Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

I had been thinking about purchasing a home freeze dryer for about a year. Reading reviews and watching videos on the Harvest Right FD is what made me decide on this company.

Now that I've had my own FD unit for a few months, I wanted to write my own review to hopefully pass on some useful tips.

1st) READ YOUR MANUAL!! Most of the questions you will have can be found in the manual!! There will be lots of troubleshooting in the first few months while you and your machine get to know each other.

2nd) Use their customer support!! They are very knowledgeable people and will help you out any way they can. If you can't figure it out with the manual, send them an email.

3rd) Freeze drying takes a long time, so plan accordingly! Anywhere from 17 hours to 60+ hours. I already need a 2nd machine. I wish I would have gotten a large instead of a medium.

4th) Get a couple extra sets of trays. TRUST ME!!

And last bit not least, HAVE FUN!! Don't be scared of it and let it sit and collect dust! Plug it in, do your bread run and then do some salt water taffy. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the result.

Just got my medium Harvest Right about two weeks ago and I was having some issues with the vacuum pressure right out of the box. I thought well this cant be good but I called Harvest Right customer service and got someone within 5 min or less of calling which was so nice. I hate waiting on hold forever and they were super kind and very helpful.

They got me up and running and even called a few days later to check in to make sure everything was still working well and that I didnt have any other questions. I really appreciate the good customer service. Shout out to my awesome tech support Jackson for all the help. I have ran a few batches now and I am loving my freeze dryer. Cant wait for summer harvest.

I am very happy with my Harvest Right 4-Tray Medium Black Freeze Dryer with Mylar Starter Kit. So far, I’ve freeze dried strawberries, bananas, mangos, apples, nectarines, lemons, limes, yogurt, chicken and kale.

With the kale, once done, I removed it from the trays, put it in a bowl, drizzles olive oil on it and lightly sprinkled sea salt for a crunchy healthy snack. I am looking forward to doing ice cream sandwiches and actual whole meals as well as herbs. The fruits actually taste better in the freeze dried state.

Harvest Right 4-Tray Medium Stainless Steel Freeze Dryer with Mylar Starter Kit, Silver!

Due to living in a rented apartment, with no access to a dedicated 20 Amp circuit, we purchased a Small Harvest Right, with 3 shelves. I love prepping meals and freeze drying them for future use. I'm also looking forward to summer garden fresh produce to store away by freeze drying.

We are completely satisfied with our machine (we only wish we could get a larger model), customer support has been excellent, and the quality of the freeze dried meals is amazing. We are new to freeze drying and have been using our Harvest Right for about 2 months now, with complete satisfaction and no problems.

I bought a small unit due to space (studio apartment) and will absolutely factor in room for a large one when I move. It’s been a game-changer and I hope to never be without one again. My initial concerns were about volume (pump and machine) since there wasn’t much information about that online; it was a relief to find out its only slightly louder than an old dishwasher. It’s been running for nearly a month straight and there haven’t been any complaints from neighbors.

Another thing I wish I’d known before purchasing was that the process is automated thanks to internal detectors – I’d been driving myself crazy trying to find guides for individual settings for different things. In other words, the owner doesn’t need to change settings for each batch (with a few exceptions); the freeze dryer just does its thing and lets you know when your food is done. Most foods seem to take about 14-30 hours depending on moisture content. The small learning curve is absolutely worth the effort.

As with everything, the hardware can have hiccups; Harvest Right customer service has been exceptional in making sure parts are replaces and running smoothly as well as answering my newbie questions.

We bought our Harvest Right in May of 22 so far we have done 120 batches. Within that time we had two small problems and called tech department to resolve the issues and both times they were kind and helpful and are great with follow-up calls. We love our medium size freeze dryer can't wait to use it again on my Garden tomatoes. Last year they were so good just sprinkle a little bit of fresh basil, salt and pepper freeze dry and you have yourself a very yummy snack! Love stocking up on

Produce that's on sale to freeze dry to save money. We have backyard chickens and we make egg powder to have scrambled eggs. You can't tell the difference. Our only regret is that we didn't spend the extra to get a large or extra large capacity. So don't hesitate to size up you will not be sorry. Thank you harvest right.

Michele Dittner

We've had Mr. Freeze for almost a year and used weekly or more. It's been a real money saver due to the skyrocketing cost of food. Recently we noticed some issues and after a call to Customer Service Mr. Freeze was picked up and on it's way to Harvest Right Headquarters for a tune-up.

They provided every to make it as easy as possible to manage it's return. The communication was amazing and prompt. Our machine was returned to us in less than 3 weeks with a new condenser and free of charge since it's still under warranty.

We've been happy with our FD since our purchase but we haven't had too much experience with CS until this issue. That really makes for a great product and business when you receive customer service, like we did, after the sale! Thank you!

Freeze Drying is an awesome thing to be able to do in your home and there’s no better way to preserve food long term. Harvest Right machines are really the only affordable way to do this. I have had my machine for a couple years now and completed about 180 successful batches of food including shredded cheese, top sirloin, full meals, sour cream, ice cream, vegetables, fruit and more. It’s really comforting having freeze dried food of your own choosing. Having a variety of long lasting sources of vitamins and protein would be invaluable if food supply were ever interrupted. That’s the positive side, but freeze drying with HR machines is not without its problems.

You have to understand that these machines are under quite a bit of stress - often running 30-40 hours at a time with sub zero temperatures, under extreme vacuum, and lots of stress on the pump. I’ve already had to replace the drain valve and send the machine in to Harvest Right to better seal the epoxy plug, and the oil-less pump that I purchased with the machine has gone bad and HR no longer sells or services that pump. This is the hard reality of freeze drying. You have to factor future maintenance and part repair into the cost equation. Freeze drying is not a cheap endeavor. I do wish that HR didn't sell the oil-less pump as a magical "no-maintenance" option and that I was more aware of its longevity. My advice would be to go for the Oiled Premier pump - which is quieter and longer lasting. Remember that this is not like buying a refrigerator that lasts 10+ years without worry. You will most likely incur maintenance costs along the way - and pump replacements are not cheap. On the flip side, there’s not many other option as far as home freeze drying goes. Only you can decide the value of it.