Older brown Ronco dehydrator.....

[Wendy]

I inherited this from my grandma. She was a sucker for cool infomercials.

 

She put this thing in her storage room and never used it. When we were cleaning out stuff after she passed, I came across it and took it home. It has 1993 stamped inside the bottom of it.

 

It doesn't have a fan or temperature dial. You just plug it in and it gets hot. There is a thing on the lid that covers different holes. It has 5 trays.

 

I picked a bunch of green peppers out of my garden yesterday. I already have tons frozen so I decided to give it a try. Most of them were brittle dry by today so I assume it works. I haven't read anywhere that these aren't safe to use. Anyone have any experience with them besides the fact that they take much longer than the ones with the fan?

[Fritz_Monroe]

I used to have one. Got rid of it a couple years ago. This was back when I was one of the sheep.

 

They work fine. As you noticed, they take a while to dry things.

[grannyto2]

Thats the one someone loaned me you have to rotate the trays

here is the manual for the one I had. I never could figure out what the holes were for on the lid how to adjust them . http://www.ronco.com/rco_manuals6.aspx

[Violet]

We don't recommend them because bacteria can grow in the food before they are dried. They take way too long to dry things to be safe. Especially never dry jerky on one if you want to be safe against food poisoning.

We tell folks, honestly, to throw the Ronco ones out.

 

[Stephanie]

So, my Magic Chef, five tray with white bottom and fan is NOT really an adaquate tool?

 

I was just about to try some dehydrating, but don't want to waste the food.

 

It looks like this...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAGIC-CHEF-5-TRAY-EL...807101274r30598

[HSmom]

A fan makes a big difference Stephanie. See what Violet says, but I have a couple of the Ronco's. Last summer, I also picked up an American Harvester that is about the same size and shape as the Ronco, BUT has a fan. It dries in about 1/4 - 1/3 the time.

 

Violet, I think you are right and I will toss my Roncos...maybe saving the trays.

[Crazy4Canning]

In my recent food safety class with Violet, I learned that to be safe, a food dehydrator needs a fan, heat source, and thermostat.

 

I have my mom's Excalibur 4 tray and I really love it.

 

Most models will have you rotate trays. I just gave my grandpa's RONCO to the goodwill. It was pathetic. The temp varied, the bottom was scorched, the top not done...really no way to regulate the temperature.

 

Also, you want something with an opaque color - cream, beige, etc. It is better for dehydration. The brown colors for some reason (I forget at the moment) don't do as good of a job. The NESCO and Excalibur and I am sure a few other models, have this color of case.

 

If your dehydrator needs a thermometer, add a meat thermometer or oven thermometer. Take the temp at different points and positions throughout the drying process. My grandpa made his own dehydrator (this thing used to be a warming oven - it's HUGE!) with Lo, Med, Hi settings. It has a heat source and a fan, but no degree markings. After re-wiring it and sanitizing it, I intend to do temperature tests to see what the temp is at different times, different trays, etc. and mark the temp on the dial.

 

Prayed2BaMom, maybe you can do the same thing?

[JCK88]

If you have a convection oven you can also use that to dehydrate if you can get dehydrator trays. The temp can be regulated and there is a fan in those. I am doing my first drying of zucchini in there--and was able to look up in the ball blue book what temp to use. Of course, it just says 120 degrees until done, LOL A friend says 8 hours or more.

 

The last thing you want is a food-borne illness from something you worked so hard to prepare. I used to have the Ronco, too as did my mother. I made tons of banana chips in it but that's about all. (I wasn't a prepper way back then, just a banana chip lover)

[Stephanie]

Thanks y'all. I'm going to do some experimenting with mine and decide what to do. Judy, my mom has the convection oven and has been experimenting with it.

 

I was thinking about having to throw them out ( the old ones ) and I did a little search and came up with the neatest article about odd uses of a dehydrator, so maybe they are SOME good if not for drying our food. I started a new thread for it,

 

http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28588

[JCK88]

I saw that thread Stephanie...good idea. (Mine died a long time ago) I'm liking this convection oven drying. I did sqashes and they turned out just great..two large trays of them. I also did bunches of parsley and chives. WOW...in three hours I had beautiful dried herbs. I'm all excited now about dehydrating, have been wanting to do this for years but I do have a tiny kitchen. The oven means I don't have to put another bulky thing on the kitchen counter. I also discovered that Lehman's sells fruit roll up plastic that you can cut to fit on your dehydrator rack....so I have to get some of that next. (feeling like kid with new toy, LOL)

[ROSARYCHAPLET]

what about the maytag chef mate dehydrator? i just got one in a yard sale for $2.00

[Canned Nerd]

A proper dehydrator needs a FAN to circulate the air and optionally a THERMOSTAT to control the heat level. The old Ronco and other dehydrator's did not have fans so the food would often get moldy before it could dry enough to retard such growth.

 

What does your Maytag dehydrator have?

 

[Suz]

Judy: Are you using your regular range or do you have something like a toaster oven? My range's oven is convection but the fan doesnt come on until it hits 250 degrees and I always figured it was too hot to use. What temp are you running yours at? I'd be more apt to dehydrate if I didnt have that honking thing on the counter!