Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had read many reviews on this site and others about which dehydrator to buy. I was impressed by all of the great things I read about the Nesco FD-61, so I got it! I have used it 2 times and now have some comments to make. I started with 5 trays of mixed fruits, banana chips, orange slices, and apple slices. I dried them for approximately 12-15 hours. The bananas were not that great, still a bit too chewy. The apples were PERFECT. They had the same taste and texture as the store-bought dried apples. The orange slices were great (according to my 12 yo son) and crunchy. My deduction is that it's probably better to only use one type of fruit at a time. I'll be trying the bananas again on their own and see if I can get them a bit more crunchy next time. The second time I decided to use the handy jerky gun and spices that came with the unit. I bought some 3% fat burger. (it calls for VERY low fat meat) I mixed it up with the 'general' spice packet that came with it and opted to use the flat jerky attachment. The recipe book said it would take about 12 hrs. It also calls for you to pat off the grease every couple of hours during the process. By the time I went to dab them at about 4 hrs... they were almost done! I gave them another hour and they were PERFECT! The general spice wasn't my kids' favorite, so I am on a mission to get them some other flavors. My next endeavor will be the jerky with the 'sticks' like slimjims. I am going to assume they take longer than the flat sticks, but we'll see. I have read numerous complaints about wasted meat with the jerky gun. I found that if you use a blunt knife and your fingers, you can get all of the meat through the flat jerky piece. As far as the slimjim/stick piece, a chopstick will push that meat through. Oh, one last thing, your dehydrator (as it comes here) will hold 1 - 1.5 lbs of meat, which is the amount those seasoning packets call for anyway. For anyone not sure what to get, I would recommend this product 100%! For someone who has never dehydrated before, this is a great and easy product to learn and use. I had read that most units are very loud, this one is NOT. My kitchen is directly next to my living room. I didn't hardly even hear it running. My dishwasher is 10 times louder. Okay, you've read this... now go click 'Buy'! LOL