Harvest Right Freeze Dryer - The Best Way to Preserve Food - Food Dehydrator, Medium Size, Aqua Color

its the best food preserver on the market when you get used too it. very interesting and fun also, lots of fun......very well built and when one comes available GET IT you will love its capability and results

We bought the mid sized unit with the no-oil vacuum pump. It failed about 6 weeks after purchase and the "customer service" has yet to mail the circuit board.I am disappointed that a several thousand dollar unit would fail so quickly and even more disappointed that customer service is not helpful.I would be reluctant to purchase again

Altho I love my freeze dryer, I have spent untold hours replacing parts ( spent the entire first month on the phone with tech support for the pump) and have spent the last year replacing parts on the freeze dryer itself. The good news is that the parts are fairly easy to change. Tech support is not great but they do throw lots of parts at ya.One year into this, I still have a pump problem and have given up on tech support. If you get a bad pump….tech support is somewhat useless.If you are a bit handy and don’t mind taking things apart to replace parts…the results are worth it.

We purchased our freeze dryer a little under a year ago and have had good success in making and storing meals and food long term. The unit came via truck and was dropped off at a pre-designated location since we live in a place where the truck would have had issues delivering.The unit is fairly straight forward in operation with a little instruction via YouTube and other Facebook groups. We pre-ordered the oil-less pump which at the time was on back order. I must admit that changing the oil in the oil pump can be laborious if you are doing a lot of cycles, nevertheless it performed without fail. It took a few calls to the company to keep up to date on the progress of the order of the oil-less pump, but when it came it worked flawlessly. The unit has had no issues and is pretty much a set and forget type of process. One does have to remember to check periodically to see where it is in the cycle as to not miss when the cycle is complete. There are options to adjust the drying process for various types of foods if needed which can be helpful. That being said, we have just used the pre-set settings and all works out fine.Here are the pluses that I see:1. For the amount it costs to purchase a years worth of freeze dried meals for one person, you can purchase your ownfreeze drier and know whats in the food.2. The oil-less pump works great and is less of a hassle to use as the oil pump.3. The food tastes and looks great.4. No need for a deep freeze which takes electricity year round.5. The weight of the food is much less than if frozen and can be stored for up to 25 years if done properly.6. I can make my own food weather it be organic, gluten free, Non-GMO or what ever and will be there when I need itmost.7. Clean up is easy with the stainless trays. (I do not have the liners)--not taking in consideration the oil pump.The negative:1. The oil pump needs constant draining and filling after each batch.2. Oil has to be filtered and purchased to replenish what has been used.3. Cleanup can be annoying with the oil if it is spilled.4. The initial cost can be a problem for those on a fixed income, however the lay away program is helpful especially ifordering with a oil-less pump.5. The cycles can take up to 30 hours depending on what is being freeze dried. This can add to the power bill.6. The size and weight of the machine has to be taken in consideration. The standard unit may not fit in your kitchen.7. It's not an easy thing to move (keep in mind, we have the standard, mid-sized unit).With all things considered, I'd buy it again if I were in the market for one. The machine does what it says it will do and is a great addition to our lives. The benefit for my family is that we freeze dry what we eat. Thanks Harvest right for making freeze drying possible for consumers!

Like many other people, we bought our freeze dryer to preserve food for long-term food storage. We save our leftovers, food from our garden, and buy food in bulk to freeze dry and have as part of an emergency food storage. As we've been using the machine, however, we've found that a lot of what we freeze dry we use daily for snacking.Our kids love freeze dried fruit and yogurt. We can hardly keep bananas, peaches, or yogurt around for long. We've always been careful with what our kids eat, but they have happily traded chips and candy for fruit and yogurt. It's been great for our family.I'm also an avid backpacker and camper. Using the freeze dryer to prepare meals for the backcountry has been a real big boost to my time outdoors. I'm able to have much better meals while backpacking than ever.The machine is easy to use, and setup was a breeze. Once setting it up in our storage room, it was only a few short moments before our first batch of food was in and drying. It's been over a year, and we've used the machine consistently ever since we got it.If you're into healthy living, backpacking, emergency prep, or just want better snack foods, a freeze dryer is a must.

I think this machine delivers what it promises: the ability to preserve foods by freeze drying at home. Harvest Right has done a good job of putting a complex process into an overall very user-friendly machine. I am loving my freeze dryer for making grab-n-go meals for my family, sweet treats (freeze dried Skittles, anyone?), and meals for my backpacking trips. I am also accumulating meals to be stored for disaster prep, since we are in hurricane country.There is a little bit of a learning curve with finding the best way to prepare certain foods to ensure successful freeze drying, as well as the rehydration process. Me, I'm a little bit of a nerd, so I enjoy this experimentation and learning process.The vacuum pump does require some minor maintenance. After each load, the oil needs to be drained, filtered, and replaced. This is a simple process which only takes me a few minutes, and has become part of my routine each time a batch is finished. The machine and vacuum pump are somewhat noisy, which is the only downside, and I would recommend a closed room or a garage if possible to isolate the noise. However, I can tolerate the noise for all of the benefits that the machine offers.No mechanical problems, so far, (had the machine about a month), Overall, I'm very satisfied.