I currently use 6 trays to dehydrate meat. If I increase this to the full 20 trays, will it increase the necessary drying time? If so, by how much?
1067893
I have used up to 8 trays at one time (only veggies or fruit) and my drying time does not increase, but I do need to rotate the trays halfway through.
1067894
We also only use around 8-10 trays and we do jerky and fruit, I didn't really notice a difference in time when we bought our extra trays but we also rotate the racks halfway through. I am not even sure we need to do that but we just have always done it.
1067895
I went to eight trays and the drying time increased to the point that I bought a 1000 watt unit. The one I bought was well worth the money and just as cheap as buying more trays. Check out Open Country Dehydrator Gardenmaster 1000 Watt you would love it.
1067896
I didn't add 20 so I'm not sure but as far as up to 10 I didn have to add any time it worked just as well. It also depends on what your drying. You can check with the manufacturer as well they have drying guidelines.
1067897
Everything I've read about my American Harvest dehydrator, you're not supposed to use over 10 trays. I've found that when drying meat the bottom trays usually dry faster and I have to move the trays around. I would say 20 trays would probably take longer but you'd be able to remove the bottom trays sooner than the rest. 5 trays of jerky meat for me take about 4-5 hours.
1067898
This particular unit says on the box it can only handle up to 12 trays NOT 10. If you want to use 20 trays you should upgrade to the 1000 watt version.
1129295
I have never used it to dehydrate meat but the manufacture claims you can make jerky in this. If that is your purpose I suggest you get the 6 or more tray model.
109463
I use 11 trays most of the time several times a week for either jerky, fruit or veggies and have done so for the several months I have owned this. I have had no problem with the trays or the unit and believe me it definitely gets a work-out around our house!
1986376
Your better off using a full size oven that heats more consistently than THIS toaster oven. Google how to dehydrate in a full sized oven or better yet, buy a food dehydrater. I have used my full sized oven to make a lot of jerky with good results!
35038
I have this dehydrator, The trays that come with it work best for medium to large items, I have found some heat safe roll-outs that fit these trays to accommodate the smalls and fruit leather.
510854
I use 4 at a time. Could easily do one sheet on each "level" of the dehydrator though... I just only have 4 sheets. If I had more, I'd use more at one time. If I'm pureeing up all of the fruit and roasted veggies I'd rather make one big batch and get a lot...
378415
It all depends on how thick you cut your meat, but at about a 1/4 inch thick cut it will do about 2lbs. How long it takes is somewhat dependent and how thick your marinade is and how long you marinate it; but the beauty of this dehydrator is that it only takes 3-6 hours to dry the jerky. I have used many dehydrators over the years of drying and have found this one to be rather nice (just made some cinnamon pineapple a couple of days ago).
2101877
Do not use empty trays while drying. Use as many or as few as you need. It helps to rotate top trays to bottom and bottom to top every 2 hours.
16714
When I use the trays, I do anywhere from 30 mins to an hour. Sometimes longer, sometime shorter. I believe 20-30 mins is recommended.
1235716
I've only used it a couple of time with jerky and veggies. All trays were full and it worked great. Though I did rotate the trays once. It took a little longer than stated. But still a good deal.
897029
According to the manufacturer - Low is around 110, Medium around 140 and High is about 175. Depending on how you load the trays there can be a big impact on the drying time. They suggest checking it every so often.
109465
I have had no problems with the trays. This summer and fall, I have been drying tomatoes, green peppers, pumpkin slices, crowder peas and Fordhook lima beans. The dryer worked extremely well on all these vegetables.
1259679
You have about 1/2 inch on the top of the tray and then another 1/2 inch clearance from the tray or lid above. This helps in not getting your food to thick, taking a long time to dry.
355364
I haven't actually dried any fruit yet with mine, but I did make a decent amount of jerky. I did see that you can add extra trays to this set if you want as we'll as the trays used for making fruit leathers. I'm pretty happy with mine so far
1158780
I can only say that this dehydrator is smaller and takes longer than any other dehydrator I have ever had. I use them primarily for making Jerky and my first batch took all night and half the morning on the highest heat setting. Watch that set timer as well, I had mine turn off in the middle of the night because I assumed it should have been done by then and the meat just sat uncooked for hours. Had to toss that whole batch. Can't answer the watt or range questions because I don't have the unit with me.
38741
Yes, it does a great job! 4 to 4 1/2 his depending on the meat you're drying.
2170641
Don't try to use both trays at once. It seems to take at least 5 minutes (or more) per tray.