Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews
The Harvest Right Freeze Dryer is an in home kitchen appliance which promises commercial quality freeze drying at home.
How Does It Work?
According to their website, Harvest Right is the only company which has built an In Home Freeze Dryer that is truly small enough in size to comfortably fit in your home while still being powerful enough to freeze dry all the foods you may want it to.
Their products are very simple to use as well. Customers can place fresh or cooked foods into the dryer where they will be frozen to -40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.
After the food is frozen, the freeze dryer creates a powerful vacuum around the food, and as the food slightly warms up, the ice will turn into vapor and evaporate.
Customers can then store their foods in Mylar bags, mason jars, or cans along with an oxygen absorber to ensure freshness until you decide to open it.
Their website says that their foods and meals can be rehydrated in just a few minutes, and fully restored to their original textures and tastes. Their website provides a full guide for rehydration of Meats, Vegetables, and even Fully Meals.
Reputation
It is not surprising that there are not many reviews for this product at this time, as there likely isn’t an incredibly huge market for in home freeze dryers at all times.
However, as far as the few reviews which are available are concerned, they all seem generally very positive about the quality of service this appliance provides.
Customer Service Contact Info
Customers who would like to contact Customer Service with any questions, concerns, or complaints can do so by phone at 800-865-5584 or by submitting them directly to their website through their Contact Us link.
Cost & Price Plans
As a large scale kitchen appliance, freeze dryers are not necessarily inexpensive. In fact, their website shows prices which currently range from around $2,600 to around $4,100, though prices may vary.
In addition, there will be shipping charges assessed for this product, and as it is complicated and these products are very heavy, these charges are often expensive as well.
Refund Policy
Their website says that in home freeze dryers can be returned within the first 90 days as long as they have not been used, though the website is unclear whether this 90 day period begins on the date of purchase or on the date of delivery.
Regardless, the website says that customers will not be charged any restocking fees for returning their products, however they will be completely responsible for all shipping fees, both the original fees and the return shipping fees.
Harvest Right will issue your refund after the freeze dryer has been accepted and inspected.
Competitors and Alternatives?
As mentioned above, Harvest Right claims to be the only company at this time that provides commercial quality freeze dryer in an in home appliance.
If you have any experience with the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer, please leave your reviews below.
Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Customer Reviews
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I love my new harvest right freeze dryer
Vacuum Issues
Worth While Investment
We have had the small Pro model now for a couple months and we are very happy with Harvest Right.
1st, the machine is much quieter than some reviews led us to believe. You have to be in the room to hear it running. Which comes to #2, that it will hold a process if it is at a step that needs your prompt to continue. Such as “Extra drying time”. Very easy for the wife to use being it is “Hers” as “my tools are in the garage”. 3Rd. I was impressed with the sturdy trays. A thick gauge stainless with beveled edge. We will be getting an extra set. Also one should get the tray lids for stacking loaded trays in the freezer(pre-freeze). 4th With the small model at least, we have only needed a pitcher for the drain tube.
We recommend reading all info from Harvestright, get it in advance (download) if you can and also the book “The only Beginners Freeze Drying Book you’ll ever need” from Micro-Homesteading Education
I believe my son got it off of Amazon. Very good suggestions and has Batch logs for keeping track of how your food processed and also maintenance logs. If you do not have shelf space, or want a portable cart, we purchased the 30” service cart with 1 drawer (H/F) or a tool cart at Lowes or Home Depot. Pick a color and size to fit your machine.
Excellent quality and value
I purchased a small (residential) Harvest Right Pro model in early Feb 2024. Now, less than two months later, I have just ordered their extra large (residential) Pro model. I chose the oiled premium pump for both, assuming much quieter operation with oil than without. After considering local retailers, I decided to buy from HR directly each time to avoid the additional delivery segment from the retailer to my home (which allows additional opportunity for damage). The interaction with HR did not involve even a hint of high-pressure sales. The process for both purchases was easy, smooth, and informative, setting expectations perfectly for delivery details.
I mostly freeze dry fruits, vegetables, and herbs, but have processed one cooked meal, too. I have almost always pre-frozen the food. I didn't expect a learning curve, but there definitely is one. I've made a few rookie mistakes, but otherwise had great success with very little effort. Freeze drying will now replace much of my canning efforts for excess garden production.
I've called HR customer support a couple times for questions that weren't answered in the owner's manual or guide, and actually spoke to a knowledgeable human being within a reasonable amount of time on each occasion. What an unexpected delight.
My small HR freeze dryer, even though it's not the commercial model, appears in every way to be commercial quality, with no shortcuts taken anywhere. I expect the same from the XL. With proper maintenance, they will possibly outlast me, lol.
Best investment for long term food storage
Love our freeze dryer!
I'm absolutely thrilled with our freeze dryer! It's been a fantastic experience experimenting with various types of freeze-dried foods like cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, apples, bananas, candy, and even ice cream. Not only have we saved money by preserving items that would have otherwise expired, such as cheese, milk, and heavy cream, but we've also been able to create healthy and convenient raw dog food.
The machine itself is clearly constructed from high-quality materials and came with everything necessary to get started right away. Unfortunately, we did encounter a freon leak issue within the first month of use. However, our experience with Arlette from Harvest Right customer support was exceptional. She went above and beyond, acting as our dedicated representative throughout the troubleshooting process, managing all the shipping logistics, and providing frequent updates on the repair and return progress. Since the machine was repaired and returned, it has been working flawlessly once again.
We love our Harvest Right
We love our Harvest Right freeze dryer. After apprimately 9 months of using it frequently, we encountered an issue with it not heating the trays and not getting enough vacuum pressure to function properly.
We worked with Madysen at HR to file a repair ticket. As it is still under warranty, repairs were covered. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we live in Canada, we had to pay several hundred dollars towards the return shipping costs of sending the machine back to HR because they don't have anyone to do repairs here. That said, we knew this would be required if we ever needed repairs because it was explained to us before we purchased. It is our hope that HR will work to expand their technician network in the near future as that was a large out of pocket expense which could have been avoided if they had trained techs in areas they sell their machines.
As far as the repair process went, Madysen was really easy to work with and made sure we were updated throughout the process. In the end, they decided to send us a new machine rather than repair our old one so it was rather quick (outside of shipping times). The only downfall with this solution was that they sent us a six tray rack rather than the 5 tray rack we had with our original machine. This impacts us in two ways, one being that we no longer have as much head space for the candies we make (which actually reduces the number and variety of candies we can run; and, they didn't bother to send extra trays so even though we had two sets of trays for our five tray rack (we are short two trays because the nature of our operation means that we always have one run going and one run being prepped but we can't prep or preference without the extra trays. It was an oversight I'm sure but it has been really inconvenient for us and now we will have to buy another set of trays which will mean more money out of pocket which is disappointing to say the least.
Overall, we are really happy with our machine and would recommend HR but we do hope that they work to clean up these issues so we can continue feel confident in buying HR again when we are ready to add more machines.
Major Repair in Alaska
Let’s just say that I am an extremely difficult consumer and when I delve into a product; especially at the cost of a freeze dryer, I like to know all about it up front to justify its purpose, use and value to me. I have had my 4-shelf (1 year warranty) HR freeze dryer for about two years or so and had no previous experience with the workings of the item, although I do have some refrigeration/mechanical background, so I thought that this shouldn't be too difficult... ok. Using the machine presents a higher-than-average learning curve with freeze drying. Many parameters to consider, so in many ways it is a trial-and-error process and you will have your spill-overs, blown up berries, stuff that doesn’t work and things that go wrong with the machine. When in doubt, turn the machine off AND unplug it.
Besides the occasional mess to clean up food freeze dried incorrectly; I recently had a major blunder when; for whatever reason my epoxy cable/pigtail connection shorted to the vacuum chamber…. I had no idea what was wrong, nor why it happened… the machine just stopped. Also, I was kind of freaked out since I saw this as a potential electrical fire hazard.
After contacting HR, I was matched with Luis V. and Bradley C.… two senior employees in technical support. Since I live in Alaska, it was NOT an option to ship the machine back to Utah for repair, since it was unbelievably expensive at $1400 + packing up/banding/palletizing, etc. There is also no one in Alaska to repair machines. Instead, it was decided to repair the machine via cell phone video, calls and laptop conferencing. If you speak to customer service, I recommend completing a service request on their website, versus second- hand information relayed through customer service.
The Repair… After numerous emails, it was decided what I likely needed for parts… paid for them and they almost shipped them to the right place! It happens in Alaska…confirm...confirm...confirm!
Disassembly… there are numerous models of these HR freeze dryers, so it is imperative that you take photos and notes, etc. when something happens. There is an internal log, but it doesn’t replace hands-on info.
After dealing with an seriously unhappy customer (me) I have come to the conclusion that both Luis and Bradley have incredible patience, fortitude, tolerance and knowledge of their product, not to mention skills for prying the customer off the ceiling who exhibited boughts of hysteria and anger. After over 10 hours of communication, the repairs were made through a group effort. I was very nervous, but each step I took was verified by Luis and/or Bradley. Even when I was going off the rail due to frustration and thinking I had made an expensive bad choice with buying this unit, they helped to keep me focused. They diligently exhibited their professionalism and pride in what they do. A test run was made that night, and a batch was run successfully!
As far as HR goes, this is a growing company and they have had to grow quickly, while also dealing with some overwhelming issues due to that growth and the demand for freeze dryers. Initially, I dreaded the call to HR, since my experience 2 years ago was not impressive, and help was difficult to navigate through. This appears to not be the case now with the hiring of more competent employees.
I can only say that after this repair was completed, I have a better understanding of how the company operates. This being said, I owe HR employees Luis V. and Bradley C. a debt of gratitude and appreciation for having the skills and patience to deal with someone like me. I’ll do better next time I promise!
I give Luis and Bradley 5-stars; however I gave this review 4 stars based on the issues I have had to deal with due to my living in Alaska. Some suggestions for management... How about a trade-up policy, better shipping agreements, more upgradeable options (going from 4 tray to 5 tray in same machine), individually wrapped OAs and extended warranties offered? Thanks again!
Date of experience: March 15, 2024
I love it!
Disappointed
Great customer service and one easy fix.
Oh My Gosh, Awesome Freeze Dryer
Being new to freeze drying and after a lot of research, we purchased a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer and “oh my gosh”, this freeze dryer is amazing. We purchased the Medium Home Pro Freeze Dryer. They also have several different sizes and have accessories available online.
Everything you need is included in the purchase to get you started right away:
Freeze Dryer
Premier Industrial Vacuum Pump
Vacuum Pump Oil
Oil Filter
Stainless Steel Trays (set of 5)
Guide to Freeze Drying
Mylar Bags (50 ct)
Oxygen Absorbers (50 ct)
Impulse Sealer
The warranty is 3 years. Customer Service is great and they are for any questions or issues you may have. We were so impressed with the machine quality, warranty and customer service, that we purchased our second machine. You can make custom settings on the machine, even giving it a name all on a touch screen.
Check them out, you won’t be disappointed.
Love our freeze dryer
The machine itself is amazing
I love this freeze dryer, except for the pump troubles, it’s been a great machine.
I would Not recommend getting the premiere oil free pump though, it’s expensive and went bad less than a year after we got it…
If I could, I’d upgrade to the XL size
At the time this 5 tray machine was the largest available
Harvest Right Medium Pro
We've been mulling this purchase over for a while and finally went ahead and got the best size we could given our electricity concerns (Dedicated breaker and 110 line not a 220).
We had an O-Ring issue which was quickly resolved by customer service.
☆☆☆☆☆ for responsive, U.S. based help!!!
Harvest Right is wonderful and we absolutely recommend them to anyone who is willing to take freeze drying for a spin and save a bunch of $ in the long run.
Why did I wait so long
I have had my Harvest Right for a little over a month and I LOVE it. I should have bought it years ago. A couple of things I love about it and the company:
1. I love that they don't nickel and dime you to death. When you buy the Harvest Right Freezer it come with Everything you need to get started. No discussions about needing anything else, or I Should buy this. I LOVE that!
2. After set-up I got started and I think there have only been a few days when I haven't had something in it. It's easy.
3. I typically will now make 2-4x the amount of dinner and freeze dry the rest. We'll have it for long-term food storage, that tastes so great you just want to snack on it still dried, 72 hr emergency kits and when we head out on a trip. Easy Peasy cooking on the road or camping. I LOVE IT!
We Love IT!
First off, I'll have to say is that the customer service is great. After 2 use of our 5-Tray Medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer it started to smell as if something was burning. The System didn't alert me to turn it off, but I had decided to cancel my batch and cool everything off. I was afraid to use the machine, until I spoke with someone from Harvest Right. I gave them a call and they walked me thoroughly to trouble shoot where the smell could have came from. The machine was in perfect condition. The issue was from the moisture getting into the Oil Demister causing it to smell. Since then I've used it several times drying lots of fruits, running it back to back batches and have not had any issues. My family loves the freeze dry fruits and would eat everything, if I'll let them. As a mom, I love that I can feed my family good and yummy snacks with no added chemicals to preserve my food. Thank you Harvest Right!