Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

I have had my Large Harvest Right freeze dryer since the fall of 2020. I have run over 425 loads of food through it since then. I have had two minor problems with the unit during that time and both were quickly solved by the service technicians at Harvest Right. I can’t say enough good about my unit…it runs pretty much non-stop in my garage.

Right now I have it full of hashbrowns that I purchased at Walmart. I will be doing lots of applesauce this fall when our trees ripen and tomatoes as our garden starts producing this summer. I have done grated cheese, home made soups and stews, spaghetti, veggies and fruit, roasted chicken, mac and cheese, eggs, pulled pork, raw hamburger patties…not to mention some candies and ice cream bars!

If you are thinking about getting a Harvest Right FD, quit thinking and get one on order before the growing season gets going. You won’t regret it!

Bought a large FD 7-2021.Got sick, took me 1 1/2 yrs to recover. Had the FD professionally installed by an electrician who owned one as well. Did the 1st batch of bread. Then did 20 batches & all was fine. Batch 22 was not. Screen went out. Trouble shooting here we come.

Failed attempts to send me the correct software updates happened 3 times.I ordered a pre installed updated flashdrive from Harvestright. Installed the upgrades of software.

STILL issues.Called HR. Paid 45 .00 for a consult/diagnostic to be told I had to open it up etc & check connections myself. I'm a senior citizen 64 yrs old with a walker. After taking pictures of the unit, it was decided by HR that I had screen issues & needed a new screen. Unit is out of warranty since its over a yr old. 21 batches & the screen went out.

Lovely. Now it's going to cost under 175.00 to buy a new screen & try to install it myself. IF that doesn't FIX the problem, unit will have to be boxed up & freighted in to the service dept..Very disappointed in this unit & the quality of the unit.21 batches is supposedly nothing for these units to endure, guess I was wrong.

Before finding this out, I bought 2 more mediums in 2022 & have yet to use them.I am going to run them 24/7 before Oct 2023 & see if they last 21 batches. I will not recommend this product easily if at all depending on the outcome.

I love the product and the company. Great freeze dryer. Great customer support. So far we have used ours primarily for camping food so that we don’t need much cooler space. It’s awesome! Freeze dried chili is a revelation! And the fruit has been incredible. It’s super easy to use, and it’s always fun discovering which foods we like best. We went with the oil free pump, which makes everything easier. Love it.

Heads up, it’s a bit noisy (I hear the oil pumps are less so), and it heats up whatever space it’s working in, so you have to be a little strategic about where you use it. We use it inside during the intense summer heat and intense winter cold, and then prefer the garage when the weather is more temperate. Would prefer not to have to move it as it’s heavy, but that’s just our house set up. A basement would be perfect.

If I were writing this review 3 months ago, it would have been 5 stars. This is no longer the case.

For the first several months, the freeze dryer worked exactly as advertised. I chose to upgrade to the oil-free pump due to the lack of maintenance required (no oil changes), understanding that the pump would still likely need to be rebuilt in 3 or 4 years.

Fast forward a couple of months after the 1 year warranty had expired, and the oil-free pump would no longer produce the vacuum required to function properly. I contacted Harvest Right customer service to ask about repairing the pump. I was informed that they no longer sold that style of oil-free pump, had ended their relationship with the company that produced them, and could provide no assistance of any kind in terms of getting it repaired.

I was also told that one of the reasons these style pumps were no longer sold was because at the beginning of the COVID pandemic they were no longer able to get parts. I purchased my machine and pump in late 2021, well into COVID.

At this point, the company presumably knew they were having trouble getting parts and that there may be issues repairing the pump as well, and chose not to disclose any of this information. If I had been aware of the situation, I would have certainly purchased one of the far less expensive pumps instead of taking the risk on the oil-free pump. To me, the fact that these pumps were sold without any disclosure of the parts issue is frustrating, and borders on dishonesty in my opinion.

The only option the representative was able to provide, short of purchasing a brand new pump at full price (now that I have a $1,500 boat anchor of an oil-free pump that is barely over 1 year old) was the option to purchase a refurbished pump within 30 days of contacting Harvest Right, otherwise I would no longer have this option either. Talk about a let down. Sure, you can argue that it is outside of the 1 year warranty, and you would be correct. However, the lack of transparency on the parts situation as well as having no flexibility on facilitating any type of repair for the pump is going to make it hard for me to take a chance on any Harvest Right product in the future outside of the one I already own.

Back to the product itself- when it functions properly, it's great. As there is really no alternative in the market, if you want a freeze dryer, you have no choice. I hope you have better luck with your pump than I have.

I recently acquired the HarvestRight Medium freeze dryer, and I'm incredibly impressed. This compact machine is a game-changer for home cooks and self-sufficiency enthusiasts like me.

The HarvestRight Medium is user-friendly, with intuitive controls and a sleek design. It produces high-quality freeze-dried food, preserving flavors and textures flawlessly. Its efficiency and quiet operation, thanks to a powerful vacuum pump, make the process a breeze. With a generous capacity of 7-10 pounds per batch, it offers versatility for different food items and quantities.

The exceptional customer support provided by HarvestRight adds even more value to this product. From purchase to troubleshooting, their team is responsive and helpful, with a wealth of resources available.

In summary, the HarvestRight Medium freeze dryer is a game-changer in home food preservation. Its ease of use, outstanding results, efficiency, versatility, and great customer support make it an essential investment for anyone interested in preserving food at home. I highly recommend it.

HarvestRight produce a good reliable machine that should last years if properly treated.

I bought one in 2018 and have produced over 500 batches so far (by May 2023).

In 5 years there have only been 2 faults: The heater relay on the main PCB failed - This was easily fixed by asking a local electronics shop to swap the relay with an unused one. That cost $30. The other fault was the wires at the power supply started to get hot. I replaced those myself with some bits of heavy duty wire I already had. That's it, not another single fault. One thing I would recommend is that new owners should become very familiar with how freeze drying works. Firstly it is an interesting science. But more importantly it will help diagnose the problem when an error occurs. It will also enable you to make freeze-dried food better and more reliably.

I would encourage users to take the back off the machine and see how it works and build confidence. Plus you need to clean the radiator for the cooling system every now and then.

Over time I have saved enough food to last 1 year for our whole family. Sometimes we've dried food that was leftovers from meals. Other times we saved the glut that nature provides. Last year we dried 6KG of wild garlic. Then we powdered it and we know it will be good for years to come.

I'm glad I made the purchase. It was a hit at the time but I am well past the payback point now. Freeze drying may be foreboding for some. It shouldn't as it's the most sophisticated form of food preservation and can keep spare food good for dozens of years - HarvestRight has made, what was once, an industry only process, available in our kitchens.