Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

Purchased a HarvestRight XL to preserve our food for long term, avoid freezer burn issues, and to get as much food value as possible from the preserved food.

The purchase experience was simple and straightforward. However, after my purchase, I called in to see if I could run this unit at 220. The tech said if I wanted to do that, I should have purchased a 220 unit. Obviously, that was not an option since it was already purchased. Also, when I went back on the site, I never did locate a 220 option. I am thinking this is something you have to call in and basically special order. With the power consumption of this unit, it would make much more sense to make 220 a standard option. Since they specifically recommend running a dedicated line anyway, making it 220 would not make it any more inconvenient for the customers. In fact, it would prevent people from knowingly or accidently using the wrong circuit.

There was a slight delay on shipping, but it came fairly quickly, was securely packaged, and had no damage.

Getting the unit in the house was an event, but not as difficult as I anticipated. I ran a dedicated 20 amp line, using 10 gauge wire, to ensure maximum safety. This was not a real issue for me, although others may have to hire an electrician. Either way, it is specifically mentioned by the manufacturer, and, as expensive as these units are, it makes no sense to cheat in this area.

I purchased a commercial kitchen table with wheels in order be able to move the unit if necessary. I keep the wheels locked, and have no intention of moving it unless absolutely necessary, but it is nice to have that option.

Running the unit is fairly simple, but be warned, the thicker your material, the longer it will take. I have done several runs now, and it has taken three or more days each time, start to finish. Also, the defrost cycle takes hours, so it is not a thing of simply finishing a run, then starting over. Figure 6 to 8 hours between runs.

The unit is noisy, but the sound is consistent, so it is not annoying. However, if you put it where the family is located, such as the kitchen, it will definitely require a louder conversation than normal.

It does put out quite a bit of heat. This is great in the winter, allowing us to run our heat much less, but it will have to be moved outside in order to be used during the warmer months.

This unit requires time. Each run takes planning and setup. You have to be able to immediately store the dried food to prevent humidity from soaking into the dried food. This is not a "set it and forget it" scenario. It is not difficult, but it does take time and effort.

We are still learning, but so far, so good. Looking forward to many more trays of stored food!

The machine comes with a lot of maintenance on the owners part, not just keeping it up, but learning to repair it consistently. Be prepared for the time commitment, generous learning curve, and you will be able to benefit from a unique, at-home machine that makes incredible products.

I have owned the white size large machine for three years now, and in the beginning year there were a lot of issues. Customer service works very well to get it all done with you, just a lot of technical errors that I was not prepared for handling. The second year was easier and the third year it ran way smoother. Mostly in the owners control to run it well, however there are frequent glitches and some people I have read do end up with somewhat faulty machines from the get go.

Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.Happy with our freeze dryer for the most part. We had an oil-less pump. Only got to use for about 8 months but had to replace and of course out of warranty. The person we worked with to try to fix the issue was very helpful though throughout the process.

I was skeptical when looking into buying one of these machines. I just bought brand new model and it is absolutely amazing. The new built-in fast candy function works so well. Dry times for different foods will obviously be different and you will have to learn which foods take longer. As with anything there is learning to be done but it is quite simple to figure out. I truly love this machine. I had a small issue with the shipper losing the cord and I emailed customer service and they shipped a cord out to me immediately. Incredibly nice people and very easy to deal with. No run around or hassle with customer service at all as I have seen with some companies. I am completely satisfied with this machine and plan on running it every day.

My experience did not start out great. I found the user manuals a bit vague in some areas and poorly organized in other areas. Also, they stress so emphatically and often how not following proper protocol can ruin the unit or food and can void the warranty. That, alone, had me almost too afraid to even begin. I studied the user manuals and wrote down all my questions and areas of confusion and then I called the company. The help center person was kind, patient, and knowledgeable. We spoke for over 45 minutes and never did they make me feel like they just wanted the call to be over. I gained the confidence needed to move forward with the first freeze dry process that is considered a break in step. Sadly, I was unable to achieve a vacuum. I soon discovered several other people I knew or met owned a Harvest Right. They all offered advice and now I am happily preserving my food. There are a lot of Harvest Right owners on online forums that are more than ready to help you have success. The Harvest Right company help center is very approachable and wants you to be successful. And best of all, the preserved food is truly tasty…please don’t think of Mountain House type food. It is so far beyond that in flavor and texture. I am really glad to have this freeze dryer.

We bought an XL harvest right freeze dryer in Nov and it’s been great. There’s a small glitch on high temp mode, but with an easy workaround. That’s why 4 stars—brand new machine should work without my needing to call in. We have done several batches for food storage and it has worked great!

I have had my Harvest Right medium freeze dryer for about 20 months now. I used it 5-6 days a week the first few months. I freeze dry garden harvests, grocery store sales and deals, meal left-overs, and whatever other edibles I wanted to experiment on. Still haven’t tried candy but it looks like fun.

It was easy to set up and use from the start. I have the Premier oil pump. It is recommended to change the oil every 20 batches. Simple procedure. I did get some oil in the demister so I needed to clean it. I followed the YouTube directions after some friendly advice from Harvest Right customer service. I cleaned it and now it is back to perfect working order.

I am amazed at how the taste of food is intensified when the water is removed, such as fruit and herbs. I have stored my food in vacuum sealed glass jars, mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, and the Food Saver bags. It is fun to send freeze dried food as gifts. It is light weight and a real treat for friends and family. Also great for travel and camping. I enjoy the ability to stock up and not waste food. There is a sense of security having a lot of preserved food. It’s really great to make a recipe and always have, for example, chopped onion available without having to consider my inventory.

The negatives of having a freeze dryer is the length of time a cycle takes, 12-18 hours on average. It does use electricity. I’m not sure of how much extra I paid with the freeze dryer since I started using it about the time I needed to use air conditioning and my local utility company increased our rates at that same time. In general, it is a great piece of equipment to have if you like food security and don’t like to waste food.

Your customer service rep Arlette Perez, Did an awesome job she was very attentivity to my needs. She emailed and followed up with a call through out the whole process of returning my shelf from sending me the shipping box, calling me to make sure I received it and made sure I had all the info. I want to thank Arlette for the great job she is doing and to keep it up. Harvest Right has done a great job through out both of my issues one with a 2015 unit and then I purchased 2 more units. I see negative things about Harvest right customer service but have never had a bad call with them. There was another Rep named Fabian that helped me with some issues with my old unit and he did a wonderful job until the unit issue was resolved. I also had dealings with False she was great also. I have had nothing but great service. Thank you Harvest Right for doing such a great job in training your customer service Reps.

We purchased the medium machine to produce shelf stable meat products for camping and emergency use. We currently have processed 25 loads or about 200 lbs of food and could not be happier. if you are using it for meat, it will pay for itself very quickly and you will have control over the quality of the food preserved. We really enjoy having meals ready to eat and have been blown away with how great beef stew, chili, pasta, etc come out when all you have to do is add hot water.

The machine has been trouble free and the premiere pump has worked perfectly as well. I change the oil every 10 loads and dont reuse the oil. I purchased the required oil by the gallon and it is very affordable. All in all it works as advertised and I would buy it again if needed.

I have had my Harvest Right freeze dryer for 4 years. I use it most for storing the harvest from my large garden. I store raspberries, blackberries, tomatoes, squash, carrots, beets, and other veggies as they get ripe. The taste is amazing in the dry form and rehydrated. I have opened tomatoes after a year or two and they taste like fresh from the garden. The zucchini chips with ranch dressing powder are one of my favorites.

Recently, I started to make candy using the new candy mode. I have tried lemon drops, taffy, bit-o-honey, skittles, and a bunch of other candies. My neighbors and co-workers love them all.

After all of this time, I have not had even one breakdown or issue with the machine. I highly recommend this product.

Excited to have started using my new Freeze Dryer. The first one sent to me, had an issue with freezing, but the customer service was excellent. Tyler was very hands on in helping troubleshoot and assisting with getting the replacement unit sent out. It does take a while from the time you order it, to the time it arrives, but that gives you a lot of time to shorten the learning curve. Use that time to read and learn as much as you can. There are quite a few things you can get ahead of time, that will make the process from start to finish much easier and more efficient.

I bought mine in order to have peace of mind knowing that in an emergency or changes to the world as we know it, my family will not have to worry about what we are going to eat. It's like putting money in a 401K that is guaranteed to have a great return as food prices continue to rise and supply chain shortages come and go. Money in the stock market can all be gone in one day! The fruit of you labor is also not going to be taxed again when you need it like your 401K. I am also looking forward to having ready-made meals for trips that do not need to be kept cold. On a long trip, you can only eat so much fast food. It also saves money not having to eat out. The initial investment may seem a little high, but it will not take long to get your return on investment.

There are a lot of resources available on-line. I would start with the HarvestRight website, to help you learn the tricks of the trade. There are plenty of videos and articles to answer any question you may have. If you are on the fence about getting one, I recommend you go for it. I was ready to hit the ground running with the help of visiting the website, books I ordered, watching videos from many sources and from the Facebook groups available.

The Freeze Dryer is very easy to use. If you follow the recommended do's and don't about the types of food you choose to process, the machine does all of the work. All you have to do is push the buttons and it goes from start to finish on it's own. There are also some great books on Amazon you can purchase with recipes and more in-depth instructions for using your new machine. My first batch is running right now.

Make sure you have some help when it arrives. They are too heavy for one person to lift. I recommend buying a heavy-duty kitchen prep type table to set it on, that has wheels on it. I also bought an extended hose and ran it to the basement drain rather than mess with feeding the hose to a bucket underneath. If you use a T connector between the original hose and the one you add, you make it so the system cannot inadvertently suck water back into the machine and ruin your batch.

I had a mouse get into my freeze dryer which was in a garage. I called HarvestRight and talked to Elle P in customer service. I took pictures and showed her what I could see of the damage. I opened the machine and started tracing wires because there was a piece of wire that I could not find what it went to. Finally I found that it went to a fan motor wire. That mouse got the power harness wires, the fan motor and capacitor wires. I had to ship it to HarvestRight to get it fixed. Again Elle explained everything to me of how it needed to be shipped back and how long it would take to get my machine back. Honestly the largest expense was just the shipping which HarvestRight has no control over the shipping cost. I actually got it back before Christmas which I was not expecting with the holidays. I could not be happier with all aspects of this company that I have had dealing from customer service to their shipping department. HarvestRight also made sure that my freeze dryer preformed correctly once I got it back. I made a batch of freeze dried Christmas Candy without an issue.

I’ve used my Harvest Right Freeze dryer for over a year and couldn’t be more pleased. My family LOVES freeze dried fruit…bananas, strawberry, pineapple, peaches…which can get expensive purchased at the grocery store for such little quantity in the package. With my medium size Harvest Right freeze dryer I was able to fill quart size mason jars on my counter for grab and go. And I personally think they tasted better as I could control the peak ripeness of the fruit. Surprisingly simple to use, just prep fruit, place on trays, set freeze dry settings and wait until it’s ready.

We purchased our HR and just LOVE IT. It did need a software update right away which we were unaware of, and it did not prompt for, but when we called in to HR, they were super nice and efficient at getting it up and running. I also wish it came with more information on how long the cycles run, or different foods need depending on fluid density. I can't wait for clear cookbook or detailed instruction manual to come out to help! My kids love everything that comes out of this machine!

Our freeze dryer wasn't used that much and the $1,700 pump went out after just a couple years use. It wasn't under warranty. You're expected to just keep buying a new pump (and trust me, none of them last more than a couple years at best). Harvest right was not easy to work with as it took so long to even get this all straightened out to find out it was the pump. The freeze dryer has just been taking up space not being used for over 1.5 yrs now.

We bought a 4 tray medium freeze dryer with a premium vacuum pump around Easter of 2023. We've been running it nearly constant. Around Thanksgiving of 2023 one of the components failed. All the techs that we spoke to were very helpful and informative and the warranty process was very easy. It is a process and does take some time to get the machine shipped back, fixed, and back shipped back out to the customer but that is to be expected especially going into the holiday season. I really appreciated that once we had the machine back they followed up to be sure that the machine was running perfectly. We understand that things can happen and it was nice to know that they truly do stand behind there product. Here is to many more years of not throwing away left overs and fresh garden veggies. Thank you Harvest Right!

I love my freeze dry I’ve had it since October 2020. I would say the freeze jar has functioned very well. The pump on the other hand are completely different matter. I originally purchased a low profile oil free white vacuum pump with my my medium size free dryer. Very expensive it was. I wasn’t very keen on having to change the oil, or having to deal with oil at all. Within the first year, the oil free pump had to be sent back to Harvest Right to be rebuilt. Within another year it now functioned and died. I had to get a standard pump with oil and since the switch my freezer has been working well again. The people at Harvest Right who I’ve contacted over the four years. I’ve had my Harvest Right freeze dryer. I’ve been helpful in figuring out what’s wrong with my machine/pump. The most helpful person has been a man named David. Very grateful for their expertise and their willingness to help. I would recommend a harbor freeze dryer for anybody wanting to bulk up on their home food storage or fun food creations.

I purchased the harvest rate freeze dryer medium size with the premium pump. It is heavier than I thought it was going to be so I had to order a special restaurant table to put it on. It works wonderful. I've done about four or five batches since I bought it.

It does have a chemical smell to it when you open the door and when it drains. I have tried cheesecake and ice cream bars in it that I think I can still taste the chemical in it and it was the third batch that I did. Others that had tried it stated they did not find that.

When I first set it up I had an issue with the vacuum not turning on and it was my fault cuz I didn't check the end of the hose of the drain pipe.

I did contact HarvestRight and they sent me guides to help me through the troubleshooting. They helped me over the phone and sent me web videos that were helpful.

I highly recommend HarvestRight if you were looking for a freeze dryer for the home or a small business. Very good customer service.

I've had my Harvest Right medium size freeze dryer for ten months now. It utilizes a regular 110 15 amp outlet, unlike the large or bigger which will need a specialized plug and 20 amp service to run. You can process 8-10 pounds of food per batch. Processing times will depend on air circulation around the food, water content and density of the food. Quick items to freeze dry are shredded cheese, and rice dishes which run around 18 hours a batch. Longer processing times for things like lasagna and cream soup dishes. The machine pretty much does it all for you. From initial cool down, through freezing, vacuum freezing and drying, the only thing you need to do is check on the food when the machine says it's done, and possibly add extra drying time, especially for dense items. My only issue was the drain valve, which is not sturdy and led to a vacuum fail issue after a few months. I replaced it with a brass ball valve. (I'm not a professional plumber and it took me about ten minutes to do) Once your food is heat sealed in mylar bags with an oxygen absorber, it now has a 20-25 year shelf life. Just add appropriate hot water to reconstitute the food. If you have a pantry full of expiring cans, you can freeze dry the contents and extend the life of that food as well. From cooked meats to full meals, vegetables to fruit, even cream cheese, there's not much the Harvest Right can't do. (High oil concentrations like peanut butter and some really fatty meats don't freeze dry) Yes, it costs a bit, but if you've been buying #10 cans of freeze dried food you'll recoup your money in a few short months. Plus you will KNOW how YOUR food will taste later!

Great company to do business with! I did my research before investing in a freeze dryer and could find only positive comments about Harvest Right. Have to say, I’m a fan now as well. Excellent customer service, extremely well made product. You won’t be disappointed.