Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

My wife and I purchased a Harvest Right medium-size freeze dryer in June of 2022. Since that time, we have run it almost constantly. It's a real work horse of a machine! We've cranked out quite a few packages of excellent freeze-dried food, from soup to steak, and everything in between. Recently, it began acting up, so I contacted tech support at Harvest Right. They were quick to respond with suggestions.

David Morrey was my contact, and he stuck with me during the entire repair process. By phone, he patiently talked me through the process of updating the software. He also explained many features of the machine that I never would have known otherwise. (We spent a considerable amount of time on the phone.) Using the log files I emailed him, he diagnosed the issue as a failed relay board, possibly because we had been running the unit under too-hot temperatures. We could have shipped the unit back to their repair facility, but since it weighs 220+ pounds, I opted to follow the YouTube video David sent me and dismantle the machine myself.

He sent me a new relay board, free of charge, and I was able to replace the old one with the new one, though I have zero experience working with circuit boards. (See photo.) The hardest part was manually removing (and replacing) the Allen bolts that hold the panels in place, using Allen wrenches. I would have preferred bolts with Square-recess or TORX heads, since I have driver bits to fit those types. Anyway, with a few more tweaks that David suggested, the unit now works perfectly.

One of the real advantages to the Harvest Right freeze dryer is that you can preserve food—cooked or uncooked—when you have a surplus. This helps to cut down on food waste, and the freeze-dried food (when packaged properly) can last for ages. Homemade freeze-dried food is much cheaper and tastier than the survival products you can find in stores. These units are also easy to use, once you know what to do.

We recently ordered a medium Harvest Right freeze dryer and we are so pleased. The delivery was perfect. I was impressed with how the device and accessories were packed. They all arrived in in perfect condition. We just completed our first batch and are elated with the results. We are backpackers and are tired of store-bought freeze dried food. We are gluten free and it is hard to find commercial meals we like. Our first batch was twenty omelets of different varieties and they taste amazing freeze-dried! During our first batch, we had some questions so called the support line and they answered all our questions and got us moving again.

My freeze dryer is one of my favorite things I've ever purchased and works fantastic. When it comes to the customer service side of things, the very little support and information you get is upsetting.

I had to talk to multiple people and eventually was told I would have to pay 45$ for technical support, on a machine I already spent over 2000$ for.

We purchased our 4-tray medium Harvest Right in April of 2023 and have used it almost nonstop ever since. We have freeze-dried complete meals, eggs, vegetables, and candy. The complete meals reconstitute very well, retaining all their flavor (we love spicy foods) and losing only a small amount of texture. The eggs from our homestead also turn out well, losing none of their flavor and are not rubbery. The two times we have contacted customer support, they were quick in resolving the issues.

I love my Harvest Right, with not knowing what our economy is doing, and our food prices rising daily it makes perfect sense to start freeze drying our food. After using my freeze dryer I've been extremely happy with the ease of use also the taste of the food after freeze drying it. Also when I first plugged my machine in it kept reading temperature not detected. I called customer service that same day I received a call come to find out it was my error I had the plug to my trays turned the wrong way. With that being said I'm a new and happy customer. Cindy C.

We got the freeze dryer to preserve homemade foods. Our home has dietary restrictions, like Celiac Disease, Kidney, and other issues. When you buy pre-made meals or eating out, you really do not know what ingredients are in your food.

Our freeze dryer has been a lifesaver. With home prepared foods, we have peace of mind knowing what is in it and how much salt or flavorings were used. When properly prepared, this also allows us to have emergency dog food and snacks at the ready. We have had taco meat, eggs, chicken, jerky; you name it. This is fast food, our way ready to go when we need it.

Brandon Bloom and Madison Right went above and beyond with questions to pinpoint the issues I was having with my 2nd and 3rd Medium FD. Even with my busy and hectic schedule their follow up and follow through got both issues resolved quickly.

I had concerns based on comments made on some of the FB Freeze Dryer pages to where I almost delayed my business venture. Madison reached out to me directly from a question I asked on one of the pages. She was extremely interested and helpful in getting my issues resolved ASAP. Madison connected me with Brandon who not only sent me a Thumb Drive with the software upgrade (since I live in a rural location because me buying one next time I was in town would delay the resolve) but he called to walk us through the process and then again with a follow up call to make sure everything was running as it should. 5⭐️’s + for the customer service I received from Madison Right and Brandon Bloom. Thank you. I would definitely with confidence recommend Harvest Right to anyone asking for the best Freeze Dryer.

We purchased our Harvest Right freeze dryer five or six years ago and have very much enjoyed it. I especially love freeze drying raspberries, pears, and apples from our yard. They make delicious Christmas gifts, especially if you add in freeze dried pineapple and cherries. Freezing meals for our backpacking trip to Havasupi worked out really well, too. We froze chile, macaroni and cheese, ice cream sandwiches, and more for the trip. I like to freeze dry veggies as well; freeze dried tomato purée is great to use instead of canned tomato sauce or paste. I would definitely recommend purchasing a higher end motor - it’s very nice to not have to worry about changing the oil after each use. Extra trays are also very helpful. Customer service has been great. Problems do sometimes arise, and the support has always been prompt and efficient.

I love growing vegetables. I try

to can, freeze or dehydrate what I grow but I also end up giving so much away when I run out of energy or freezer space. I've contemplated buying a freeze dryer for 6 years but the cost was always too much. It still is but I bought it anyways. I just made my 1st batch of dog treats with previously frozen pumpkin puree and chicken livers. Turned out great! I don't think I'll ever recoup the cost of the freeze dryer but I will give it a try.

The only issue so far has been water dripping out the front during defrosting. I bought small round rubber furniture pads that are 1/4" high. I placed them under the 2 front legs. I am hoping this will help the water drain towards the back eliminating the water out the front. Otherwise, everything is going well. The machine is very easy to use.

One tip: I pre freeze items in my regular freezer since it's always running anyways. I feel this lessens the freezing cycle in the freeze dryer since it goes to drying mode very quickly. I hope this cuts down a little on electricity. Everything I've done so far has taken about 20 hours to complete.

We’re very please with our investment in our Harvest Right Freezer, after years of home canning, a subpar quality of food is preserved but now freeze drying is preserving our food in its full nutritional value. It’s exciting to prep food to store and provide quality nutrition for my family. Harvest Right has great customer support and I’d recommend this quality company for their excellent product and service.

Our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer has worked excellently for the past year. We've processed lots of fruits, vegetables, a few meals and even experimented successfully with making powdered kefir. The freeze dried food was especially helpful to lower eating out costs on our recent vacation. And a life saver on processes our abundant garden produce when we were running out of freezer space. Customer service has been prompt and accurately answered our few questions about set up and operation. Bravo!

Harvest Right

The Large freeze dryer has been a life changer for our family. It is a quality product that has secured our food preservation and supply for many years to come. Take your time to learn and absorb any information that you can to use this machine efficiently. The customer service team is excellent in helping out when you don’t know what to do. Excellent purchase for those who want to know what they’re putting into their bodies.

I’m eager to share my experience with the Harvest Right freeze dryer. When I used it for the first time, there was an issue with the condenser. Rather than wait an extended period for it to be repaired, Harvest Right replaced my model with an upgraded version — the Home Pro freeze dryer. I have run several batches successfully, and am very pleased with the results. It is more user friendly than the previous version. I was expecting to need some technical support the first couple times I used it, but it wasn’t necessary. I enjoy having a variety of seasonal foods in the off season. It’s convenient not having to cook as often, just add hot water and serve. I also appreciate being able to make my own “fast food”, free of additives that are present in commercially processed foods. The long shelf life allows me to store quantities that would see me through any hardship that may come along. The Harvest Right Pro is the most useful tool for achieving food sovereignty.

Recently called support over an item I ordered. Realized it was the wrong thing and attempted to cancel the order before it was sent out. So do not respond to the bill sent, like I did, but call the company direct. They would take the item back however, decided to keep it after all. The rep answering my call was very helpful and offered to send me additional information on how to care for my freeze dryer. Very kind of him and thankful for his help.

We had issues with our freeze dryer ticking, turns out it was the relay board. Harvest right sent us a brand new relay board with instructions on how to replace it. We installed it and the ticking went away, but then we couldn't get through a cycle without experiencing a "power outage" when we weren't experiencing one. Harvest right spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it was, continuously sending us new parts in hope it fixed the issue, even checking in when i went MIA for a few days. FINALLY we were able to figure out the issue and now we're up and running again :)

I think my Harvest Right freeze dryer is great. Although I have had a couple of issues, a technician has worked with me to resolve the problem that I’m having. The biggest issue that I have when calling about my problem is having to make an appointment days out to speak to a technician when I really just want my freeze dryer to work as quickly as possible so that I can continue to be productive and not waste any product. I do love it enough though to purchase another one which I am going to be doing in the near future.

Customer service was responsive, polite and very quickly helped solve my freeze drier error. I know this company was experiencing growing pains because they were growing so rapidly, however, I have found their customer service was a breath of fresh air especially on today's world. I was not continually rerouted by an electronic phone system and and was greeted by a real person. Thank you for your kind and timely response.

We purchased our Harvest Right freeze dryer about 18 months ago. We have used it to preserve produce from our garden as well as meats and casseroles. It is so convenient to re-hydrate mac and cheese or sliced ham and be able to create a meal in minutes with fresh tasting and nutritious food.

We store our food in Mylar bags and canning jars with oxygen absorbers.

We purchased our medium sizes freeze dryer about 3 years ago. I'd like to split this review into 2 parts; 1. The product and 2. The service.

1. The product works, we love using the dryer and how easy it is to use. That said, there are a few areas that could improve. For the cost, there are a few very inexpensive parts that seem to be common failure points. From cable connections to temp switch to circuit relays. Some of these are easy to troubleshoot, but why are they failing. Another issue is temperature around the dryer. Ours reports that the room temp is high, so the batch will take longer. Ours is in the garage where the temp is never over 68F. So we run fans near the dryer to help circulate air. Also, the dryer starting failing about 3 months after the first year of service. It took over a year to finally get to the correct part that was failing.

2. Service, the service from Harvest Right isn't bad, bad there are areas that could improve. There are 2 levels of service. One positive of their service is they are quick to respond and their service is US based. When you first call for service, you start with Level 1 call support. Level 1 follows a standard call process asking questions that will hopefully get to the issue. Note that they will ask if your software is up to date, so update first, before calling. It seemed to me that Level 1 support has no basic training on the dryer. And once they get to a point that exceeds the question process they need to engage Level 2 support. Level 2 support has a fee of $40 to get their help. Level support has had basic training of the dryer, but these are not technical engineers, they are just following a more in-depth troubleshooting procedure. My option is that this works 80% of the time.

Our issue required level 1&2 support and it went like this: 1st call Level 1: ended with us ordering a new circuit board $90. Installed the board, worked for about 2 months. The board was not the issue. 2nd call Level 1: Update to the latest software, worked for about 1 month. In between the calls to support, we were still having issues, but I tried to figure out the issues on my own. If I reset the cable in the back of the drying tray, I could get another batch completed. Then it would fail again. I found a temp switch on the back of the drying tray and if I reset the switch, I could get another batch done, then it would fail. Back to calling support. 3rd call to level 1 & 2 support: during this call, we exceeded Level 1 support and I paid for Level 2. Once with Level 2 we finally figured out that the issue was the temp switch on the back of the drying tray ($2.50). So I asked how we can fix this issue, they said send in the drying tray... I asked if they could just send me the part, I'm in IT (30 years) and I know I could replace the part very easily. That was granted by Level 2 management. Great, send me the part... I paid for the part and it shipped... A box came 5 days later and is was a cable for the back of the drying tray, even thought the packing slip said it was a temp switch. Sent an email to my support person, then got a call asking how the part was working. I let them know again that the wrong part was shipped. Level 2 said I will get the right part out right away. Sure enough, the part was shipped next day. 5 days later a package came, but the package was a soft envelope and the part had been torn from the package, no part. Sent another email to Level 2 person and then I got a call the next day asking how the part was working... I said there was no part in the package and had to send pictures of the package as proof. Level 2 said I'll have it sent again asap. And the part was shipped the next day. This time the part was in the package and I was able to install the part in about 30 minutes.

The dryer is working again, but still tells us that the room temp is high and we continue to run fans during batch processing.

In the end, we have a working device.

We bought our HR freeze drier this past winter & we truly love it. The amount of produce (purchased or homegrown) we are preserving is great. Our kids ask for dried fruit instead of candy (blackberries, peaches, or pineapple).

The only struggles have been that there are not a lot of "recipes" including TIMES for drying available, so a lot of trial/error. We have had a few software issues (updates needed that we didn't know about) but when we called HR, they helped handle it right away for us.