Two Years of Waiting for a Dehydrator That Just Doesn't Deliver

I've been itching to get my hands on a fruit dehydrator for ages, and for some reason, this particular model had me hooked for over a year. I finally managed to snag it this year, but my excitement was short-lived.

When you've got a garden overflowing with apples, pears, berries, and wild mushrooms, and you love foraging for herbs, a dehydrator like this one is a must-have. The difference between dehydrating in this thing and using the oven is like night and day. Even dried tomatoes come out tasting better.

One feature that really won me over was the ability to flip the trays over, making them taller. That's what sealed the deal for me.

It's pretty pricey, coming in at 4,499 rubles, but I don't think it's worth it. I've already regretted not buying a regular Russian dehydrator – it's cheaper and bigger, but I'll get to that later.

Price - 4,499 rubles.Manufacturer - China.Number of trays - 5.Warranty - 1 year.I bought it at DNS, and the salesperson brought it out from the stockroom. The packaging is tiny, which makes it easy to store – it fits perfectly in the box.

The main features are listed on the packaging. Most modern dehydrators have the same features, so nothing really stands out.

The power seems decent at first, but there's a problem with it. When I tried to dry apples at 70 degrees Celsius, I realized that 70 degrees just isn't what it says. I used a thermometer to check, and it's actually between 63-65 degrees Celsius, max.

The user manual was included, but it's all pretty intuitive, so I didn't bother reading it from cover to cover.

The packaging includes all the usual stuff you'd find in any dehydrator. The only thing that's a bit of a letdown is that it only comes with 5 trays, not 8.

I took a closer look at this feature, and it's worth noting that all the buttons make a sound when pressed.

The display is super simple – it shows the time, has a timer, and counts down, as well as the temperature.

I've noticed that if you don't want to constantly unplug the device from the outlet, you can just press the power button, but the display will still show two little dots.

I usually set it for 8 hours because I dry mostly dense and juicy fruits – apples, pears, tomatoes, plums, and so on.

The temperature starts at 35 degrees Celsius. This is suitable for herbs – mint, chamomile, thyme, currant leaves, and so on. Plus, it only takes three hours.

70 degrees Celsius is the maximum temperature, which is perfect for juicier fruits, mainly apples from the garden, some berries, plums, and so on.

But here's the catch – I measured the temperature with a thermometer, and it only reached 65 degrees Celsius, not the claimed 70 degrees. I decided to take the measurement after realizing that my parents' apples dry almost to a crisp in 6-7 hours, while mine take 16 hours!

In general, the dehydrator looks pretty nice, with a pleasant design. It can't compete with larger Russian dehydrators, but unfortunately, a nice design doesn't mean it'll dry veggies, fruits, and berries well...

The top cover is nice, with small holes for air to escape. However, this surface constantly attracts dust because it releases heat. Plus, there are always stains on it that are hard to wipe off.

The airflow comes from there. It's convenient that there's a recess at the bottom – crumbs and small pieces fall in and can be easily removed with a damp cloth.

There's an opening in the middle of each tray – that's where the airflow comes from. I recommend swapping the trays from time to time because the temperature at the bottom is warmer than at the top, and the fruits dry faster.

The trays have really small holes in them, which are narrow and long. Air flows through them just fine, even if you load up a bunch of fruit.

I bought this dehydrator for one reason: the trays look awesome when they're stacked up. But, of course, when they're stacked higher, you can fit bigger pieces of food and get more out of them. So, you can actually flip the trays over and stack them on top of each other, which increases the space between them.

This is a huge plus for me, and it's the only dehydrator I've ever seen that does this. I haven't seen any Russian models that do this, but they do have higher trays to begin with.

The trays themselves are really high-quality, with solid and durable plastic that doesn't bend. They don't give off any weird smells, even when it's hot – over 60 degrees Celsius. To clean them, you just need to soak them and let them air dry. I highly recommend washing them regularly, not stacking them up with unwashed trays, because it attracts flies and can harbor bacteria and other microorganisms.

I've been using this dehydrator to dry apples from my garden, so I can make compotes in the winter without adding any sugar. It's way more convenient than canning them in jars, and it's actually healthier too.

But, after some trial and error, I realized that the 70 degrees Celsius setting isn't actually that hot. It takes a really long time to dry the apples, even when I chop them up into tiny pieces. It takes me around 15-20 hours to dry them, and they're still not fully dry inside. I've seen other dehydrators that can dry even small pears in half in just 10 hours.

As they dry, I stack them all up in one tray and cover it with a lid to increase the temperature. But, unfortunately, I've never actually hit the 70 degrees Celsius mark, not even once this summer.

I have to admit, I did end up drying a certain number of apples, but my dehydrator was running for 18 hours a day. To be honest, I think it'd be cheaper to buy pre-dried apples for soup in the winter than to spend a fortune on electricity and the dehydrator itself.

The pears took even longer to dry, I was worried they'd go bad, so I had to store them in a paper bag in the fridge because I wasn't sure how well they'd dried, and I think I dried them for a whole day too.

Various herbs took around 6-7 hours to dry, I think that's a bit excessive.

I'm not impressed, my parents have had a regular dehydrator for 4 years now, which cost 1700 rubles, and mine is struggling to keep up even with small batches.

It's way easier and faster to dry tomatoes and peaches in the oven than in this dehydrator, although the flavor is better in the dehydrator...

The Verdict.

The design is sleek, the rectangular body takes up less space for storage;The cord is long enough;The trays can be unfolded to increase height;It's quiet;The controls are user-friendly;It has a wide temperature range – from 35 to 70 degrees;The tray with small holes is great for drying small fruits and pieces;Cons:

It doesn't reach the promised 70 degrees;It takes way longer to dry than my parents' old dehydrator;I have to keep it running almost constantly to dry everything properly;The price;I'm not happy with my purchase, I spent a lot of money, and in the end, it's just sitting there running all day, drying apples for 2 days, and pears too.

I wouldn't recommend it, I don't see the point in overpaying for a useless display, a nice design, and trays that can be unfolded.