LEM Food Dehydrator - 5 Tray, Black

This dehydrator works great. We have used it for quite awhile and has always done a very good job. Sometimes the fan vibrates and makes noise but that is bearable when it happens. Having 10 trays for drying herbs makes it easy to do all at once. Tip: buy dryer sheets when drying herbs or small items.

I am so glad I bought this unit over the Excalibur ! It was half the price , has better control , built solidly and super easy to use AND clean . So far I have made beef jerky , lamb jerky , dried apples , mushrooms , tomatoes , strawberries and pineapple . EVERYTHING came out fantastic and clean up was a breeze ! At this time I can't say enough good things about this dehydrator . I just hope the machine lasts . It seems to be a quality build so I think it will . Plug it in , set temperature , set time , hit start and walk away . It is that easy ! There are thousands of tips out there to help you out so I'm not going to get into that but you will not find a better dehydrator at this price . The Excalibur has NO TIMER ! Just a temperature control . It doesn't even have an on / off switch !!! It goes on when you plug it in and off when you unplug it . AND it is $ 250 ! The LEM 1152 is half the price and works awesome . Great great great machine ! Get one , you will not be disappointed .

I researched at least a dozen models over a weeks time before deciding on this LEM 5 tray and I'm very happy with it so far, No issues at all, I thought the door was on hinges but it's not, I didn't like that at first but now I think it's handy to just move it out of the way and then snaps right into place. I have made three batches of beef jerky, filled it twice with fruit like pineapple, mango, banana and two batches of apple chips and it dried everything perfect. I have always used the round dehydrators in the past but this one works a lot better because it dries faster, and more even and you can also fit more on the square 15'x15' racks and don't have the hole in the middle, I've seen some reviews saying that you have to rotate the trays because the air flow is uneven and I think that is with any of them, but really thought everything was pretty evenly dried although it wouldn't hurt to rotate the trays once, but doubt you would notice some being more dry than others. I could see that happening in the 10 tray model though. Also, This thing is really quiet, I wasn't expecting that, but overall for the price I can't imagine anyone having a problem with the way it performs. I would certainly recommend this .

I bought this a few months ago and have used it many times to make Jerky. I can tell you that I absolutely love this dehydrator. It dries very fast and talk about quiet. You can’t even hear it running unless you walk up to it. I can easily do 10lbs of jerky at a time with some extra space left to spare. This is a nice LEM product and in my opinion worth every penny compared to my last round dehydrator I owned. I would recommend this to all.

I have tried other brand grinders and dehydrators. LEM is the way to go. Save money somewhere else and just buy a LEM grinder and this dehydrator instead of some no-name house brand. I use their jerky gun also. No complaints. On this dehydrator you want to leave some room on the trays for air flow. I actually run it for 2 cycles because I prefer drier jerky. Also, I rotate the trays from the middle to the top and bottom. The top and bottom trays get more air flow than the ones towards the middle.

This thing takes up a lot of counter space, but I'm using it to dry fruit at least every other week. Super easy to use, set the time and push the start button. It has a heat dial that I only use it for two settings, max for drying pepperoni and summer sausage to make jerky and then I dial it down to 140 to dry fruit. Some fruit can be done in 7 hours and some can be done in 9 hours. Pepperoni slices dry down to crunchy chips but I could never get the summer sausage down to crunchy chip level. We're going to start drying down our own fresh herbs. I think in the long run, this will save money versus buying store bought jerky, trail mix and spices.

LEM Products 778A Stainless Steel 10 Tray... is as described.Wife had a hard time figuring out to assemble shelf bracket, but, I get why no instructions, --they just slip/hook in and self evident or should be, but, may not be. Put a picture online for folks "like that"... they exist and no, they're not "kidding" :)Quality, --as good as it can be. (As one from a very diverse self sufficient engineering background, 100% on that)I just don't get why I can't pick the SS option here and get the SS shelves and NOT have to spend another $100 and have 10 chrome shelves... for what? So, I stuck with the Chrome option. My stove is Chrome, all have been life long. But, would've been nice to get a 50% discounted option!, as chioice, --would'a spent it and got it.I did check the Temperature as advised everywhere... used 3 different thermometers and in different locations and yes, --empty (I know why, good to explain though for "those" folks who need an (*) instruction.Anyway, when set at max 150F on Temperature, mine was hitting 160F and seemed to click off and back on at maybe (hard to be "that" precise...) 145F ish. So the range of hi/lo looked right to me and favours high side.One useful idea I had to check the even spread of air temp --was to use my Laser gun thermometer for surface reading on the outside (the only practical way I could think of)... -- checked ALL EXTERNAL surfaces in all locations, all 6 sides, empty unit... all "averaged" about 85F -- so, you are not really gonna get burned until you open it and grab a shelf at >100F... so pretty safe IMO. (Yes, for me at >130F it's gonna get my attention)The only "hot spot" I found, from external reading was the (facing the unit) top left corner where their internal Temp Control Bulb is located, --read approximately 92F (again, external temp). Otherwise across all surfaces saw that above stated reading. Why important? The ENTIRE INTERNAL temp would then be consistent, correct? Yes, correct.The air coming from the front vents when set at 150F max for Jerky, was reading about 112 - 130F, --yes with 5 Shelves, and empty relatively, (top down loaded) full. So, there's your evaporative, "AC" affect/effect :) ! , indeed! No, I did not keep an internal remote thermometer... over kill. I'm very HAPPY with the temp check.So, last night did my first batch of Beef Jerky, --yes, as commented 1-lb/shelf so 5 shelves. I set it at 150F max, and Analog Timer at 5hrs and was exactly aligned knob line and time set line and ran slightly more than 5hours but, sorry not exact, was maybe 5 mins, 10 mins more (?). So, maybe do a 1-2mm or so slightly under line to line timer line setting. You'll get the exact time if collate to a digital timer. And, remember, my AMBIENT Temp was about 80F at 50% relative humidity and my very lean Top Round was cut under 1/4in thick... went for 1/8 and got what I got. (I'm pretty good with my Ceramic Blade Knife and hand slicing beef --get a meat slicer if gonna to this allot, --no regrets with that time saver and consistency element.) Otherwise, hand cut 5-10x's a year, is plenty good enough.What else... durability looks good. ANY hand person can fix this no problem IMO. If the Fan or Heating Element Wire ever goes, -- what, like a half hour to fix. Unless cheaper to buy yet another one? Well, that's how that goes. IMO the >700watt element is plenty!I did experiment with Vinegar 5% acidity presoak and post dry at 275F/10mins thing... --eh, at 5lbs, cut as I did 5 hours was *perfect, imo. If you need survival food, heck, go for it. If you're gonna throw it into a Mason Jar, in the Frig... 4-5hrs even not presoaked, just use a marinade is plenty good. Otherwise, it got tough and unless very precise withe post-cook timing... will get a "burned" taste and again, but very chewy... --not bad at all either... but, this is not 1 year back woods emergency food.As long as it hits that 160F (remember at my internal room, "ambient" temp of 80F ish... may be 75F...) I'm fine with this. I did a 1lb of 97% of ground beef and did not like it... as online said folks in WI wouldn't :) ... more like a, well, not for me and was well flavoured with spices. The texture was not "jerky" like. Very easy to eat though, that way. So, if need that, e.g., bad teeth... go for it. But, the post cook thing 275F/10min... but very precise... you won't make chips, just get a burnt taste. I used the Lazer Gun Thermometer... and the surface was 275F...--honestly at 1/8 dried thickness, if the surface was 160F... it would all be 160F. So if muscle meet jerky... sit that and keep checking every min after the first 3-5min IMO! Remember, I'm new to this, like day one, --just not "new" here :)As far as *Noise... yes the fan is quiet and there is NO "on" light... none at all. HOWEVER, the Front Panel started to rattle loudly! So, I put a pot holder under one leg to kind of "twist" it a bit, if that makes sense... put some tension on the box... took a couple of tries but then worked. Otherwise OMG 5hrs of that would be unpleasant and then I guess, use what?, tooth picks or etc. But, that's going to happen unless there's a latch to pull it tight. I didn't want to bend the panel.So, especially at this price point <$200 pre tax amount... I'm very happy. So long as it lasts and Customer Service if needed remains as others posted.(Forgive my typos, the Font here is small and well, this is not a novel, just notes for you all to use if choose to do so.)

Funcionando con eficiencia desde que se adquirió. Deshidratado de frutas y verduras.

Para ser mi primera máquina deshidratadora siento que esta súper bien, no se calienta en el exterior, es súper fácil de usar y cuando termina su proceso te avisa con un pitido. Ya llevo meses con ella y he trabajado exageradamente bien.

We wanted all stainless steel construction, no plastic, and chrome plated racks. This unit was the most economical one that had all the features we wanted. I appreciate having simple electromechanical controls since they can be easily and inexpensively replaced should they malfunction since they are also generic by nature, unlike needing to replace a pcb control board on those slicker, more expensive units. The unit is also very quiet due to it's big fan. It dries evenly, I have never had to deal with moving racks around to try to balance the drying effect. This is a great value for a dehydrator.

I wanted a dehydrator and I did a ton of research on what unit would work best for my needs.I looked at all kinds of brands and hands down this is a winner. The trays are large and you can process a ton of food at one time which ends up saving you money on electricity as you don't have to do multiple batches. The unit is very well built, quiet and very easy to clean. Finding silicone trays and accessories is easy as the shelves are square. The doors can be a little tricky to open, but once you get used to popping them open then it isn't a huge deal. It's nice having a timer and the dial temperature control is great as you are not bound to 5 degree increments like on a digital machine. I anticipate that this dehydrator is going to last us many, many years.

Muy silencioso, me ha funcionado muy bien!Muuy recomendado