Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you really need a dehydrator, this is a good one (although I've never used any others, so I can't really compare them). I have made dried fruit and veggie 'chips', fruit leathers, turkey jerky and even tofu jerky. Everything has come out fine although some items took 12 hours to dry completely (which apparently is the norm). The unit does generate a small amount of heat in the immediate vicinity, and I wonder how much energy it uses (probably not much, but if you use it a lot, for hours at a time, it may add up). HOWEVER, after a few weeks I had to really ask myself if I NEEDED a dehydrator. Except for the jerky, it's proably easier to buy dried fruit than to dry it myself, and the price differential isn't that great. My favorites are dried apples and bananas and neither come out the way they taste store bought. In addition, it's not always as easy as just slicing the fruit or vegetable and laying the slices on the trays. Many items require pre-cooking or pre-treating, so it can be a time consuming process. I've become addicted to the turkey jerky, so the dehydrator turned out to be a good investment (it's impossible to find jerky made from ground turkey on the market!). But before you buy any dehydrator, decide if you really need it and if it wouldn't be easier and cheaper to buy dried food. If you intend on making jerky of any kind, a dehydrator will no doubt pay for itself in short order, but if you're getting it mainly for fruits and veggies, you might come to a different decision.