I was in the market for a dehydrator mainly for making beef jerky, as I am a jerky lover. I visited frequent local chains such as Walmart (in 4 different cities). All stores seemed to be out of the base Nesco FD-61 model. I reluctantly ordered this kit from [...] as it contained all the 'extras.'

When it arrived I opened the box to see:

o) Nesco American Harvest FD-61 Food Dehydrator. One base, 4 large trays, and a power head rated at 500 watts, variable climate control (~95-155 temp range for various things). Most of the accessories that came with the kit were located inside the trays. Made in the USA! The dehydrator is rated as whisper quiet and is rather quiet. The emitting hum is close to quiet window-mounted AC unit. The unit is very stable and the construction is excellent. This unit really does get warm.

o) One extra tray (totalling 5 trays). Keep in mind that although this unit is expandable to 12 trays, you may have to begin rotating lower... Read more

I had read many reviews on this site and others about which dehydrator to buy. I was impressed by all of the great things I read about the Nesco FD-61, so I got it!

I have used it 2 times and now have some comments to make. I started with 5 trays of mixed fruits, banana chips, orange slices, and apple slices. I dried them for approximately 12-15 hours. The bananas were not that great, still a bit too chewy. The apples were PERFECT. They had the same taste and texture as the store-bought dried apples. The orange slices were great (according to my 12 yo son) and crunchy. My deduction is that it's probably better to only use one type of fruit at a time. I'll be trying the bananas again on their own and see if I can get them a bit more crunchy next time.

The second time I decided to use the handy jerky gun and spices that came with the unit. I bought some 3% fat burger. (it calls for VERY low fat meat) I mixed it up with the 'general' spice packet that came with it... Read more

This is the first dehydrator we've used, although we did some sun-drying in years past. Cookie sheets on the porch are not capable of handling this year's bumper crop of peaches, apples, and apricots -- but this machine is! The dehydrator works great; it is well-designed and made of good quality materials. It is also quiet and easy to clean. The top-mounted fan distributes air evenly, although we found it useful to rotate the top tray to the bottom after the first 2-3 hours of drying. After that, the trays can be left in place. The dehydrator includes five trays, each capable of drying 20 medium-sized apricots (split in half). That's a 100 apricots per load!

The machine lacks an on/off switch and must be unplugged when checking on the drying, so we use it with a lighted plug-in switch from a hardware store (about $3). The instruction book is very well-written and helpful. Overall, it's a great product and made in USA too.