Dehydrator - A friend wants to know

[luvItalian]

One of my friends asked me to ask all of you (as you are all well known as experts in my circle!) about dehydrators. She has the following questions (as I know nothing about them I hope I get this right):

- What brands do you recommend?

- Who has the best prices? She is having a hard time finding some to look at.

- She mentioned that you leave them plugged in for quite a while. Does this have a big effect on the electric bill?

Any other useful information you can share would be appreciated. Thanks!

[sneezles]

I have one but DS#1 has it right now for his jerky. DH bought it for me for Christmas one year. I didn't use it for a very long time. It does stay plugged in for a while but it's very low wattage so it isn't going to draw a lot of power. Mine is round and has 5 or 6 racks though you don't have to use them all.

Can't tell you the name until DS gets home and I don't know who has the best price since mine is over 10 years old.

Works like a charm though!

[mbrogier]

I bought mine at Tuesday Morning. I have no idea what brand it is, and I don't even know where it is right now...probably in the basement somewhere.

I didn't use it as much as I thought I would. It uses almost no electricity though. Less than a hairdryer.

Oh, and it cost me $10.

[DeeK]

I gave my dehydrator away to the Goodwill. We never used it.

It was a Sunbeam and I bought it at Wal-Mart for less than $20. That was the only store in our area that had them.

I wanted it to dehydrate hot peppers, but it turns out the toaster oven does a much better job for this particular item.

[donleyk]

We got one as a gift. I have dried fruit and tomatoes, that's it. I like the oven dried tomatoes better. Deeper taste and quicker. We do plan on trying jerky at some point.

If you go to a Gander Mtn or Cabelas you should be able to see a couple of brands. Also check Amazon. They should have a variety.