Thursday, September 24, 2015

A look at two dehydrators.

You are a gardener and serious about preserving the food you grow, or perhaps you are someone who has no garden but is serious about healthy eating and buy bulk at the Farmers' Market, or you are a bargain hunter and buy bulk vegetables wherever you can. Whatever your motivation you have decided that one of the ways you want to preserve your food is to dehydrate. You may have already discovered that the oven is not for the serious project, and that circular dehydrators are not all they are cracked up to be, they don't give you the space and they don't give you the accuracy of temperature. Their life expectancy is also disappointingly short.

So, what should you do?

Word has it that the Excalibur is the 'Mother of all dehydrators', and a year ago we would have agreed with you without any reserves, but we came across a contender. We started off thinking that the Excalibur was going to win hands down, and we have had the LEM for almost a year now, working side by side, and here is what we found.

The product details tell us that the surface area of the shelves is exactly the same, but the LED shelves are half an inch narrower. Both prices refer to models with a timer and 15sq feet of drying space.


Excalibur: $299.95 -$349.95               LEM: $189.99
Excalibur: 9 shelves                             LEM: 10 shelves
Excalibur: Screens included                LEM: screen sold separately, 2 rolls @ $12 each
Excalibur: Need to turn temp. to zero to check contents.
                                                             LEM: Handy stop/start switch
Excalibur: Easy to leave door open a fraction by mistake.
                                                             LEM: Door closure more secure
Excalibur: Gap between shelves is 1/8th inch
                                                             LEM: Gap is 1" making air circulation better


  • Side by side, vegetables, herbs and fruit all took the same time to dry, with no difference in texture, colour or taste.
  • We would not pay extra for timers as there are too many variables in drying time e.g. weather. All LEM models include the timer, while Excalibur is reduced by $50 for no timer.
  • Using the dehydrator for large quantities of yoghurt in quart jars, the LEM was more stable, and because of the increased height allowed more jars to be loaded.
  • Excalibur offers more options (for a price) such as stainless steel models, clear doors etc, but that is a matter of choice and depth of pocket, and does not affect the non-stop drying they withstand here all summer and autumn.

In conclusion, there is very little difference in performance, except if you use your dehydrator for yoghurt. There is a considerable difference in price. Next time we buy, we will buy the LEM and that has to be our recommendation for others
.