Open Country® 7-Tray Food Dehydrator
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- 350 watt motor
- Fan Flow Radial Air for even heat distribution
- 7 drying trays
- Dishwasher safe base and drying trays
- 2 spice and cure packs
The Open Country® 7-Tray Food Dehydrator is a workhorse unit that dehydrates your food in hours rather than days like most units. Comes complete with one-touch operation and fixed temperature. Makes up to seven pounds of jerky in one batch. Powered by capable 350 watt motor. Fan Flow™ Radial Air® provides even heat distribution around this unit's seven drying trays. Trays and base are dishwasher safe. Also comes with two spice and cure packs. Made in USA of foreign and domestic components.
Manufacturer model #: FD28SK
For additional trays, call 1-800-288-4545
Rated 4.8 out of 5 by 74
reviewers.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Allie62 Open Country 7 Tray Dehydrator
I purchased one of these for myself & one for my granddaughter so she could make her own jerky. She also makes zucchini chips. We both love the machine even though it is a little on the noisy side. It's nice that it makes jerky & banana chips quickly because it seems I can't stay ahead of my family's appetite.
May 18, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by happycustomer1 great product
Better than i expected. I bought 5 lbs of london broil and it fit perfectly on the 7 trays. i let it run 8 hours overnight and the jerky was perfect in the morning. all the guys at work want me to make them jerky. it was better than the stuff you buy at the store. no complaints whatsoever
April 22, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by MamaKathleen Excellent Dehydrator
Excellent price, very easy to clean, great quality,easy to work with.
February 11, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5 by jungleguy Worthwhile purchase
The dehydrator worked astonishing well and was a very good value for the price. I was also pleased with how quickly it arrived with just regular shipping. i highly recommendit for the price. Yes, the motor can be loud, but putting it in another room is no big deal. I would give it a 5 for what I used it for: making jerky and drying fruit.
February 8, 2013
12 Questions | 58 Answers
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I cannot find anything about the fan rattling... it is NOT quiet. If I bump the motor, it changes noise level, but never actually quits the rattling/ scraping noise. Is this a defect?
(read all my Q&A)
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You can hear the motor if the dehydrator is in the house so put it in your garage and make sure that it is level, it works well.
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Mines pretty quiet, i'd send yours backA:
Mine does not make this sound and is fairly quiet (just a low fan sound). I would bring it back.Answers
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The temp. in my unit got up to 160 degrees. All trays dried evenly without the need to rotate trays.A:
there is an enclosed heater and blower and it has a dial to varie the temperature setting up to 165 degrees FA:
Yes there is a heater and it is around 145 to 150 degr'sA:
Yes there is. Dont know the temp. Only on/off.A:
Yes, it gets to between 160 and 180 degrees.A:
Yes, this unit heats and based on my measurements today with a full load of jerky, the ambient temp inside the dehydrator fluctuates cyclically between 135 and 155 degrees on an hourly basis.Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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No - It comes with 7. 5 are required, but more than 7 can be used as high as you want to stack it. There is an order form in the box to order more, in sets of 2, for $7-$25/set. Price depends on size (13" or 15") and type of tray needed (wet, sticky, or reg mesh trays).A:
You can purchase extra trays. It says it comes with 7 trays however the bottom isn't really a tray so I would say it has 6 trays which will dry quite a bit. I can usually get about 4-5 pounds of meat dried at one time. You can put the meat or fruit really close to each other because as they dry, they shrink up quite a bit.A:
You can buy extra trays. I was able to make 5 lbs of chicken with the supplied trayA:
It comes with 7 trays and it holds alotA:
the unit is sold with 4 trays but additional sets of 2 trays can be purchasedA:
Just like in the name it comes with 7 trays.
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The unit comes with seven trays, which is its maximum capacity.Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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Yes. An order form is in the box. You can order from the Nesco website, by mail, or by phone. You can pay by check, money order, or credit card for xtra trays. A set of 2 xtra trays runs from $7-$25 depending on size/type of tray desired.A:
Yes and a order form comes with itA:
yes-extra trays come in sets of 2Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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About like a hairdyer on low fan setting. Sometimes there is a slight buzzing/vibrating sound from it about like crickets at night. The buzzing usually starts an hr or so into drying and happenes off and on (lasting no more than 5 sec at a time) for about another hr or so. Seems to be related to rising internal temp or something. For the first hr or 2 your house will smell strongly of whatever is drying. As it gets drier, the smells goes down dramatically. i.e. A totally dried onion smells nowhere as strongly as a warm, wet, freshly sliced onion. I try to use it on low humidity days, open a window, and use a box fan to blow out the smell for the 1st couple of hrs. Or just ignore it and throw some herbs into it afterwards to cover up the smell left by the jerky. There are also other ways to make the jerky smell "nice" when it's cooking, such as marinating in honey or liquid smoke, or throwing some lemon or orange slices in with the drying jerky,depending on which smells you find "pleasant".A:
No it's not loud at all {like a small fan on medium speed} Cooking smell just like if you where cooking a dinner.A:
It sounds like a fan and no, it didn't make the house smell like jerky.A:
the blower does make a little noise but it does not stink up the houseA:
It is not as loud as a range hood fan and yes you will smell jerky in the house but the smell does not linger.A:
The unit sounds like a quiet hair dryer. It will smell up area where you are dehydrating.
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it's louder than I thought it would be, but really not that loud at all. sounds like a travel hair dryer on low fan setting. the sound disappears into the background after a while.And your house will only smell like jerky if you are MAKING jerky :)
Make a batch of cinnamon apples and your house will smell very nice!
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Per manufacturer - Unit is not very loud but you will smell the jerky.Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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Most definately! And fast! Slice small peppers like jalapenos into rounds, and large peppers, like bells or poblanos, into strips for faster drying. Crush to make your own seasoning powders & hot sauces. Ours whips out a 7 tray batch in less than 2 hrs.A:
yes, i've done apples, grapes (raisins), pineapple, and bananas already, can't see why itwon't do peppers too.
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This unit will dehydrate peppers, however, for best results, most vegetables dry the best at temperatures between 135 & 145 degrees. The FD-28SK varies between 135 & 160 degrees. You just need to watch a little closer to see how fast they dry.Details:
We grow a big garden and also like to go to you pick orchards. What is the maximum number of trays you can put on the dehydrator?Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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Min is 5 trays at a time. Don't think there is a max. All of the trays stack to form the outside, so you can stack it as high as you want/need. It heats from the top, so if stacked too high, lower trays would take longer to dry and may have to be rotated. With 7 trays, we never have to rotate anything for all trays to come out perfectly. As a "guestimate", each try holds about one large fruit or vegetable. I can usually do a 5 lb bag of potatoes (7-8 large white) in a single batch of 7 trays.A:
It says you can go up to 30?A:
given the amount of air this dehydrator moves, I would not consider adding more trays to this unit. step up to the 500 or 700 watt unit to add more drying capacity.Answers
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It kind of depends how much you put in there and how thinly sliced. I did about 4-5 pounds of beef (1/4" strips) and it took about 7-8 hours.A:
I have been making chicken jerky and it takes about 8-12 hours. I did marinate the meat overnight.A:
I made about 15 pounds of jerkey at one time-using 8 travys and it took 11 hours. I cut the meat in 3/16 inch strips. Thicker strips will probably take a little longer.A:
About 7 to 8 hours depending on how much you do at one time.A:
I typically dry mine for 6 hours if I am going to use it right away. It's pretty moist still so I keep it in the fridge. I go 12 hours if I am going to take it out camping for a week.
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I got my dehydrator for christmas and have made a few batches of jerky. I have found that depending on how tough or chewy you like your jerky will depend on your drying time. I like mine tender, so according to the book I slice my jerky about 3/8", season overnight in the fridge in a gallon bag and I turn it over several times during refrideration. When i dry it, it usually takes between 12-16 hours. I hope this helps.Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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They make 2 sizes. 13" or 15". Trays that came with this one were 13". (must be inside mesh size of rack) Entire unit is about 14 1/2" across.A:
15 inchesA:
This is how wide each tray is measuring it directly across it. It is the diameter of each tray.Details:
Do you have to rotate the trays when using this.Answers
Top 1000 Contributor
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Generally, no. It depends on what you are drying, how you slice it, if it's fresh, marinated, or previously canned, and how many trays you are using. It always has to have at least 5 trays. It comes with 7 trays. You can order as many extra trays as you need. With 7 trays, I've never had to rotate anything, even when mixing different meats, veggies, & fruits all in the same batch. I just be sure everything is sliced to about the same thickness, put it all in, and let it go. It heats from the top down. Once I had to remove everything except previously canned peaches & cherries, to let them go longer. But that was because they were so wet/syrupy to begin with.A:
NoA:
not necessary with the blower and fan and tray design.A:
I didn't need to.
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No, I have never rotated the trays and get good results every time. I don't see any harm in rotating them, I just haven't found it nescessary.A:
I rotate the trys every 1 1/2 hours.
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12 Questions | 58 Answers
