Stainless Steel Food Dehydrator with 10 Stainless Steel Shelves

As a small sideline of my smoked salmon business, I've been making smoked salmon jerky & Indian candy for many years, now, using a locally built dehydrator. I wanted to shift to an all stainless steel version, and, after lots of research and indecision, settled on the 10 tray TSM dehydrator. It's a gem. It's shortened the time to jerky stage by several hours and requires much less tray turning than my previous dehydrator and - a real bonus - is a snap to clean up. It's also fairly quiet - certainly much quieter than my previous dehydrator.Now it's two years later (August 2013), and I still think it's a gem. However, it wouldn't start early this year. The seller recommended replacing all of the circuitry, but I had done a continuity check with my electrical metre (I'm Canadian - we spell this word in the French fashion). As a result, I knew that the problem was the on-off switch, which wasn't available from the seller. So I went to Amazon to find a replacement - I found the same switch (Amico red light boat rocker switch) for less than $4 (compared to the about $200 to replace the complete circuitry). When I spoke, again, to the tech at the selling company, he was surprised - but I'm not. This switch is not particularly robust (I bought two, so that the next time I won't have any down time). Still, despite this, my experience with this dehydrator would lead me to buying it again. For the price, it's a fantastic bargain.So now it's nearly 3 years (August 2014) since I purchased this dehydrator, and I've used it a fair bit, though mostly for an intense period of salmon jerky and Indian Candy making, in October and November of each year. Otherwise, it's not much used. Still, today I replaced the on-off switch for a second time. I checked the parts list at The Sausage Maker, and they still do not have the switch listed as a replacement part. They still want to sell a complete back panel as a solution. Nevertheless, this is a good dehydrator. So, yes, buy this machine, but also buy several Amico switches, at the same time. I've just ordered two more!

I use mine for drying beef jerky and grain after sprouting. You will ned a liner on the shelves though for the grain. The settings are easily accessible and the unit is very sturdy. I used mine so often that I bought one for my daughter this Christmas.

works great and cleans easily. Only negative is it rattles when in operation. The front door could be improved to stop the rattle.

I'm guessing that many people spending the extra money to get a dehydrator with stainless steel shelves are doing it for health reasons--i.e., not wanting your food in contact with hot plastic.Well, incredibly, the manufacturers of this over-priced item have not spent the very few extra dollars necessary to isolate the wiring and other electronics from the heated air space--it is just attached to the inside of the back wall! I ran this thing outside for 36 hours, and there was still so much smell from the heated vinyl coverings on the wiring that I could not run it inside without making the kitchen smell like toxic waste.

I give this product 3 star. It's a good product but the are def some flaws. Have been a customer for almost 3 years now. Have had over 5 machines. Noticed the first thing that usually goes wrong is the switch will get old and you will have to replace it with a new one. Usually around 10 months. After about 1 1/2 years the fan will crap out. It doesn't turn smoothly and will eventually just stop working. Always seems to happen after the 1 year warranty.. seems like there is some kind of problem with the fans over time.

Excellent high quality unit. temperature control & timer are pretty accurate. Absolutely Love the HUGE Stainless Steel shelves. I've made 4 batches of jerky in it so far. typically a batch is about 4-6 lbs each and never used more than 4 of the shelves at a time... I probably could have bought the smaller unit for my personal use, but it's nice to have the extra space for better air flow. Only negative I've noticed, occasionally a "rattle" noise can be heard coming from the front door due to the fan operating. So far it goes away when the door is readjusted on its tracks. Overall I love this unit! so much better than the round plastic unit I previously had.

We decided to get the 10 tray dehydrator because we're drying large lots of fruits and vegetables -- enough for 2-3 weeks at a time.This dehydrator worked better than expected right out of the box. Our first batch of dried fruit was wonderful. Much better than store bought. Be sure to get a thermometer to track the temperature if you don't already have one.The stainless steel is great: We clean the shelves easily in the dishwasher, and I don't have to worry about plastic leaching chemicals on our food.Well worth the cost.

Prior to purchase I reviewed many types of dehydrators. I was looking for a product that would last and give good results. I especially wanted to avoid plastic shelves which can add chemicals to the foods and tend to break. I was looking for a unit with an adequate capacity to accomodate processing a bushel and this dehydrator did a fabulous job. The apple slices dried rapidly and were just delicious. The jerky was great. I am looking forward to using it even more this garden season.I was especially pleased with the quality of the dehydrator itself. I had no difficulty getting the stainless steel shelves that I wanted and they clean up easily in the diswasher. You do need a thermometer so you know how long your food will take to dry.