Excalibur Model ED-2500 5-tray Food Dehydrator (Excaliber) Drying food is fun! The Excalibur Dehydrator allows you to dry anything evenly and efficiently. The unit can dry all fruits, vegetables, meats, and more! Make fruit leathers and home-made jerky - FRESH! The Excalibur has a trademarked horizontal-airflow drying system which dries foods perfectly evenly on all the trays. Dehydrating is a great way to add a new way of consuming foods without damaging valuable nutrients which may be lost during high heat cooking! Dried foods are a great treat to snack on because they hold almost all of their nutritional value and flavor. This unit differs from other dehydrators because of its unique horizontal drying system in the rear of the unit. This provides a sure way to provide an even dehydration process as the warm air removes moisture and is pushed out the front of the machine. There is also no need to rotate trays because of the horizontal drying. Features: * Thermostat adjusts from 95 - 155 degrees * 15" X 15" Trays * 1.25" between each shelf * Removable doors and trays * Plexiglas door * Trays are dishwasher safe! * Includes instruction manual with over 50 recipes! Specifications: Model ED-2500 Weight 15 lbs. Dimensions Depth 19" Width: 17" Height: 9" Voltage 120 V / AC / 60Hz Power 400 W Thermostat Yes Number of Trays 5 Amount of Drying Space 8 SQ FT. Clearance between shelves 1.25" Fan Size 5" Built of Thick plastic housing Non-stick sheets Available Any reference to the Excalibur company name remains the right of Excalibur. We make no claims that we are the manufacturer or have any signed agreements with Excalibur All text description is unique of 877MyJuicer.com research

Reader Reviews
Recently I decided that I want to go raw foods. Then, it only seems natural that I should get a dehydrator: storing health foods for longer time, have them out of season, and of course quick healthy snacks. If you are into juicing, drying the pulp is a delicious treat! Besides, it only takes a couple of hours to do it - most liquid is already out.
I chose Excalibur because most people recommended it for making living dried foods. Sure, there are newer technologies out there, but why should I pay more for something I don't need when Excalibur works great? Besides, this one (all Excalibur series, actually) has a unique feature: the fan(s) is at the back, not at the bottom - this means that the heat is the same on every tray. The rest of dehydrators - having the fan down - makes the heat go up, so the highest tray dries first, etc. For this reason, people need to rotate trays. Not with Excalibur! The heat is the same for every tray!
You can get a model with a turn-off timer, but that costs $40 or so. Instead, I went for a timer device, which is much cheaper (the type you use for bulbs while you are in vacation).
I would suggest getting a thermometer if you are into raw foods and want to dry it faster: the technique is to use (almost) highest temperature setting until inside air temperature gets there, then lower it to 105-115 until food dries completely. The thermometer helps you know when the first stage is done.

This model with 5 trays offers a generous 8 square feet drying surface - this is because you don't need dedicated holes in the trays to allow for extra air circulation. Other dehydrators with the fan at the bottom do need them, using some space which could have otherwise been dedicated to drying.

Available from Amazon Price: $299.00 Updated on 10-28-2008.