COSORI Food Dehydrator Machine for Jerky, 5 Trays with 165°F Temperature Control and 48H Timer, 350W Dryer for Fruit, Herbs, Meat, Veggies and Dog Treats, 50-Recipes Book Included

Received yesterday, registered for the 2 year warranty online. Washed it and ran it at 165F for 30 minutes, i.e. exactly as advised in the user guide, rinsed the trays and and let them dry. Then took a bunch of ripe bananas bought at Costco (3lb.) and sliced them in 1/4 inch pieces as suggested in the included recipe booklet, filled all 5 trays, the top being only about 25% full. Ran at 145F, as advised in the booklet for fruit. After 4 hours I checked the temperature using my Rubbermaid THP220C thermometer, which said it was at 145F. The thermometer probe did barely fit into one of the vents in the top of the Cosori. I boosted the temperature of the Cosori to 165F and the thermometer read 165F after a few minutes. I let it continue to run at the top setting (165F) for 20 total minutes. A negative review here had said that their unit didn't reach 150F, making it unsatisfactory for safe production of jerky. Over the last 10 minutes of my 20 minutes test the temperature of the thermometer varied between 167F and 170F. Looks great to me! After the test I lowered the temperature to 145F, and am right now proceeding to make my first dehydrator product, crisp banana chips. I'm totally pleased so far.

very good product, you can do a lot of things with it

Couldn’t be more pleased with this dehydrator! Super easy to use does a great job! During the drying process, I do change the rack heights.. nice quality item. Very pleased.

It works. Use it to save leftovers.

I am using this food dehydrator for 2 purposes - 1) the same traditional way most people are using it - for dehydrating fruits, veggies, fruit rollups and making jerky - for this unit is excellent, precise (temp & timer - temp checked w/ calibrated 4 temp probes placed on every other tray including top & bottom -very close temp range between each tray) , easy to use/program, a breeze to clean - trays are dishwasher safe - I chose not to expose then to the harsh dishwasher temps/ detergents - they are coated so food releases so easily even the fruit rollups sticky thick liquids come right off w/hot water & a sponge. 2) Audiophile/Videophile - Analog/digital magnetic tape "baking" to fix "Sticky Tape Syndrome". I own many analog tapes (reel to reel, cassettes & video VHS, Betamax etc..) Ampex brand tapes in particular (not only this brand), made between late 60's to early 90's have tape formula problem that allows moisture from humidity to cause the glue binder in the tape to liquify causing tapes to literally come apart while playing in your machine - tape particles stick to heads, capstans etc.. ruining your precious audio, video tapes & potentially causing damage to Tape player, VCR, video camera or best case, a mess to clean off all that brown residue that peeled off of tape - BTW that residue was once sound or video so it is now gone forever - imagine an important family event on VHS now parts stuck to your VHS player head - ruined tape. You can tell if you have sticky tape if tape squeals / screeches when you try to play, or if machine jams or is sluggish when rewinding/fast forwarding - playback either sounds flat - no high end for audio or video that is grainy or full of "noise" lines then usually starts getting stuck pouring out on floor.STOP immediately, remove tape - hand wind if necessary & proceed to "baking" (don't try this with conventional gas or electric ovens even convection types - they are not made to maintain PRECISE low temps for long periods with constant air flow - u will possibly melt tapes or not remove moisture like a dehydrator was designed to do - low even temp, air flow & long bake time 48 hour minimum - REQUIRED). By "baking" the tape in the right type of food dehydrator @ 120 to 130 Degrees F for 24 to 48 hours & a 24 hour cool down after (Cosori has large enough trays to bake several 10.5" reels & multiple VHS, cassette, 8 track tapes on different trays as many as you can fit lying flat). Tapes may need a second bake if badly sticky, if so, "rinse & repeat". I checked Cosori for stray magnetic fields from blower motor & heating element with a lab grade magnet-o-meter and there were none even @ bottom close to motor, so no risk erasing your recordings. It works - that is why I tested temperature regulation on each tray to make sure there were no wild temp swings from tray to tray. Once baking is complete tapes will play as new but may need treatment again if stored in humid environment - keep tapes in air tight container w/ humidity absorbing packets you can buy @ Amazon or locally - keep box in temperature controlled dry environment. There are several internet & youtube articles/videos explaining this "sticky tape syndrome" & how to treat specific formats/tape sizes for Video (VHS, Beta, mini type "C" VHS even data storage mag tape media), Audio (cassette, 8-Track, Reel to Reel) if you "google" it. The Cosori model# CO-165 FD is HIGHLY recommended for this purpose because of it's large diameter trays, space between trays, great temperature and timer regulation and fantastic price for this level of quality.As a food dehydrator also excellent for same reasons above - included cook book/recipes excellent primarily forits General Food Dehydration Chart - which lists dozens of fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers and meats providing time and temperature guidelines for "safe" minimum standards to properly dehydrate & store various foods correctly - which require refrigeration or air tight room temp storage after dehydration - fewer inedible dried up tidbits and no "food poisoning" risks from bacteria from improper dry times or storage.Chris

Nice for the money

Works well. Warning: it’s hard to clean

WOW! After having an abundant supply of herbs and vegetables from our garden, I started canning and freezing the harvest. As I was looking on YouTube for how to preserve the garden harvest, I came across ways to also dehydrate the foods. So, I bought this dehydrator and it sat for awhile. As the weatherman started predicting froze, I looked at all the remaining herbs in the garden. So, I harvested every herb (we had 29 plants) and even though I had already froze a lot already, I decided to dehydrate and OMG, it has become a passion for me. It is an alternative to canning and freezing of some of the vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries from our own plants. I can prepare the product and put it on the trays and set the timer and temperature and walk away. The timer goes off adequately that I can hear it and I go and check on the dehydration process and see if everything was adequately dehydrated or if I need to rehydrate for a little longer. The dehydrator holds the temperature and time settings so I don’t have to reset it each time, unless I am changing the product to one that needs longer time and different temperature. My herbs are now dehydrated, put in a jar with an oxygen absorbing packet and sealed and labeled. It’s like having my own spices and not having to buy from the store. I am planning on trying some tomatoes as I have been a subscriber to a person that dehydrates almost everything and she makes powder out of the tomatoes. She puts the powder in a jar and will take a little bit out and add some water and makes tomato paste, adds a little more water and makes tomato sauce. There ya go, no more having to run to the store for these products. I did can quite a bit of tomato sauce, but this seems like a method I may prefer going forward. My “mentor” on YouTube, she is amazing with all she dehydrates and she also cans. I’m looking forward to using this dehydrator throughout the whole year just not at harvest time. My Christmas gifts to people will include dehydrated meals in a jar so my college grandkids and first time living on their own grandkids can open a jar and just add the liquid and enjoy one of grandma’s soups or meals from the garden. I am so into this I may purchase another dehydrator to use at the same time. I did also purchase some try linings so my blueberries, strawberries, etc., won’t leak liquid into my dehydrator. Who knows, maybe, one day, I will be the “Dehydrator Queen” on YouTube!!!