff: While I wouldn't classify the dehydrator as "loud", extra noise tends to bug me a bit. I keep this in the laundry room off of the kitchen and shut the door. Doesn't bug me at all there. Additionally, when making jerky, the room you are making it in can smell a little, well - jerky-ish. I am sure to remove any clothes I am hanging in the laundry room before I start.

If you are looking for a great and practical gift idea that the whole family will benefit from, you are looking in the right place. Maybe this year, I will leave some jerky out for Santa instead of cookies and he will leave me something small and sparkly!