I bought this to make dog treats. I was disgusted with the warnings about buying them, so I really paid attention to the ingredients. I then spent some guilt ridden hours over what we had been feeding our babies. A downside of making treats without preservatives is that they can get moldy. Add in humid Florida weather, then make room in your freezer. Hence, the dehydrator.
I spent weeks comparing makes & models, going back & forth. From other reviewers I knew that I wanted a timer, the right fan placement, and not too noisy. Price of course, for what I was going to use it for.
This fit the bill. I started just drying the dog treats after baking them but then I got cocky and decided to make jerky. OK so the 1st batch was disgraceful and inedible. Hint: you are warned to not make the meat too thick. Well the opposite is true- don't make it too thin, either!
I had the butcher slice some meat for me, but I also found thin slices of sirloin that I simply had to cut in half with scissors. Perfect. I partially froze a chicken breast to slice it, and that was easy. Flank steak is wonderful. I even sliced a beef heart and wrapped it with sweet potato strips that I steamed for a few minutes to soften.
While I've made some mistakes, they were all mine, the unit performed great. I never have to move items around because one section is drying faster. Keep everything the same size, or at least the same size on each tray where you can pause the unit to remove a tray and keep the rest going.
I have 6 months at this and I couldn't be happier. That includes 3 dogs (one diabetic ) one daughter and one very happy jerky loving son-in-law. Not to mention the money I've saved and why I bought it in the first place. If offered a store bought treat or a homemade one, they immediately go for homemade. Smart dogs!
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