Eastman Outdoors 38254 Food Dehydrator, 245-watt

If the title didn't say enough, don't bother with this review if you want to make jerky. I will say, my results indicate it would be great for drying meats.With that out of the way, post warranty-voiding this product is lovely for drying PLA and ABS filament, as well as silica. I cut out the mesh out of two trays, and that left me with one full tray for silica bags, and enough space to accommodate one 8" 1kg spool and a silica can (take the top off if it has a plastic window), and probably three of the tiny Taulman spools. I haven't tested it on nylon yet, but it works quite well for drying bubbly PLA and ABS, and while it was never enough to get my indicating silica to go fully clear again, it did manage to bring it to about 80% clear with the remainder slightly tinged. If I had bothered to spread the silica in a proper tray, it'd probably manage, but then I might as well stick that tray in the oven. Using a thermocouple, I measured 69.5C on the max setting, as measured from the edge of the center tray, with a room temperature of 15C away from the dehydrator. After a day in this, every soggy spool I've dried has gone from a stringy, pitted mess to printing as well as my machines can manage.To the manufacturer: I'm sorry that this probably isn't the kind of review you want, but if it's any consolation, I've found this product to handle this use case well enough to warrant recommending it to other makers that may be worried by all the other dehydrators in this price range. (Really, you have basically the only <$50 dehydrator on Amazon that doesn't have an 8-10% 1-star rating and more than ten reviews.) I'll happily never bother you for warranty service unless I get a second one of these for its intended purpose.

Perfect for cooler temp fermenting. I purchased this for fermenting tempeh but have also used it to ferment cultured nut cheese. With the temp dial at the lowest setting, I observed a temp of about 88 degrees, which is lower than the advertised 90 degrees. As 88 degrees is frequently noted as being the perfect temperature to ferment tempeh at, this was serendipitous. Simple design and function: an enclosure, a quiet fan, a heating element, and a thermostat. No timer or display, just a dial for controlling temperature, which is not terribly accurate, as previously mentioned. Another "feature" I appreciate is that the vents on the hood are across the bottom of a bezel. This allows you to rest a baking sheet or cutting board on top of the dehydrator in order to block light from your culture without restricting airflow. I wish the trays were about a quarter inch taller.

We have owned other food dehydrators in the past. You know that sound a jet engine makes just as its starting up? That is kind of what they sounded like, not this one. This thing is so quiet its ridiculous, like a continuous sigh, nothing at all like the banshee wailing its way out of Hades. sound the old ones made.Cleanup is a snap but because you cant put the parts in the lower rack of a dishwasher you need two loads to clean it, or you could do it by hand in less then two minuets because food doesn't stick all that well to the racks. Also you have to be careful washing the base as it is not safe to get fluids inside the unit. I cover mine with aluminum foil and avoid cleaning all together for the base.The temperature nob is quite handy dandy and works nicely. The only other thing this unit could use is some kind of timer built in with a shutoff.Would we buy again? Yes, yes we would.

I did not buy this for the purpose of dehydrating food, but for dehydrating filament. For this purpose I printed a longer chamber and it can hold 2 spools. It has performed exceptionally for this purpose. The only reason that I am dropping the rating is because I did order black. What arrived showed black on the box, but was actually a dark grey. However, I needed it right then, so am holding on to it.

This product was purchased with the intent to make dehydrated meat and fruits. Simple to use. Temp control works well. The racks are all plastic and slightly difficult to clean, personally suggest to use dehydration sheets or similar product when using. Food typically tends to fall between racks onto another level or juices. Instructions came with product are very vague. Doesn’t not instruct, suggest or instruct how to cook your dehydrated food-large downfall. Not hard to YouTube, just an large Inconvenience. Meat dehydrated in a few hours, Fruit takes 6-10+ Over all good product for the price. Next time will buy something more industrial/expensive that has better seals to dehydrate easier, faster and better products. Would recommend product for making jerky or dog treats.

Good deal, gets the job done. I love making cashew cheese kale chips in this. It’s not an Excalibur by any means but it works. The only thing with this design is that you can’t make raw crackers and breads because it’s a circle. Also I don’t think they make teflex sheets for these trays.

Works great for drying my malting grains! Stick a thermometer inside to monitor temps (runs a bit on the low side by about 5 degrees). Dries them all from green to rock hard in about 12 hours.

this is the second one I've bought the 1st one was purchased years ago and it was just time for a new 1. We highly recommend this product, my son is a big game hunter and makes a lot, a lot of jerky so it gets its use and functions great!