Side by Side Comparison of: Nesco

There are so many highly rated dehydrators available on Amazon, I honestly didn't know where to start. I finally decided to take the plunge and buy Amazon's best seller. I am glad I did, and I am already very pleased with this machine. Very easy to use, easy to clean.The day I got it, I did my first batch of beef jerky that I had marinating for a couple of days in the fridge. After about 6-7 hours, the jerky turned out perfect. The extra tray capacity of this machine (up to 12 total) is a major bonus. This dehydrator comes with 5 trays... I purchased another 2, and I am glad I did. Out of the 7 trays, I used 6 of them for one roast's worth of jerky. I plan to buy a few more trays soon for even more dehydrating space.Five stars.

My wife loves beef jerky and constantly was buying it retail. She would spend anywhere from $5.99 to $8.99 for 2.5-3.0 ounces. It was making me crazy she was spending $33.00 minimum for a pound of jerky. You just don't really notice it because of the amount you buy at a single time. I had to put my foot down and ban the purchase of jerky. I bought this and went out and bought 3.5 pounds of London Broil and using the Nesco FD-75A I was able to make 2 pounds of jerky. for $13.75 (buy one London Broil get one free at the supermarket). The starter spice kit that came with is very tasty and easy to do and you can purchase additional spice kits from Nesco or from open country who makes the spice kit. I made a batch of hot and spicy jerky using a recipe on Youtube as well. There are a ton of Youtube videos to help you get started so don't let being a complete novice deter you. I spent some time reading the questions that were being asked in the FAQ section so I'll put some of those here in my review.It comes with 5 trays, It has 3 packs of spice and cures enough for 3 pounds of jerky. The "cure" is a sodium and nitrate base to preserve freshness. If you make a bunch of jerky I would use it, If your family are jerky addicts then it won't last long enough to spoil. The fat in the meat is what goes rancid and causes jerky to spoil. Yes, you can store in the refrigerator or freeze. It will last longer if you vacuum pack it. It is 600 watts and has variable temperature settings. It does Not have a timer nor an ON/OFF switch, and you can wash the trays in the dishwasher BUT turn the Heat Dry OFF!!!!! It operates on 110 volts with the standard US plug, so If you live in Europe or anywhere else you may or may not have an issue using a plug adapter. Yes, you can dehydrate fruit, veggies, flowers, and spices. Yes, you can dehydrate some meals but they have to be cooked first and dehydrated separately. No, its not a freeze Drier. No, it's not noisy, my unit runs at 57 DB (normal conversations are 57 DBs)Hopefully, this will help some of you that are on the fence.

What can I say. Newcomers makes one of the best Pro Food Dehydrators ever made. The design of having the heating elements at the top makes clean up a breeze. And the technology of having the fan at the top and the perfect air circulation makes all the food dry at the same time. Well built machine with plenty of room foe very affordable expansion, which I plan on doing. Made my first beef jerky. Wow, was that good. Planning on dehydrating fruits and bed goes out of my garden also. I also make my own homemade spaghetti sauce. Can't wait to try out dehydrating that and freezing and taking up less room in the freezer. Another great machine by Nesco.

We use this for dehydrating apple slices so far and they come out perfectly. We slip them into zip seal bags and store them in the fridge until we are ready to eat them. Good for car trips and sweet snacks in the evening.

Been using this unit twice a week for several months to dry the pulp from juicing to make dog treats. Add a little flax seed, use a melon baller to form the treat and 24 hours the dogs have a treat they can't get enough of.

I received this as a father's day present and it's amazing. I've dehydrated so much already in the week since I got it. My wife is getting annoyed that it's constantly running and I'm spending all our extra money on ripe in-season fruit and vegetables to dehydrate. Best so far has been dehydrated watermelon. I'm new to this dehydrating thing, but this seems like a great starting point. I can't wait to start making jerky. Oh, i wish I had two of these.

Fits great in my dehydrater. is holding shape fine with using twice a week. Have not tried dishwasher to clean just do it by hand after hearing it can damage them. But that is not a big deal.

Bought these to make fruit leather (I use Danielle Walker's recipe in Against All Grain). They work perfectly and you avoid the hassle of cutting parchment every time. When done I cut or tear the large finished product into smaller pieces.

I think this is the best product I've ordered through Amazon! I have an Oster dehydrator. The normal "mesh" trays are 13.5" in diameter. These trays are 13" in diameter and fit perfectly on the mesh trays leaving 1/4" open all the way around for air flow. The center opening sits just inside the tray opening. PERFECT!!!!! I am so pleased with this purchase!!!

Just as product description says, have had rolling for two years now and still no issues.

I should have ordered these a long time ago! My friend told me to make fruit leather using Saran Wrap directly on the screen, or to use parchment paper. I struggled with both of these, didn't at all like the results. Finally broke down and purchased these. Love them! So easy to peel off and then transfer to Saran Wrap. Easy clean up. Make the investment in these and you won't be sorry.

Kids can't get enough of apple fruit rolls. Luckily Dad's apple trees had another great year. Peel, slice, cook with water. Mash or puree. Then spread over the trays and dehydrate until it easily peels off the tray. So many opportunities for flavors, adding raspberry, blue berry, peaches, etc. Healthy natural snack for the kids (and me too, ssshhh, don't tell them).

This jerky gun worked great. Using ground beef, this is a fantastic way to make lots of jerky that is affordable and easy to chew.It could be better - if there were a rubber seal around the 'plunger' it would help push the meat off the inside of the chamber. There's also a little bit of meat left in the tips that you aren't able to make into jerky unless you shape it by hand. But for the price, this thing still gets five stars.The seasoning that comes with it is also good. I used to strength however, because I don't like super salty jerky. So for three pounds of meat, I used two packs of cure and two packs of seasoning.I am excited to try other things with the jerky gun including a beef/venison mixture, and maybe some fruit/meat combinations.

Great product this is my second one the first disappeared somewhere over time. I use this to make deer jerky from deer burger which we seem to always have a large amount of. People at work loved it and where surprised the seasoning was from a kit the taste is great. Everyone raved how good it was. It is made of plastic but holds up well if used correctly. I have yet to break one although if the tip stops up release pressure and clear it.

I love this. It makes creating my own jerky a breeze. The only complaint I have is that the plastic seems very brittle. I am always very careful with it because it seems like one drop and it will crack. I have seen other reviews mentioning cracks and I understand what they are saying. This type of plastic is prone to breakage, but for the price and what it gets done... I'm happy with it!

Best beef jerky I have ever had. It is so much easier using ground meat than having to slice up meat. I am a long time maker of jerky. I could not believe how easy this was to do. I even tried making Turkey Jerky with ground meat and it turned out Great. It really shocked me how good it was. This gun is easy to use easy and super easy to clean. Buy this kit and enjoy.

I actually bought this as a gift. I bought one for myself more than a year ago and love it. I've made jerky from both ground beef and ground venison. Everyone who I share it with loves it, and it is very easy to do provided you have a good food dehydrator (like our Excalibur - the BEST!)A few tips:- When packing in your seasoned ground meat mixture use a wooden spoon or some similar tool to pack the meat down and reduce the number of air pockets which will cause your neat "slim Jims" to break apart as you extrude them.- Keep a knife or a pair of kitchen shears handy to cut off the end of the extruding meat when you get to the end of your dehydrator tray.- When you come to the end of one tube of meat there is always meat packed into the end piece. I leave it there and repack the tube and just keep going. That way you only have to pull the last bit of meat out and hand shape it when you are all done.- Use only 90% lean meat.- After about an hour in my dehydrator at 155 degrees I pull out the jerky and roll them in paper towels (or press them if making flat strips) to remove fat that beads up on the surface. I do this again when they are done. This helps extend your jerky's shelf life.- A cleaning/storage suggestion. When I am all done I clean everything by hand with very hot water and dish soap, DRY them completely, and then pack all the items in plastic zip lock bags. That way I know everything is clean and ready to go the next time I want to make Jerky.Everyone I give a same to loves the jerky made with the Nesco seasonings and are surprised to learn they are homemade.A final tip. The jerky keeps without refrigeration for a good while but will eventually spoil (grow mold) if the temperature is warm. I make really large batches and then bag them up in small batches and place them in the freezer. That way I can just pull out a few (or an entire bag) when I am going hiking or down to the garden.This product is a winner, and for the price you can't beat it.Happy in Syracuse

I originally bought this for my dog so we can make jerky the right and healthy way (no salt and added preservatives). I also bought Nesco/American Harvest FD-80 Square-Shaped Dehydrator which I love too.We experimented with a few types of meat:85% beef - Not good - it's too greasy.93% beef - It's okay but still too greasy.96% beef - Perfect and dries faster.99% turkey - Perfect and dries faster.Before we got the jerky maker, I would slice as thin as possible chicken breast which worked great but it would dry unevenly because I couldn't cut the slices precisely. If you bought a dehydrator or have one, you should buy this jerky maker. It makes amazing jerky!I can't say that making your own jerky is cheaper because I usually do about 3lbs of meat to fill my 4 tray nesco squre dehydrator. By the time it is dry, it isn't very much jerky. I would spend about $15 for 3lbs of lean meat - it doesn't produce a lot of jerky. But if you care about health and control what goes into it, it is worth it.Oh and another important thing to point out, we don't add the "jerk" seasoning - which I think it's just salt. We love the seasoning that it comes with though. Just don't add the salt side of the packet!

Love it but I have notice most things I dehydrate take way longer then expected

Takes much longer to dehydrate then advertised. Nearly twice as long if you use the recommended recipes. Which doesn't need to be set at their drying recommendations. Some learning curve.

Pro: Just did my first batch of Hazelnuts, I think they might have needed a few more hours but Im just learning and the dehydrator seems to work great!Con: No on/off switch. Just plug in and got. Not a big deal, still a good product.

This is the second one I've owned if that tells you anything. Works like a charm. The heating element finally gave out after eight years. I feel like I got more than my money's worth. I wish it were a little easier to clean the trays, but I don't think I could come up with a better design. I soak the trays overnight in the sink and use a dish brush on them in the morning. I'd give it five stars if the trays were a heavier grade of plastic, but they sell replacements. Depending on how much you're going to do in a single batch, I'd get 2-3 additional trays right away. I use it almost exclusively to make chicken jerky for my dogs so I don't have pay exorbitant pet store prices or feed them that Chinese crap with who-knows-what in it! Slice 1/4" strips and leave it on 160 degrees for two days. Seven trays (it comes with five) will do ten pounds of chicken in a single session. Your dogs will go crazy for it and you'll feel good knowing that you're giving them something healthy. Definitely recommend.

I'm new to dehydrating. I wanted to increase the nutritional value of our families meals as well as preserving the harvest and taking advantage of sales. I've found that I can dehydrate and then grind up kale, carrots and other nutrition-packed foods then put a few tsp of the powder in all sorts of sauces (spaghetti sauce is a great place to "hide" nutrition"), soups and stews. I've had it for about 6 weeks now. For the first month, I used it 2-3 times per week. For the past 3-4 days, it has been running almost non-stop. I've done apples, bananas, bell peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, carrots, yellow squash, kale, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and celery.I like the fact that it has the adjustable temperature control and the fan is on top. Cleaning is easy. It doesn't take up too much room to store. I think the bang for the buck is excellent and I like the fact that you can add more trays. I've used parchment paper when I need more tray inserts for small pieces and that works great. I can't speak to how fast it dehydrates compared to other models. I will say that environmental humidity really affects the dehydrating time. However, I'm pleased with it. Chopping/shredding really helps, especially with bell peppers. Since I grind them up anyway, shredding then draining them really speeds up the process.This model is great for those who are just starting to dehydrate or who aren't going to be doing massive amounts of food. I would absolutely recommend this dehydrator to a friend.Info added after I first published this review:I just dehydrated my first batch of herbs: oregano, basil, sage, and tarragon. I didn't chop the basil leaves, leaving them whole. It took 2 full days (instead of the 24 hours in the owners manual) to get everything dehydrated, and some of the basil still wasn't done. That was disappointing. I'm still giving it 4 stars because I think it's a good little dehydrator. However, I don't think that it's particularly fast. Chopping your food definitely helps with the dehydration rate.

I imported this Nesco 75PR dehydrator to Brazil, so I can tell you how it behaves in very humid climates like we have here, where we get normally 90% air humidity, specially in the summer. I bought a power consumption measuring device to attach between the dehydrator and my power source to check how much power it drains. I guess this data possibly may interest you. Many people say the power consumption is not high, but how high/low it is? I have done some tests and I think I have the answer for different situations. Energy in Brazil is not cheap so this is an important topic for us to discuss. And, of course, nobody likes to shred money and the environment, regardless of energy taxes.First, lets talk about performance:Only in a few ocasions I could dry something with less than 12 hours using a moderate temperature and thin slices. This is why I give this product a 4 instead of a 5 stars. But a 4,5 or 4,7 stars would be more fair, since this dehydrator has a lot of good points and we live in a very humid area, in the sea coast. And, the manual covers the "worst drying period possible" as being coincident to ours. In other words, they are not lying when they affirm that something can dry between "6 and 18 hours". We sit right in the 18 hours extreme. Be aware that this may be your case. Evaluate this point before buying a unit. Fruits: unsliced bananas can take 24-30 hours to dry to a flexible texture (we call this "banana passa" in Brazil, that are made in an industrial scale using gas dehydrators and constant 70 Celsius). The drying temperature is between 60 and 70 Celsius. Thin apple slices can take between 12 and 18 hours to get a leathery texture. Maybe if you let it more time it can eventually be crunchy, but be very aware that crunchiness is NOT an easy thing to achieve using dehydrators, because commercial fruit chips normally are made using fried fruits in coconut oil. I also had the fantasy of making homemade banana chips. Well, they get to a chewy point and taste quite good, anyway. (If that serves as a solace...). Meat: Didn't try it yet. Peppers: dried Jalapeños got an undesirable brownish color. I think the temperature cicles got some peaks that cooked the pepper instead of only drying its remaining water. I think if you are willing to put some peppers in a dehydrator, you should use very low temperatures, those used to dry herbs and other fragile stuff. I followed the 135F and it was a bit high, possibly.Now, about the sound and physical attributes:This unit is QUIET. VERY quiet. I can not believe some people say this dehydrator makes some undesirable noise to the point that they need to put them in a room far from their bedroom otherwise they couldn't sleep! I am VERY sound sensitive and I can assure you, the sound will not bother you. I can even watch TV close to the dehydrator and I only hear its noise if I mute the TV. Not an exaggeration. A fact.Weight, appearance, height: Very discreet. Very light. Did I say VERY light? The gray and white marble finish fits incredibly well in any room, like it's camouflaged, hard to explain. It just looks like another generic thing or pan or tupperware that you have in the kitchen, not a thing that a boring friend or neighbor will come and say "WOW, WHAT'S THAT THING?" You know how boring is that kind of people, but they won't bother you, I assure you. I bought 4 more trays (9 in total) and it still feels light. I can carry it with 9 trays full of bananas with ease. (if that matters: 67 bananas).Cleaning: easy to clean. Dehydrated fruits leave virtually no residue, they stick very lightly to the trays and can be easily pulled out. Not a single banana or any other fruit like apples got stuck in the trays to the point that they couldnt be removed easily with the fingers, and entire, not in fragments.Power consumption: Ok, here we go. (Room temperature: 28 Celsius) With 9 trays full of fruits: 1st hour: 650 Watts (average). 2nd to 5th hour: 380 watts (average). After 6 hours: 360 Watts (average). Total consumption per run long: 31 hours, 7,16 KWH (average: 231 watts). Temperature set: 145F (63 Celsius). With 5 trays full of fruits and/or fruit rolls, in a temperature set of 135F: 1st hour: 301 Watts (average). After a few hours, it dropped to below 200 watts average. Explanation: the first hours take more power because the machine is heating the trays so the thermostat rarely turns off. After a few hours, the thermostat only activates ocasionally to refresh the temperature, since the trays are already heated and only need a maintenance to keep the warm air flow. When the electric resistance turns off, the measure of wattage reads 28 watts, that's the power consumption of the fan (negligible). Conclusion: the shorter the run, less efficient it will be, because whenever it warms up the trays, you are removing the foods from them. Long runs are more efficient, so I guess its better to make a full charged dehydrator rather than little runs with little quantity of food. Just an opinion without any scientific claim.I can not say anything about durability of this Nesco dehydrator, since I bought it recently. I will update this review if anything unexpected occurs, or if I have any important thing to add, like new food experiences, et cetera.To finish this review, I'd like to apologize for my awful English, I had a hard time writting this because I am not a native speaker, so tell me if something sounds odd or particularly unusual, I can clarify your questions in the comments section. I hope this humble review can be useful for you. Thank you very much for the attention.

Like this product. Just needed to add more fruit roll sheets to my dehydrator as I increased the number of trays I had. They work as intended.

These are nice when using liquid things in the dehydrator. They don't allow the trays to fit snug when you stack them but with a little maneuvering I can make it work. I dried tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce on them and it peeled right off.

I haven't made fruit roll-ups, but I do use these for dehydrating pumpkin/squash puree. Spread the puree thicker near the outer edges since this area tends to dehydrate faster. After dehydrating my winter squash I pulverized it until it becomes a fine powder, in a coffee grinder. To use the powder, add equal part boiling water and stir. Add more or less water until the puree is the consistency you desire. Great in pies and breads.I have purchased enough of these for each tray in my dehydrators (I have both the square Nesco and an Excaliber).

I was hoping for the older style. Those I received are the newer style with a larger center opening and heavier plastic, which in my experience, tends to warp. My older style sheets are thinner with the smaller center opening and with years of use, they've never warped. I'm a serious dehydrating person. Since I use my American Harvesters (3) all year round, I prefer a higher quality product. The summer dehydrating season is just beginning, so I have not yet had the need for the new extras; they're still in the package. Also, I prefer the older style dehydraters with the motor on the bottom. Since heat rises, I've used 10 or more racks at a time & occasionally rotate the racks. The newer model with the motor on the top, I can only use about 4 or 5 racks; really less productive for the electricity usage.

These two sheets got only 4 stars because they are slightly smaller than the one which came with my Nesco American Harvest Gardenmaster dehydrator years ago. The center hole is also bigger; net result is less product, but not by much. Thicker plastic than the old one. All in all, I don't know why it has taken me so many years to order additional ones!Update: Just did the three plates of fruit leather with the same time/electricity I did one before. No plastic warping like others mention. Love them.

I bought these so more of my trays could have the liquid stuff for drying. It is probably my problem, but I am not really satisfied with making "leathers" using these. The stuff sticks at the edges. Trial and error on my part regarding getting the right depth of liquid/puree for drying so I don't have to use non-stick spray before pouring.I haven't had time to make enough leathers to get to the point where I really like these. I do make a lot of jerky so eventually I think I will be glad I bought extra sheets.

So I bought and used this on June 23. It's an amazing product, but today was the second time I used it and it cracked.. never put it inThe dishwasher I have always washed it by hand I have had smaller ones in the past for probably 10 years and never broke not sure if it's a defect or what trying to contact Amazon to see what we can do other than that it is amazing product

The device is made of plastic with a metal rod and trigger. It keeps all the meat in place while I portion the strips out. I use a spoon to get a clean edge after the meat comes out. 1 Star down because sometimes the meat/fat sometimes gets stuck in the nozzle.

I made ground turkey jerky with my Jerky Works and used the cure that came with it. The turkey jerky turned out way too dry-my fault, and it was also way too salty. I think it would be better to make your own jerky cure and to use a high quality ground beef. I used the ground turkey jerky for dogs treats-great save, lasted several months.The insert with two slits makes the strips to small when they are dried. I would prefer a larger round insert for bigger round sticks of dried jerky. I like the way the Jerky Works is made, and with proper care I believe it will last a long time. I will use it again, but will use a lean ground beef instead of ground turkey. If I can find a good recipe for a home made cure mix, then I might try the ground turkey again.

tastes like delicious.A co-worker recommended this thing to me and I'm glad he did. I've used it twice to make jerky out of 4 pounds of ground beef and it takes about 30-45 minutes to get all of the meat/seasonings mixed and get all of the trays loaded with the strips.I've only used this twice so far; the first pass I made my own mix of seasonings and mixed in some Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke with it and the second time I used the seasoning/cure that came with the gun...holy salt flats! If I were to use their mix again I would cut their recommendation in half and use 1 seasoning/1 cure per 2 pounds of meat.The best thing about this to me though is you can mix in any sauce (bbq, teriyaki, soy, hot, literally thousands of kinds of sauces!) in a matter of 10 minutes instead of having to cut a roast into strips and letting them marinate over night before loading the racks with it. The worst thing about this is smelling the food for 5-8 hours before you can eat it.

The gun works fine (used Walmart 93%) and did not have a problem pushing it through the tip.What I did have a problem with is the salt preservative (right side of double pack) as it isWAY, WAY to salty for me, and at going on 67, am trying to cut back on this deadly stuff.I would recommend using a little soy sauce or half the pack instead. For those having problemspushing the mix through the tip, the soy just may be the way to go to add some liquid to the mix.I am not using the jerky for camping or hiking, but as a snack, so always refrigerate it as withall meat, so do not need that much preservative in the mix.

I'm very VERY pleasantly surprised! Some of the negative reviews had me doubting, but the low price on this gun won me over. I just "jerked" my first batch. Smooth and easy operation. I didn't have to pull the trigger hard at all. Some have complained about difficulty with smooth extrusion or with the gun "popping" apart, but I had no such experience (and I didn't have to spray the interior of the tube with cooking spray either). I can only guess that any such failures are due to incorrect assembly or using meat that is too cold (i.e. too STIFF). This gun isn't as "heavy duty" as some I've seen, but it is MUCH more affordable! I expect it to last many years and when (if) it does break, at $13, I can easily get a new one!I WILL say that I think the flavor of the "original" seasoning mix that comes with the gun is a little boring for my taste, but there is an abundance of seasoning mix recipes on line to mix up yourself! Just make sure to use one for ground beef. Recipes for sliced beef are very different.

I found no improvement in drying performance over the bottom blowers, of which I have two. I must rotate the trays as drying proceeds. A check with the infrared thermometer showed a 3 to 4 degree drop in temperature for each tray from top to bottom. While drying split Italian plums overnight at 135 degrees, some drying occurred on the top tray, none occurred on the bottom tray. At the highest heat setting the temperature peaked about 10 degrees less than the selected temperature, even on the top tray. I was disappointed that the unit did not deliver on the recommended temperature for safe meat drying. I kept the dehydrator, knowing its limitations, for drying fruits. On the plus side the trays from my old Harvest Maid dehydrators fit this model. It is light weight and cleans up well.

First one broke in a year and a half and I only use about once every 6 months to dehydrate yams for my dog. Wasn't too happy. I bought another and the 4 year insurance just in case. Only bought this one because I had the extra trays.

Documentation sucks.. more recipes and advertisements for their other products than instructions. Seems to under-perform, but it's hard to tell, since the documentation focuses almost entirely on what and how to prepare things for dehydrating rather than how to use the machine. I shouldn't have to resort to youtube videos and bulletin boards to learn how to use my purchase.

This has been so great. It's my first time using a dehydrator and I got it to make sweet potato chips and apple chips for my dog and it works so good. I even bought more trays so I can do more.Update 1/6/15I have had this dehydrator for a little over a month and have done 2 batches of apples and 2 batches of sweet potatoes. I pulled it out to do Jerky and within 30 minutes of the dehydrator being on, it just stopped. There is no on/off switch or reset button, it just stopped. I had to return it to amazon and get a new one. We'll see if I have this problem again.

First time buying a dehydrator, tried it with apples and it tasted great. You need to keep it going for at least 12 hrs so it will use up a lot of energy but well worth it. The motor makes quite a bit of a noise-the only downside to it. Overall, good!

After being very excited about this purchase, ended up very disappointed. I reviewed multiple units and found this. This had the best reviews for a lower priced unit. Made one batch of jerky and it turned out great. There is no "on/off" switch, just plug it in and away you go. Went to make a small batch of deer jerky, plugged in the unit and it did not turn on. Tried several different outlets in the house but still, it didnt work! Very disappointed! Ended up trying to cook the deer in the oven, still waiting on the results. I will exchange this with another one. Maybe I got a lemon since it did receive such great reviews.

These do not actually fit the nutrichef dehydrator, as suggested. But if you don't mind that, and can stack well, these won't bother you much.

Seem to be a little thin and the side lips not very high. After the first use at 140 degrees they were a little warped. wouldn't be a problem if the material your dehydrating is a thicker consistency and heavy enough to hold the sheet down on all sides, but for a thinner fluid it will perform poorly. the dehydrator i purchased these sheets for did not have any from the manufacturer to compare to but I just purchased sheets for my Presto dehydrator and they are thicker, have higher lips, and have not warped at all.

I like the idea behind these sheets and I've tried several times to make them work, but always with the same result. The sheets apparently don't lay flat enough in the dehydrator to allow for uniform thickness of the puree, so my fruit leather is always too thick towards the center ring and too thin on the outside. This means that in order to get the center completely dehydrated, you have to over-dry the outside and it turns to rock. If anyone has found a solution to this I would love some advice!

Yes they do the job of not having any spill overs if your'e careful, but IMO just poor design. It's very difficult to remove properly dried items off these sheets, and IMO the sides could be considerably higher. They should look at manufacturing wax paper inserts. 3-stars only because as a solid flexible piece of plastic they do what they are intended to do because they don't let things seep through, they're easy to clean. Otherwise not impressed, but I also doubt you'll find better. It's the nature of the beast. Also the Nesco dehydrator I purchased already had a few (didn't say in description, nice surprise) so before you buy these as an add-on be sure you're not already getting some. Love my Nesco dehydrator anyway!

It's okay. A bit hard to get clean entirely. Bought them because I was tired of cutting circles out of parchment paper for my dehydrator to dry herbs, tomatoes, broth to make bullion etc.Maybe after a few uses they'll 'unstiffen' and quit smelling like plastic so much.

These are cool inserts that allow you to make fruit roll ups etc in the dehydrator, but they also bend which is a real bummer. That means whatever you put into them doesn't lay flat so you get a high spot in the circle. That makes whatever you're preparing either thinner, or bare altogether. That's my only complaint otherwise. I tried to make one of them flat by using my home iron and that worked somewhat...but it was a bit dangerous and the results were still lacking. I almost put that bad boy in the oven and then pressed hard on a flat surface to get it to dial in, but....meh....Out of all the ones I have...I use only one of them religiously because it's the best and most flat of them all. But having said all that...I'd still opt to get these as they give you a real convenience..and what are the alternatives?

Seems very flimsy and made of the cheapest available plastic. I am using it to make dog treats from cooked brown rice and salmon. The mix that I am putting in is very soft and gooey and comes out onto the dehydrator very well. I am not sure how this would work on anything stiffer. I do not expect this to last very long and will try something more substantial as soon as it breaks. There is no way anyone here is eating anything made with the spice packets!

Beware that this is a messy process! the device works great to squeeze the meat mixed with spices and cure into either cylinder tube shapes, thin or fat flat strips, however the mixing and filling of the device is a lot of work.Please also note, there are packets of spices and cure that come with the device that can also be used mixed with a little water as a cure for sliced meat strips, which also works well, however I find the flavor a little salty.

Until this product broke, it did exactly as advertised. I used it with ground venison to make excellent jerky. Even the mixes that came with the jerky gun were pretty good. However, even after following the advice of other users, the "barrel" broke on this gun. That did not bother me as much as my interaction with customer support.The burden for replacement or repair is put entirely on the customer, even though this is a well known issue with this product. I can't imagine any other jerky gun would perform any worse than this one, so I can't really recommend this item.

So the gun works ok, but not if you use wet ingredients in the ground meat. I used a mix with soy sauce in it and the gun kept popping apart. A mix with only dry ingredients in it worked fine. A note on the cure and seasoning packets: use care and cheep meat on your first batch if you use these. I used the packets as per instructions and the resulting jerky was so salty I couldn't eat it. Also, a lot of msg and other ingredients like soy you really don't need. What's the point of making homemade jerky if you put all the same junk in it that the store bought jerky has? There are lots of great recipies online for ground meat jerkey that use more natural things and allow you to control the sodium level a bit. Plus, the refill packets are a bit pricey, so there is that too

When the product is working correctly it is awesome (but what product wouldn't be), but sometimes it will pop out between the plastic container and back of the gun. I don't know if the threads aren't thick enough or what, but I know for certain you can't use cold meat use need to use room temperature meat in order for it to work properly 75% of the time. I have only tried this with ground bison and ground beef with the two jerky dispenser, but I wish the back end wouldn't pop off. Also, I know it probably goes with out saying but stay clear of the teeth of the gun they are extremely sharp and even if it drops on your arm or your finger touches it; it will cut you and deep. KEEP AWAY FROM KIDS!!! I was really hoping great things from this product but will possibly need to find on made completely out of metal and glass to be more durable, but what do you expect when you are trying to save money.On a side not the packet ingredients are great make sure to mix the cure really well or you will have some salty meat. I've actually cut down and only used about 75% of the packet, but everyone loves the meat and it is AWESOME with bison. I used the above method and then dehydrated for 5-6 hours and it's soft with great flavor, my grandmother loved it.Summary if the back end wouldn't pop off this would get 5 stars and I'd probably buy another one, but maybe the next generation will fix this problem.

This is a great product designed to make your ground beef jerky making process easier.What I like:The gun itself is very helpful in forming strips and sticks of jerky. The different nozzles allow me to make my jerky into whatever shape I like. The gun is easy to use and quite precise. All you have to do is load it with seasoned ground beef and squeeze it out. You can control the length of the jerky. It even makes a pleasant clicking sound as you watch your neat strips/sticks of jerky come out from the other end. I would not know how to form ground beef otherwise. Your hand WILL get tired after a while, but that is why we have two hands =)I LOVE the seasoning & cure packets that came with it. They were delicious, and make your jerky taste exactly like store bought stuff. They give you a good amount, too. Enough to make 5-10 pounds of jerky depending on your taste. After finishing them I decided to mix my own cure & seasoning by buying salt cure and liquid smoke, etc. but so far I haven't been able to come up with a consistently tasty seasoning for my jerky. If you want consistent great tasting jerky, I highly recommend ordering more of these packets individually.However, this jerky gun, as convenient as it is, does have a major, major, MARJOR problem...Major problem:The VITAL piece that pushes out the jerky is made of PLASTIC!!!! Oh lord, what are they thinking?! I am talking about the piece that connects to the end of the core metal stick. It is made of a thin piece of plastic! I understand that it needs to come off so it can be cleaned, but can't they make it metal too? My jerky gun is lying in the bottom storage drawer of my oven right now, because that one little piece of plastic cracked after making jerky 9-10 times. Yes, I made a lot of jerky with it, yes, it was great while it lasted --- but if you want a long term relationship with your jerky gun, and not have to toss the whole thing just because one little piece malfunctioned, you need to look else where for a sturdy gun.One (not so good) way to fix it:This vital piece began cracking after my 6th batch of jerky. It did not fall apart, just a little crack, so I found a temporary solution: I found a metal jar cap that is the same size, cleaned it well, and placed it in front of the plastic piece. It worked for a while, but eventually the meat escaped from the space around it and made a mess (what was I thinking). Also, you can try super glue. I haven't tried it yet, but super glue works wonders with plastic.Over all:With all its imperfections, this one does seem to be the most economic jerky gun--- precisely because it is imperfect. So I would say if you are a first time jerky maker, and you're not sure if you would want to make jerky forever, then give this a try. If you are like me, and eat jerky as a part of your stable diet, please skip this item and buy an all metal jerky gun. They do have those, though they are much more expensive.Thanks for reading!

UPDATE:After about 4 uses I have noticed the dishes warped and do not fit together well. I spend ages re-arranging and jiggling to get them to stand on top of each other, and then when I put the lid on everything goes all over the place again. The dishes don't have any stacking mechanism that locks them in place, so that means if they warp in even the smallest amount they no longer fit.ORIGINAL REVIEWI bought this to make my dog treats so that I didn't have to keep buying them and spending a fortune and it's been great. I love that it has a dial to choose the temperature, and even though it says to use inside, I put it out on our patio and it's been great. 12 hours later my pup has dehydrated beef liver, beef hearts, chicken liver, and chicken heart treats - and every other dog in the dog part crowds me for a bit of what she gets daily :)

I tried to do green beans and they shriveled up and weren't totally dried. I followed the directions that came with it. I tried to do grapes and cranberries and dried them for 2 full days straight and they still weren't dried. I am afraid to try anything else lest it be wasted.It takes up a lot of counter space so you need a good place to store it.I wish I could send it back, but my husband threw the box away.

Bought this to have a second FD-75PR dehydrator for drying nuts. However was disappointed to find that the trays have been redesigned from those in the previous FD-75PR dehydrator. The previous trays had a raised ring that kept the nuts from rolling down through the middle. So now anytime it gets jostled, like when taking the top on and off, nuts drop down through. Also this means I can no longer clean the nuts outside and place them in the trays there and then carry the fully assembled unit inside to actually dry. These trays also appear to have some larger gaps that smaller items like berries fall down through. The dehydrator seems to dry in a reasonable amount of time still. I had been considering buying a third dehydrator to speed up the nut drying process but now I'm looking at other brands to see if one of them has trays that are better designed for my purpose. I had also been thinking about drying spare trays for this second dehydrator but now I will wait on that to see what I end up purchasing for the third dehydrator.

I thought this was a great product, but two weeks after the one-year warranty date, it just stopped working. Customer service said that it would cost more to send it in and fix it than to buy a new one. I think $75 for a dehydrator that only lasts a year is a little pricey. I wasn't using it that often.

Bummer.... bought a nesco almost two years ago to date which I use every so often and it stopped working last night in mid-dehydrate. Unfortunately things do break. I happen to have had it running for 48 hrs two days prior - I normally dehydrate for 12 - 24 hrs at a time. I would expect a dehydrator to run for periods of time because dehydration takes periods of time. I will probably buy another because I now have everything I need such as extra trays and sheets - except a working motor and the price is good. The stainless steel one I want will have to wait!

I grow way more vegetables than we can eat at the time. I thought drying to preserve might be a reasonable solution to this universal dilemma. When it arrived, I loaded one of the trays with thinly sliced tomatoes and began the drying cycle. "Lets see what this thing can do" So after running continuously for two days (48 hrs.) My dried tomatoes were ready to bag and put in the freezer. This was one medium large tomato. I think it might have dried sooner if I had sliced it and put the slices on the sunny window sill because, here in Colorado the ambient humidity rarely gets higher than 40 %. Usually much lower. After my analysis of this process I concluded that along with the initial cost of this elaborate hair dryer and the cost of the consumed electricity my dried tomato was a very expensive one indeed. This machine comes with several racks (4 or 5) to increase capacity. So my next experiment used them all with several different vegetables filling all the racks. The results? After several days of burn time only a few of the smaller tomato pieces were dry and, disgusted, I never found out how long it would take to dry my green peppers because I unplugged this fraud and put it some place I can't remember.

I don't know that I even got these. The clear ones I got don't fit well in my machine. Not real satisfied.

2 stars because they do fit my machine fine, but as others have mentioned they warped like crazy after the first use.

The quality is nice but they do not fit all dehydrators. I read the reviews stating it fit in the model I use and it absolutely does NOT.

dimensions listed where off by almost and inch making so it didn't even come close to fitting my dehydrator.

Cheap plastic.. they chipped and cracked when trying to take the fruit leather off the trays.

I ordered2 sets of 2 fruit roll sheets. I received 1 set of fruit roll sheets & 1 set of mesh like sheets that were too large for my dehydrator. Rather than go through the hassle of returning the wrong sheets, I just cut them down to size & used them. They work OK but aren't what I ordered.

The seasoning okay I suppose, every one has different tastes so hard to judge. The jerky gun itself though is complete garbage. No metal support areas or even a structurally addicuit plastic where needed. Started to use with double strip cone, first pump pops end at tip off, reseat, 2nd pump pops handle end off, reseat, 3rd pump blows back of handle section apart gun is broken and unusable, garbage. Just spend a bit more and buy a metal jekyjerky gun.

not happy with this item. I used this item only 5 times. The last few usages, I had a very difficult time disassembling the unit for cleaning. When it works, it woks well, but I cannot give this item 5 stars because it is very difficult to unscrew the parts after using it. I am sorry to say this because I love the way that you can prepare larger amounts of jerky at one time without refilling it more often . I am now sad and disappointed.

How effective this thing is for you will depend on what you are making. I bought this for my wife so that she could make Thai style sausage, which contains rice and glass noodles etc., making the filler thicker than normal sausage. The available nozzles are too small for that apparently. That means more pressure builds up, which, in turn, means you are overworking your hands to get the filler in to the casing and, most importantly, it means the trigger constantly pops off of the cylinder. If given the choice to buy again I would opt for something made out of metal instead of plastic.Caveat emptor!

I had one of these in the past and it worked fine until the plastic cracked. So I bought a replacement. I was able to struggle through using this for one 5 lb batch of jerky. And after that, I cleaned it, put it in the donation bin, and bought a different METAL jerky gun. I am not sure if the design changed, or if I had a defective unit, but the thing would pop apart while you were using it, then the metal railing started to bind up. I actually hurt my hand from trying to struggle through using this. I was only loading 1 lb of meat at a time, or less than 1 lb, and using the large double jerky nozzle-- do there shouldn't have been too much pressure. It works but not efficiently. Spend a little more for a metal gun for a less frustrating experience.I do have a Nesco dehydrator and it works great-- quality issues may be limited to this model.

I read previous reviews and decided to go with the nesco any way. The pros: easy to load, easy clean up, produces nice, consistent size jerky sticks,The cons: when the plastic case gets ground beef around the end where the top screws on, and it will. The top pops off when trying to squeeze the trigger. I didn't squeeze hard, just consistent to advance to plunger. They should have added a few more threads on the end of the gun. I make 3 pounds of jerky and the top popped off 5 different times. screwed it on tight each time. It has the cheap plastic feel and you have to be super carful you don't break it. The jerky seasoning was awesome. just not a fan of the gun.

I've used this jerky gun twice and then it broke. I bought it because it was the first time I was making jerky and I wanted to know if I would like it. I did! The spices and cure are absolutely fantastic... but I'm not impressed with this gun device. I've processed my meet in the robot with the spice and cure before loading the gun... Well I can only say it's a cheap piece of plastic. I really don't like when I buy an object and when I'm using it as it is supposed to be used... and it breaks (not even fixable!!!) after two uses. Buy their jerky spices... not their jerky gun. For the Jerky Gun, may I suggest that you use the LEM brand... a bit more expensive but you'll sure receive a quality product that works like a corking gun.!

Worked well about a year, then heat got irregular and eventually melted. I'm lucky it didn't burn down my house.

After following the directions exactly, fruit thickness and length, and 12 hours at the temperature prescribed by the instructions I was rewarded with hot, wet fruit. Congratulations to them for formulating a sales pitch convincing me to allow them to weasel me out of my money. I suggest trying your luck on a different brand unless you prefer to wait 12 hours for hot fruit.

I bought this on July 17th and after very little use, it just died. It cannot be returned, because it is past the 30 day return window. Very unhappy camper.

I've used this dehydrator twice now, and trying to use it the third time, and it went out. I bought it brand new in March, and it's August and is broken. I can't return it, so now I'm just stuck with a useless piece of junk.

I purchased this item and used it a few times over the course of a year before it unexpectedly stopped working while in the middle of dehydrating a batch of beef jerky. Since I had owned it over a year and was past the 1 year warranty period, I was unable to return it. I'm not very impressed with the quality of it since I really only used just a few times over the course of a year and then had it give up on me. I will not buy another item from the company again. The dehydrator worked great while I had it, but beware of poor craftsmanship and poor quality parts.

Not happy with this machine after trying few recipes it is now in the pantry collecting dust. it is noisy and after 3 days non stop of drying apples are still not dry. waste of time for me .

These do not look like REAL Nesco. They are milky white, thick, and warped. There are no labels that have a brand stamped. Looks like a bad generic import. Nothing like my other genuine Nesco products.

I bought a food dehydrator and these showed up as an add on item. It lookd like something my kids would like to help make so I went ahead and bought it.It doesn't fit in my machine :(

These do not lay flat, and they has a stinky plastic smell when they are in the machine.

came cracked and very cheap, I am not impressed with the product verses value

Before getting a dehydrator, I made fruit leather/rolls in the oven on a silicone mat. I bought these and figured it would free up oven space... but the fruit leather didn't dry evening and stuck to the tray so much, that I had to waste it all and scrub it off. The tray is good for drying herbs or leafy greens so they don't fall through the cracks, but for fruit rolls, I'll have to go back to using my silicone mats.

I ordered this with my ronco food dehydrater. It was a package deal that ppl that bought this also bought that. This does not fit in the ronco dehydrater and was a waste of my money and time. I emailed for a return and they sent me the same thing that still didn't fit. Not pleased...

It cracked in less than one day. Don't buy. I got the jerky spot instead which is way more expensive but all metal and much better. Thank you Amazon for refunding me. It didn't allow for normal return.

The third time I used this item, the side of the main tube split out. It didn't last 2 weeks. I tried to return it through Amazon but was notified that the item was not eligible for return. Very Disappointed. I've got the smaller Nesco gun and it has lasted for 15+ years. Nesco BJX-5 Jumbo Jerky Works Kit

Garbage!! Don't even waste your time! 1) the plastic threads are to fine, as you squeeze trigger pressure builds up and the pieces pop and your stuck with half the product in one hand and the other part in the other hand. 2) well it's trash. Lol no seriously I guess if you were pressing out Jello or something it would work perfect!

Jerky gun is a very poor design. The nozzles except for the round one put to much back pressure to allow the cheap ratchet and lever to push the meat through the gun. Hold the the other two nozzles sideways. You'll see that the flat short width of the nozzles acts like a flat brick wall which makes the cheap ratchet trigger too weak to advance the meat through the flat nozzles. That's why chaulk tubes have a tapered nozzle. Order a jerky gun with a longer tapered nozzle.

I have purchased many nesco products and have been very pleased. This product I can't even believe they would put their name on. The gun does not work. I made ground turkey and mixed with hot and spicy mix. Tried to push it thru the gun and as soon as there is pressure the back pops off. I tried grinding it up smaller in a food processor and just made more dishes to wash. Even tried to put a little oil on the top to help the meat slip thu. What a waste of money and time. Not to mention all the meat that was purchased. Was so looking forward to making jerky tonight and so extremely dissapointed! It will be going in the trash. You get what you pay for! Deserves 0 stars.

Junk don't waste your money. They end blows off it each time you try and press any king of ground meat through it. I quit using it and bought a metal jerky gun on here that is amazing. It was about double the price but worth every penny. Save yourself from pitching 20 bucks in the trash and spend the money on a quality jerky gun. One thing I will say though is the jerky mix that comes with it is good. I still use the Nesco dry mix on my ground meat like burger and deer.