Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

I have only done the initial bread run but so far I am pleased with it! The bread was perfectly dry. I have an issue with the door seal, and the customer service was a little less than helpful (though they were very kind) is the reason for 4 stars. The rep sent me links to youtube videos to compare the door seal to, but the links did not work. Still not 100% sure if not having a seal prior to vacuum is normal, but it did work (after an error or losing seal during the run).

We’ve had our freeze dryer for about 2 years and absolutely love it! We’ve freeze dried fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk, ice cream, salsa, full meals and the list goes on and on!

I used to can everything from our garden but now I use this instead. So much easier and I don’t have to follow any certain recipes like you do with canning. The shelf life with this is so much better too!

I’ve had to use harvest right customer service a couple times for minor things and they were awesome!

I finally got a freeze dryer and have been using it non-stop I love the harvest right freeze dryers because it comes with so much extra stuff. The bag sealer that it comes with is commercial grade made out of metal. You also get a bunch of mylar bags and 50 oxygen absorbers. Harvest right freeze dryer is extremely easy to use and program. Anybody can do it. I have been freeze drying mainly candy and ice cream. I have had to call customer support in the beginning and they were amazing. They sent me videos to help me with what I was needing help with. The harvest right medium freeze dryer used to only have four trays, now it has five. I can fit a whole carton of ice cream on one tray. So you can actually do five cartons of ice cream on one run. There is also a harvest right Facebook page. You can get tips and tricks from there. You also get a small recipe booklet with your machine. It has easy to follow recipes with great pictures. I plan on using my machine to make some extra money. There is not much freeze dried candy in my area so everyone is excited for me to be selling it now. I forgot to mention but you should also get two different bottles of oil with your harvest right freeze dryer. The oil is for the vacuum pump. Another neat item that comes with your harvest right freeze dryer is an oil filter container. You can actually filter the oil so it can be reused. I have probably done at least 30 runs and have not changed my oil yet as it has not gone down at all. There is also a 3-year warranty which is pretty amazing. Everything extra that they give you for the harvest right freeze dryer is worth over $700. I don't think any other company gives you all of that. I was nervous at first because my house is not very big. I was worried about the noise that the harvest right freeze dryer would make. I had to put it in a room right next to my living room and figure that way I could at least shut the door when it's running. But I don't even have to do that it is not very loud at all. That room smells amazing when I'm freeze drying candy or ice cream in it. One of the features on the harvest right freeze dryer is it has a candy mode. You can do all sorts of different candies in around three to four hours. I thought in the beginning that it would take a whole 24 hours for each batch that I did. But when you're in candy mode it takes a lot less time. I can do a couple different runs on candy mode a day. I honestly wish I could get another freeze dryer but I don't have very many outlets in my house. I plan on selling my freeze dried products at craft fairs. There are so many neat items to freeze dry. I even freeze dried jello. Everyone loves it it's amazing. I have done whole fudgesicles and different flavors of ice cream. That's probably one of the most popular items. You can freeze dry hard candies and chewy candies and candy bars. I also freeze dried pudding. I would love to do some yogurt drops also. It's amazing that freeze dried food can last 25 years. So the harvest rights freeze dryer machine is great for preserving all types of foods. You can make a batch of chili and freeze dry it and bring it camping with you. All you would have to do is add some water and heat it up. It's supposed to taste just like it did before you freeze dried it. You can actually freeze dry whole steaks. Freeze dried food is great for backpacking because it doesn't weigh anything. You could bring some freeze dried fruit with and you can eat it freeze dried or add water to it and reconstitute it. I'm going to be freeze drying banana cream and chocolate cream pie. There are some things that you can not reconstitute because it just makes a mess. You have to use your common sense on what you can reconstitute or not. They're already few items that you cannot freeze dry. Are many facebook pages that have tested recipes. Harvest right even has a facebook page. Can do a search on many different food items to see how to freeze dry them.

I really like my freeze dryer; however, I have had issues with the vacuum from the beginning. Tech support has been great and customer support has been polite. I am extremely frustrated because my machine is now out of warranty and will cost for tech support. I would understand having to pay but as the has happened a minimum of three times since purchased (August 2022) and I do not have very many hours on the machine, I would like them to take responsibility for the root cause of the problem vise charging me to repair something that has been an ongoing issue. I have an appointment with a tech this afternoon. We will see how it goes.

I was so excited to finally get a freeze dryer! I wanted one when they first came out but rationalized that I didn't really "need" one. Boy, was I wrong!

I have had my freeze dryer for about a year and half and have been very pleased with its performance. I love that I can save leftovers, put food away for emergencies and keep the nutritional value.

What a fun "hobby" this is for me now that I am retired! I love the convenience of having a supply of pantry-ready food on hand for emergencies, or just daily use.

I have contacted support a couple of times and they were always able to solve my problems, and did so in a prompt, professional and courteous manner.

I highly recommend the Harvest Right freeze dryer for anyone that wants to be prepared for the future.

My kids all love the food that I give them and are looking forward to buying their own FD someday.

My only regret is that I waited so long to actually get one.

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.

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.

We love our Harvest Right Medium Pro! I received my freeze dryer in February and started storing eggs for long term storage right away. After a couple of smooth batches there was a disconnect with the trays not reading the temp correctly and I got on the phone with their tech, Chet. He was SUPER diligent in working with me to help me fix the problem (sending videos, pictures, etc.). After a couple of tries, he offered to have a certified tech come out to replace the piece entirely for peace of mind and we were back in business! Chet was super diligent when it came to making appointments and ensuring our machine was functioning at 100%. He read through my log files which shows them if there is a disconnect somewhere and where it is. Harvest Right stands by their product and they certainly don't leave their customers hanging. I am not a "tech-y" person and I was able to learn so much about my machine with Chet. I highly recommend Harvest Right and also recommend asking for Chet personally if you have an issue. I can't wait to save up for my XL next! Thank you HR for helping me store food for my family.

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 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.

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 my Harvest Right Small Freeze Dryer! My machine has been going non-stop since I bought it. The first thing we did was make some treats for the grand kids, freeze dried fruit and Skittles. After that I have went through my pantry and long term food storage supply and freeze dried all things about to expire. No more left overs, we freeze dry them for convenient meals or to take on vacation to save money. If you are a Prepper, you need to get one ASAP! The machine is not very loud when running and easy to clean. I also freeze dry foods to store in Mason jars for everyday use, like freeze dried corn is awesome on salads. It is one of the best purchases I have ever made, no regrets.

Machine broke down again. They wanted me to go out and purchase different tools to repair myself that was unsuccessful. I still had to send it in for repair and that was more inconvenience for me!! I missed multiple holiday shows and loss revenue. Disappointing all around!

Purchased the medium unit and confirmed no external damage. This thing is heavy so make sure you have help. Got it all set up with a dedicated 20amp circuit and noticed the door seal was not making full contact. Found the tray rack was pushing into the seal because the ground wire loop was interfering at the back. This was easy to rotate out of the way but then I ran a vacuum check and did not get below 600mTorr. Started a ticket with HR customer service and they quickly set an appointment to call me and explain that this is normal and the unit just needs to run a full cycle to get everything set. They were right and we are running. Everything else seems good quality and it was great having a clear speaking person to talk to. If you are worried about noise, mine is in the basement running now I can’t hear it on the main floor.

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.

We got our freeze dryer a little over a year and have been loving it so far! We had a little trouble not too long ago but customer service helped us out and our freeze drying is back up and running! We love that it has given us the opportunity to help preserve our food and make nutritious snacks for ourselves and our fur babies.

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

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.

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!

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!