We have had our Excalibur Dehydrator for just over 3 years now. I’d never owned or used a dehydrator of any kind before that and it took awhile for me to realize that I had made the best choice right out the gate! We had to save up for a few months to get the monster 9 tray model and I am here to tell you that it was worth.every.penny. – and it’s still paying off! I’ve had a couple people ask me why I’ve never done an excalibur dehydrator review before and yet, I babble about how awesome it is on Facebook and in various articles.
There’s good reason why I haven’t done it until now: I didn’t have experience with anything else! How could I possibly make a good comparison that people could trust? A friend got a different model and after talking with her about it, seeing how it functions, and the end results – I am now confident enough to give my opinion with solid reasons for why I feel the way I do about this most wonderful food preservation tool.
A dehydrator removes the moisture from the food, therefore preserving it. So, you want a dehydrator to evenly move the warm air around and keep a consistent temperature. I didn’t really understand what other people went through with the interlocking trays in the round dehydrators. I was blown away by the extra work my friend had to do. Every 2-3 hours, she would have to go in and rotate the trays. The food was cooled down while doing it, of course, and then it would take extra time (and energy) to heat back up. I suppose an upside would be all that moisture getting released out of the machine but a good dehydrator should have the right ventilation in the first place. For the first 5-7 minutes, there would be condensation inside the machine as it came back up to temp.
While this is not ‘bad’ per se, it does seem to be at least inconvenient. After seeing what another model is like, I know what I love about my Excalibur:
- 100% even air flow. The air comes from the fan in the back of the machine, pushing it forward and through the space, hitting the other side of the machine and swirling around. The fan is large and really moves the air around well!
- No need to rotate trays. The design of the air movement ensures all trays are reached for an even heating and air flow. There are no ‘drier spots’ that would cause the need to move trays around. The top layer gets as much as the bottom!
- No need to rotate or flip the food. Again, the air flow is so well designed that there is no need to flip the food over to make sure it gets evenly dehydrated. The holes in the sheets make sure the bottom gets as much as the top!
- Timer. The model I have has a timer. I have learned that there aren’t many out there that have a timer: usually just a temperature dial to adjust for whatever you’re dehydrating.
- All the options! There is so much more you can do with this dehydrator versus other popular models! From the book that came with it, I can use my dehydrator to raise bread dough, make yogurt, ferment, and make cheese! Switch the mats used and make your own fruit leather! I also loooove to make jerky (see links below for more information on making jerky!)
My friend had to essentially babysit her dehydrator. That isn’t so terrible overall but if you have stuff to do outside, it can make getting anything accomplished more challenging when you have to stop every few hours to rotate or reset the dehydrator. They told me that since the fan mechanism was on the bottom of the machine, they couldn’t dehydrate things like orange slices because the excess liquid pools at the bottom. With the Excalibur, the liquid pools in the bottom without hurting anything. Mind you, liquid only pools on high water content food processing (like pineapple). Messy but worth it when you are on the trail and want a sweet treat. 🙂
Tips and Tricks
I have used my Excalibur Dehydrator for all sorts of different things and have learned a lot along the way. An example is to dehydrate the food that needs longer times at night. To me, the dehydrator isn’t all that loud – just a fan running in the background. For others, it may be too loud. Either way, it’s not as noisy as most circular tray models. My friend’s was incredibly loud but we didn’t notice just how much until we tried to watch TV.
Another thing I learned was that if it’s raining out or there is high humidity, you need to add time to whatever the book says. I live in a temperate rainforest and we rarely see anything below 60% humidity (even in summer) so I always have to add time on to what the book recommends. They say 2-4 hours for dehydrating herbs and spices. I set run them for 6 hours to be safe.
Using your dehydrator alongside your vacuum sealer is a great way to get more variety! We make stew starters (pictured left and linked below) and vacuum seal the jars. We also dehydrate up fruit and vacuum seal bags to make the perfect hiking treat that will stay good for at least a year.
Lastly, using your dehydrator to dry and preserve food before it goes bad is a great way to save money, stretch your budget and cut the waste!
For more tips and tricks, you can go here!
Now this is exciting!! Whoever wins this is in for a treat 🙂
I’ve canned for years but as I age (I’m 70) it can become pretty physically daunting. I would like very much to start dehydrating more of my hatvest. Thanks for the review.
WOW! I never dreamed a dehydrator could do so much!
Soo want one,
I never thought about using it to help bread raise. Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Love your site, The help you give and your so kind
I am really interested in learning to dehydrate and improving my gardening skills.
Awesome giveaway!
Great review!
Wow! Great giveaway. Thanks for offering it.
What a great giveaway and good information. I really have only used my dehydrator to dry peppers. I like the idea of making jerky and stew starters. I will have to check out some of your other links.
Love reading you story! Would love to win!
I’ve been wanting a dehydrator for a while but was not sure which one to pick. Thanks for the review, now I am leaning toward buying the Excalibur.
Spendy but SO WORTH IT.
with the price of food these days and already being on a very tight, limited income–this would be great to have
This is so useful! I have a round dehydratior that I got as a teen from a garage sale. I love it but it just seems so small now that I’m married and have kids that want to eat the stuff. Lol
In supposed to quote what I want to learn more about. .. honestly everthing. Homesteading is a dream of mine. But it’s getting my city hubby of mine to agree to it is the challenge so I’m learning everything I can via books blogs and youtube so I have at least a little knowledge in my head when I get to try it by hand.
Ohhh that is a hard one – getting the spouse on board. One of the easiest ways is through his stomach 😉 Grow some herbs and spices around the house and then use them in home cooked meals. Start small, little things here and there. A container on the porch that is growing carrots or onions, making more food from scratch, etc. Once you start making changes like that, you will notice your food bill going DOWN and he may pay attention to that, too. 😉 From a financial perspective, homesteading isn’t about being rich with the huge house. It’s about simple, non luxury living. To the untrained or uneducated person – they may ask “Why would I ever want THAT!?”
The answer is in the food. Sounds silly but it really is! Not to mention the freedom you have. Yes, you will bust your butt everyday but on the flip side, you can decide that today, you’re going fishing instead. It’s something fun and ‘not work,’ but in reality, if you catch fish – you’re still adding to the larder. Send me a message anytime with questions!
I want to learn about fiber animals.
I just read about this the other day while reading about goats and the different kinds. Good topic!
I’d love to learn more about what to look for when purchasing a larger country property with the purpose of homesteading.
An excellent topic indeed! I think this would make a whole article on its own so keep an eye out for it!
Off the top of my head, I would say you want to look for:
Level ground on bedrock
Drainage
Water on site
Electricity options
Laws concerning the use of the land – animals, types of buildings, etc.
There is so much more but that is a good jumping off point!
This looks like it’d be loads of fun!
Wow! This thing is sweet! I have a little dehydrator thst works ok, but this one is awesome! There are actually 2 homesteading things I’d like to know more about. Raising meat animals and how to safely and effectively can meat. We just got 4 meat rabbits and stared breeding. I’ve done a ton of research but now it’s time to get hands on. We’re looking at several pounds of meat by August if we get good sized litters snd they do well. We just built a chicken coop too, so here in the next week or so I’ll be headed to auction to get done Rhode Island red pullets and hens. We’re just raising chickens for the eggs though – not for meat. I am going to invest in a pressure canner too. I’d like to learn to effectively and safely can meat. We hunt big game (elk, deer, bear, cougar) and do all of our processing at home. In addition to vaccum sealing and freezing the meat I’d love to can some! Same goes for our rabbit meat. With the breeding cycle of chosen for our rabbits, we’re looking at approximately 180 lbs of meat (give or take) annually. That will be a huge suppliment of white meat for our grocery budget!
Ginni, I have the perfect article for you! I LOOOOOVE to can meat – it gives such a feeling of security! Having shelf stable, ready to pop open and eat protein is a big deal! Here is the link that will help you with canning meat: http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/08/29/wonderful-world-home-canned-meats/
Awesome! Thank you so much for the great article! Honestly I’m a little nervous about using a pressure canner, but I am doing it this year! Anxiety can’t stop me anymore 🙂
If you’ve got water bath canning down, you are already well on your way! And if not? You’re still well on your way! I used to be intimidated, too. Here’s my take on it: it may help you some! http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/10/08/complete-newbie-confident-canner/
This is so awesome you are doing this 🙂
I’m so excited to see all the feedback from this article! I have a garage sale dehydrator….it works (it’s silent btw), but takes all day or night to thoroughly dry anything.
I’m most interested in seeing some recipes for soup mixes from foods we’ve dehydrated ?
Hi Michelle!
Try the “Stew Starter” article. It can easily be switched around to make a soup with instead!
Looks like one of the better dehydrators out there.
Sweet give away! I have always wanted 1 of these, but due to cost have not had the chance to buy 1 yet. Hopefully soon! 🙂
Thanks so much for the giveaway!
I wouldn’t mind another dehydrator. I have an Excalibur already and can say it’s the best I’ve used.
I can most of my food, but we love using our dehydrator as well…it’s great for camping foods, jerky, herbs and more!~
I love the giveaway. I would really like to learn all I can about foodsavers. Thank you for linking me the two articles on your facebook page.
I have dehydrated food before but just the basics, I have heard of people dehydrating whole meals and have always wanted to try but I have no idea where to start. Do you do that?
Yes! Check out my Stew Starter article here: http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/07/07/how-to-make-your-own-stew-starter/
My daughter has a round dehydrator & we have made jerky and some dried fruits with it. But I saw the Excalibur 9 tray at a sporting goods store & drooled over it the whole time we were there – but it was out my budget range that day. It’s on my wish list !!
We saved THREE MONTHS to get ours. Truly worth it. Absolutely, without question, WORTH IT!
I don’t know much about dehydrating or using herbs for natural remedies.
We’re getting ready to move to our own homestead, hopefully this year, but it’s been hard trying to figure out where and what we need to look out for! Tips for what to be careful when looking for a place would be great.
The Excalibur has been on my wishlist!
I’ve always wanted to learn how to butcher my own animals. Last year I was taught how to butcher chickens, and I know the basics of processing deer, but want to learn how to do rabbits, pig and cows.
Would love to have a dehydrator like this. Mine heats too much . I love drying herbs and garden veggies for winter use
Gardening…
I’ve been wanting to learn how to dehydrate, love how this would help with the surplus in my garden.
Here are some articles that will help fuel the desire to dehydrate and different ways to preserve your garden goodies!!
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/11/24/drying-and-dehydrating-food/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2015/09/25/make-your-food-stretch-and-cut-waste/
Just read the book “Food Drying with an Attitude” by Mary T. Bell. Would love to win this Excaliber to try out all her recipes and procedures. I game!
Nice review, I have the a round style like your friend has. It is a pain! Lol The mrs has talked about learning to can this season so we are going to venture into that, I just need to start doing research! Lol it will fun and educational for sure! Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity!
Please let the Mrs. know that I would be happy to help answer any questions! I have several articles about canning – both water bath and pressure canning – that is written with the newbie in mind. She is going to love it and there is a sense of satisfaction derived that can’t be described!
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/12/12/mystery-water-bath-canning/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/10/08/complete-newbie-confident-canner/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2015/07/15/learning-to-be-an-efficient-canner/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2014/12/10/pressure-canning-with-spices/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2016/01/05/cooking-with-home-canned-food/
http://www.homesteaddreamer.com/2015/09/09/how-to-pressure-can-meals-in-a-jar/
What a great contest!
OMG I have wanted a good dehydrator for long , one with temp control and a fan
There’s so much I want to learn about homesteading…I guess the most important thing right now is how to work animals into a permaculture plan.
I would think it’d be almost easier to have the animals in a permaculture plan than not! Chickens can help work the soil for you (while feeding themselves, saving you money), pigs will eat just about anything, goats will too but they are also awesome for clearing areas out. Rabbits are meat and give you the perfect fertilizer. With the exception of the pig, all of those mentioned will eat just about any vegetable matter you have, etc.
I would start out very slowly on it though. Chickens are the easiest, most obvious first choice (well, in my opinion). Because they take up little space overall, they will work your soil for you, give you eggs (and meat later on), they will gobble up any scraps you have (avoid onion and garlic though, it will make them sick), and provide you with hours of entertainment to boot!
Fermentation of fruit and vegetables… Very interested.
Like pickling, kombacha, or other?
I have always wanted a dehydrator! This one looks fabulous! I can imagine all the benefits of drying your own fruits and vegetables….how healthy they would be, space saving, just throw them into soups and stews, fruits in trail mix. I bet the fruits and vegetables dried with this would be great healthy additions to smoothies, too! Thanks for your blog and all the great info!
I’m mainly interested in knowing how to live a “mock” homesteading lifestyle. We live in a city, in a HOA neighborhood so almost “everything” is off the table…. I do the best I can: buy local meats/veggies/raw milk, make many things from scratch, freeze, etc. But, I’m always searching for more ways to live that mock homesteading life. Thanks so much for the chance to win, too.
I can relate to your situation. Many of my friends and readers are in the same boat.
Some of the things you can do is start growing as many of your own spices as possible – in containers. They are the easiest to move around and incredibly easy to dehydrate. I know we easily save around $25 a year on spices because I grew and preserved them instead of paying insane amounts of money for a mere 6 oz of dried leaf (think oregano).
When things are on sale (like apples), buy a bunch of them and then make your own applesauce, apple butter, etc. Those are jarred in a water bath canner, super easy. When cucumbers are on sale, make pickles! There are so many options available to you, even in an HOA! If you would like more ideas or have questions, you can always message me on the Facebook page or email me at akhomestead.dreamer@gmail.com.
I have done yrs of water bath canning I want to learn more about pressure canning.
I have always used a round dehydrator and the struggles you mentioned are real. A machine like the Excalibur sounds amazing! Why haven’t I seen this before?!
you are dead on with your review of the round dehydrator . I have one and have the same issues, but it is cheaper.
Gardening how to-‘s and maximizing my yield.
Be sure to check the gardening category! Can you be more specific on what you would like to maximize?
This would be an amazing item to win. I want to learn as many ways to preserve food as possible.
I would truly love to win this wonderful dehydrator. I have always heard good things about it. I would like do some dehydrating instead of canning. Thanks and keep up the good work!
The parts of homesteading I like to know more about is food dehydration because I don’t own a dehydrator. I’d also like to know more about pressure canning, how big the pressure canner should be, and mainly how to do it without blowing up my stove, canner and stove vent.
I’m new to homesteading, I’m planning my first garden this year & have some great heirloom seeds. I’m not able to have chickens ( so I can have my own eggs ) due to my town insisting that my neighbors can protest my plans & deny me a license to raise them. I’m very interested in learning how to dehydrate food properly, and also canning. Pressure canning seems a bit scary because I don’t want to blow up the canner, stove and stove vent. I have to tell you how much your blog means to me, it makes feel like I have a place to go when I need information and suggestions. I just want to thank you for all you do, it means the world to to me. : )
You just made my whole day!! I am so glad to help – that is precisely why I write! So people can learn what I have: this stuff is pretty darn easy and you end up getting higher quality food, too! I can understand being a little wary of pressure canning. I suggest (if you haven’t already) read my article “Going from a Newbie to a Confident Canner.” It addresses and covers how I got over the fear and I am SO GLAD I DID!! I’m never going back!
Thank you so much! I know I read it, but I’m going back to read it again. I don’t own canners, but I want to start canning as soon as I’m able to afford a canner. I really want to can my homemade vegetable pasta sauce, it’s so yummy that I think I’ll need it if we have a major grid issue or just to give as a gift to family & friends. Thank you again for being such a positive source of inspiration. : )
You are most welcome. How exciting to just be starting out, too! I’ve only been doing all this for a few years (just about 4 now I guess) and it’s STILL new to me and very exciting. There’s just no other feeling like opening your cupboard or pantry and seeing clear jars with preserved food that YOU did yourself! So satisfying. You got this Maria, you just haven’t realized it yet. 🙂
Dehydrating
I love dehydrating foods. I would like to learn to get by without electricity (for future topics!)
I’m so excited for a chance to win! Thanks so much!!
I love all your posts. Lots of good information. Would love to own this and am excited about it. Thank you for sharing all that you do.
I like learning about everything, but right now canning is at the top of my list.