Nesco FD-79 Snackmaster Pro Digital Food Dehydrator for Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Meat, Vegetables & Herbs, Gray, 4 Trays, Grey

My old Nesco dehydrator finally died after 20 years. It was the model with the manual dial and no timer, and what I hated about that model was it could only be turned off by unplugging it, and I had to remember to unplug it at the right time. This was a great price for me to get this digital model to replace it. The digital controls make a big difference. You can leave it plugged in and turn it on and off with a button, and you can set the digital timer to turn it off for you. The digital temp lets you set exact degrees instead of guessing with a manual dial. Other than that, it works great just as my old Nesco dehydrator did for dehydrating herbs, fruits, veggies and jerky.

I had the big Gardenmaster FD-1018 for years and absolutely loved it. But it was just too big. So I bought this unit because it was smaller and lighter. I have made one batch of beef jerky to test it. I’ll say this, it is a great unit. Quieter than my old unit. Four trays are enough to dehydrate 2.5 lbs of beef. However, I did a test of temperature when set to 160°F. The top tray gets to 164°F but the bottom only gets to 154°F. So be sure to rotate the trays while drying. The trays are also lower quality than the ones from the FD-1018, but I’ll just go easy on them and they’ll be fine. In the end, I like how this unit is compact and quite quiet, compared to my old larger unit. I also like that the fan is on the top, so drippings on the bottom are no big deal. The bottom can go in the dishwasher with the trays. And pro tip, when dishwashing the trays, pull them out before the dry cycle so they don’t melt.

Heats and blows air from the top so it’s easy to clean. Small crumbs fall to the bottom and easily wipe clean. Motor seems to work well and dries quickly. Came with extra tray inserts. I really like the design and simplicity of it.

I've been wanting a dehydrator for awhile to prevent food waste and to make fruit/vegetable chips. I looked into which brand people recommended and Nesco kept popping up. I'm happy to say that this Nesco Dehydrator has been great! It's very quiet and it has done a good job dehydrating what I've put into it. So far I've put in some mango slices and mint and they dehydrated fairly quickly. It's about the size of a pressure cooker/slow cooker so keep that in mind when it comes to counter space. Controls are also intuitive and easy to use. It also came with some jerky mix which I haven't gotten the chance to use but I'm excited to try it out soon.

dehydrates jerky in about 12 hours depending how thick you like it, I cut mine about 1/4" thick and it turns out excellent, just garlic salt, Pepper, liquid smoke and oregano, the best jerky ever..... I found the Nesco dehydrator to be the best for making home made jerky, I've had several others that didn't cut it, I love the timer feature, now I don't have to be around to stop it when it's done, just set it and leave it, easier to clean too, spray it with some non-stick and go, recommended to anyone.