NESCO FD-41B Snackmaster Jr Food Dehydrator for Beef Jerky, Fruit, Herbs, and Snacks, 4 Trays, Blue

2023 update: changing it from 4 to 5 5 stars. I’ve had this dehydrator for over a year now and it is still performing great. It’s small (4 trays) but has dehydrated everything I have put in it to perfection. I use it mostly to make single ingredient treats for my dogs. For the most part, sweet potato chips, apple chips (so delicious) and their favorite is raw dehydrated chicken strips. The chicken strips take 24 hours a to come out to crisp perfection. Best part is the trays easily slide out and go right into the dishwasher. To my surprise, nothing has ever stuck to the trays. Not even the chicken. I watched some YouTube videos recommending to spray trays with oil when making chicken strips. I’ve never had to do that with these trays. Something I appreciate since my dog is restricted to a low fat diet. Which is another reason why I purchased this dehydrator. Many dog treats out there are expensive and you don’t know what’s in them. The labels only show minimum fat content but not the max. Now I know and can control what my pups are eating. Back to the dehydrator, it’s so easy to use, and completely silent. It has a dial to set temperature and time to preference (rather than just a handful of limited presets). There’s a little reference chart on it that list suggested temperature for herbs, veggies, fruits, and meats. I believe it chimes before shutting off to let you know it’s done dehydrating. It also chimes as turn it on and adjust settings. My only complaint (very minor) is that you have to unplug it if you want to adjust temperature or time, once it’s already been set. Now that I have a better idea how long things take to dehydrate, it’s really no longer an issue. The cord is a little short but haven’t had any issues. The door easily opens and closes. Allowing you to easily check on progress. Another great thing about this dehydrator is it’s small footprint. It neatly stores away on a shelf in my pantry. I highly recommend this dehydrator. I’m so happy I purchased it. I love that the trays are not plastic. I love that it is so easy to use and clean. Like a microwave. I image those round dehydrators with the plastic trays are a pain to put together and clean. Not to mention toxic. I plan to purchase the larger 7 tray dehydrator in the near future. For now, the 4 tray works well. Its such a satisfying feeling watching my dogs devouring and joyfully crunching on healthy snacks that I made myself. With the cost of food these days, I think it’s worth investing in something that helps preserve it. With that, I have saved a ton of money on expensive dog treats, and feel better knowing exactly where the meat and produce came from.Original: Great little dehydrator. I am using to make sweet potato snacks for my dogs. I will say this is really small. I sliced a large sweet potato and wasn’t able to fit all the slices from a single sweet potato. It dehydrates nicely. Completely silent. Temp control and timer are adjustable, but once it’s set, you cannot adjust. I had set it at 12 hours and by the 6th hour I wanted reset the timer to 3 hours (so not to over cook). The only way of resetting the timer and temperature is to unplug it. To which, I feel the cord could be longer. Overall, it’s a great unit. Cooks everything very evenly. Nice small footprint, but the trade off is very small batches of dehydrated snacks. I think if I’m going to wait 12 hours to prepare a snack, I should look toward a dehydrator with more capacity.

The dehydrator is small and quiet but gets the job done. It is easy to use with the dials and reference material located on top of the dehydrator. It is small so doesn’t take up much room, easy to store. I enjoy the ease of cleaning it, the bottom tray catches the mess.

Used it this Christmas to dehydrate Orange slices for the Christmas tree. Did an excellent job. It is a bit loud, but I just turn it on and go on about my business. I also dehydrated some extra celery I had in the fridge b/c I didn't want it to go bad. I'm pleased with it. Love how small it is. Would like it to be quieter. I ran it at night with our bedroom doors closed to do the oranges. Probably not a smart idea.. esp if it overheated or something but.. it didn't and I'm still here... and my oranges were beautiful.

I really like the machine for it's size and quietness - I previously borrowed a Hamilton Beach machine that has the fan on the bottom and boy, was it loud. This dehydrator has been great for a small apartment and easy to wash the metal trays in the dishwasher. I've been really happy with the fruits I've been able to dehydrate. I do wish there was a way to just pause the time without it resetting completely when I need to check on the dryness and need to add a bit more time.Where I took off a star was that Amazon is fraudulently advertising this as a new item but the one I received was clearly used (I recall seeing a review that said the same) — the inside bottom metal tray had many scratches and the packaging had been taped up. Called customer service - they wouldn't replace the machine or do anything about this false advertising and threatened to hang up on me until I finally did myself. That was incredibly frustrating and while I think this machine is great, I won't buy from Amazon again.

This little dehydrator is small but mighty! It is easy to use, and the results are fantastic! Whether you are a beginner or a pro it's a great purchase for anyone with a smaller space. Great for small batches, but also works quickly enough to do more when you need to. You have controls for heat and times, so you can make jerky too! We make biltong in it and it turns out perfect! I use a wire rack to lift it off of my counter a little bit, it's not necessary for function just convenience for loading as my countertop is low , the wire rack ensures maximum airflow so the machine stays happy. I am so happy with this little dehydrator. Definitely follow the manual instructions for burning off the smells it has due to manufacturing , once you do that process in a well ventilated area you're ready to dehydrate!