[Aidy]

Aye up lads n lasses.
looking at buying a dehydrator for the thousands of chillies and other items off the plot etc.
Did a search and not really found any upto date info on latest models.
Is there any newer models you would reccommend? Been put off by some of the cheaper ones as in reviews the trays appear to be brittle plastic ones that crack after a while, dont want to pay hundreds (wife will be checking(from Yorkshire!)) Have seen one for £104 which is a Stokli, reviews are good and trays look a better plastic that will last a lot longer.
cheers

[snow white]

Mine had good and bad reviews, mainly about the trays breaking.  To be honest I am very careful with my trays and none of mine have broken.  If you throw them about or drop them a lot then they will break.  Mine cost £40 so not a high end one, but it is very good at what it does.  I imagine the more you pay the better you get, like cars.  But as long as they do the job, I would rather pocket the extra money.

[sunshineband]

I bought one from Lakeland at about £40 and it is guaranteed for life, including the trays. It does not have a thermostat as such ie just the one setting.

It is excellent and I use it loads, including for drying chillies, which I cut lengthways in half first.

Highly recommended!!

[New shoot]

I've had mine for years and it wasn't new then, so can't offer up to date advice on a machine, but on drying chillies - yup 

Always pierce the fruit somewhere.  Just the tip of a knife through part of it will do, otherwise you will be there for hours and they will never dry.  This is very useful for small chillies that would take hours to cut up otherwise.

If you can run to it, one with a thermostat gives you more options.  The instructions on mine say 30/40 degrees C for herbs, 50 for veg, 55 for fruit and higher than that for jerky.  If you are just drying produce, a single setting works fine.

[snowdrops]

Thanks Aidy as I'm looking into getting one for my forthcoming birthday then, today my July? issue of Kitchen garden magazine arrived & there's instructions for a diy solar dehydrator, Cooee Mr S have you got a minute 😄

[Headgardener22]

I bought one from Lakeland at about £40 and it is guaranteed for life, including the trays. It does not have a thermostat as such ie just the one setting.

It is excellent and I use it loads, including for drying chillies, which I cut lengthways in half first.

Highly recommended!!

I too bought one of these from Lakeland and I am less pleased than sunshineband. The issue I find is that the temperature varies throughout the dehydrator meaning that unless I rotate the shelves during the drying process, some things are burnt and others are perfect. However, with that caveat in mind, I use it for drying lots of things. The most unsuccessful is trying to make crisps, they come out very hard. 

[DanielCoffey]

Here is a pros/cons blog from BritishRed about the dehydrators that he went through over several years. It starts about half way down the page after most of the pics... http://www.englishcountrylife.com/english-country-life-blog/drying-homestead-preserving-part-2

He also did a specific post about chilli drying... http://www.englishcountrylife.com/english-country-life-blog/drying-chillis

I own an Excalibur 5-tray and it is built like a tank. It is noisy, yes, but the trays are very strong. Once we have moved next year we will consider a 9-tray.

[Annen]

I've got a Excalibur 5 tray and its is miles better than the round Andrew James one I had first, easier to use, easier to wash, and I can make fruit leathers in it.  When I tried leathers in the round one on greaseproof paper they over heated because of poor circulation and that was when the trays warped and cracked.

[Aidy]

cheers for the replys, I was trying to find one in between the excalibur and the cheaper end but they all seem to have mixed reports. Will have a butchers around and see whats available.

[DanielCoffey]

It seems that UK Juicers are one of the UK importers for the Excalibur dehydrators although private folks at Amazon Marketplace do them too. If you decide to get an Excalibur, check the warranty between the two channels. There may be benefits in getting one through the official retail channel.

http://www.ukjuicers.com/excalibur

An alternative may be to put a Wanted in your local FreeCycle (or equivalent) or to look for build-your-own plans if you are DIY handy.

[Aidy]

Bought one.

Couldn't really justify paying for a Excalibur so went for a Luvele unit instead and having dried a few bits, chillies and apples I have been very impressed, it is defo more robust than the cheaper end ones and not much more.

When this come to the end of its life I may go for a Excalibur

[GrannieAnnie]

Has anyone used a halogen oven for drying foods?  I had a google, and it says it can be done, but doesn't give much info!  TIA  xx

[p6t6]

I'm hoping to enter the world of dehydrators when I get some spare dosh. Didn't realise it was such a big world.