Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been wanting one of these for years, having heard so many good things about them. I have an old Aroma Dehydrator that I have had for at least 15 years, and it was passable--but slow. And I know I could not dry certain foods in it at all without problems. So, after drying some surplus zuchinni (who doesn't have that?!) that took 18 hours, I decided to pull the trigger. These dryers are not cheap. I passed on the economy version, as well as the one with the built in timer. I figured I could just use a plug-in timer. When the box arrived, I was initially dismayed at the sheer size of this thing! Now, I know it would be big, but somehow I hadn't imagined a machine just as big as my big ol' microwave! I have a tiny kitchen, and this dryer was certainly not going to fit on any counter. I put it on my little table, and it took of half of the real estate. Now, I have lots of kitchen equipment stored in the basement. Canner, meat grinder, the old dehydrator, etc. But the Excalibur was so big and bulky, I was reluctant to have to carry it up and down the stairs--hey, I ain't getting any younger. So what I did was set it up in the basement on top the dryer, laid some paper on the adjoining washing machine, and plugged it in. I sliced my zucchini upstairs (better light) and put the slices in a bowl to take downstairs. I like to sprinkle a light coating of salt on the zucchini chips, so took that with me. I used 6 medium zukes, and it only fit on 5 of the trays. I set the timer for the maximum time (14 hrs), and went upstairs to bed, figuring I could take off the chips that were dry, and figure how much more time it needed while I was away at work. Seven hours later I awoke, and decided to check on the progress, and was amazed to find EVERYTHING was dried perfectly an evenly! 7 hours (and they might have even been finished at 6 hours) as compared with 18 hours with my old dehydrator! So I am initially VERY impressed. I like the built in thermostat, and I like the way the trays are nice and square, and the massive amount of space that can be utilized. Last year I dehydrated tomatoes, and had to do 2 or 3 loads, 24 hours at a time. I cannot WAIT until I get those 'maters on this workhorse! I have a lot of peaches coming in. I am going to try my hand a leather, and even use up some of that apple butter I put up last fall that nobody eats much of. I ordered some silicone sheets from Amazon; I would have gotten the Excalibur ones, but the cost was just too prohibitive. I know they are an American company, and cannot charge the cheap prices that China can, but I am on a budget, so have to make do. All in all I am really happy with this machine. It will live in the basement, but that is okay for my needs. The only thing I will miss is the wonderful smell the permeates the house when I dry the basil. Maybe if I leave the cellar door open... UPDATE--- If yours makes that annoying vibration that starts after it has warmed up (not the fan guard), I found a fix for mine. Once the vibration starts, turn it around and gently loosen one or both of the nuts in the back that attach to the fan. Not much, just a tiny bit--less than a quarter of a turn will quiet it down, but the nuts will still be tight enough to be secure. What a relief!