Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

LOVE THIS MACHINE!!!

I have wanted a freeze dryer for a little over a year, and this Anniversary/Christmas my husband surprised me with one! I cannot believe how easy it is to use, I tried to make it hard, however the amazing Customer Support team eased my mind and now it is set and forget it! I would recommend this machine to anyone! I wish all my family could have one.

We were on the fence about getting a freeze dryer, and so thankful we did! It so much fun and enjoyable. Best way to store food long term (up to 25 years). So many options of foods to process from eggs, broth, fruits, veggies, and candy! The options are endless. We are considering another! Totally recommend!

I have purchased three Harvest Right Freeze Driers. They are very easy to set up and use. Their customer service is great and they were able to answer any questions I have had. Make sure you follow the instructions for the pump, as maintenance is needed there. These units are very well made and have not let me down. A must have product for prepping!

I purchased a medium sized Harvest Right freeze dryer last summer and I was so happy with my purchase that I just bought another one! Make no mistake, this machine is not just another fancy kitchen appliance... It's a lifestyle and a whole new realm of culinary possibilities. Preserving food for long term storage is just the tip of the iceberg.

Before getting into freeze drying, my family and I probably threw away $30 - $50/week in uneaten food that spoiled in our fridge. But with this freeze dryer, we've been able to cut our unnecessary food waste to virtually ZERO. This is huge, especially with the ridiculous cost of groceries lately. For example, we buy our bell peppers in a 6-pack at Costco and we never eat them all before they go bad. Now we dice them up, freeze dry, and add them to a salad as a crunchy and healthy substitute to croutons.

Harvest Right also sets the gold standard when it comes to customer service. Their response time is fantastic, staff are knowledgable, and my main man, Scott Neville, continues to impress me by going above and beyond with every inquiry I send.

Everything went as planned with the ordering, shipping and receiving of our new freeze dryer. Ran the unit through the set up phase and all was good. We then freeze dried bread for the first run and all was well. When we attempted to run our first batch of food the freeze dryer seemed to have changed, the door was not fitting as well as it should. We had ice everywhere and a vacuum leak had formed. We did the online help that set up an appointment. Jacqueline from customer service was extremely helpful with sending YouTube videos on what she wanted us to do. We followed all here recommendations and now we are freeze drying food!

My Harvest Right freeze dryer works well, I have had some problems with grapes, they come out chewy even after extra dry time

The freeze dryer setup and first use was easy and quick. We have freeze dried various fruits such as cherries, mangos, pineapple, peaches and strawberries. My favorite has been the two batches of ice cream and ice cream sandwiches. My only customer service call was answered promptly by a very patient and knowledgeable representative who explain the screen display completely. My wife and I have had fun freeze drying food and the grand kids have enjoyed the results. This company has a superior product design, manufactured and supported in the USA.

Machine came in early, no problems setting it up. Most important thing to remember is to read the instructions before you set up or use. Sealer came in unusable, but it was quickly replaced. Customer service is excellent- very pleasant to deal with. Will buy again.

Best investment since my Phillips sonicare toothbrush which is still running strong after 8 years of constant use. Don't see that level of quality much these days but harvest right pulled it off.

new at freeze drying and we love our machine!! have run 3 batches: pineapple, apple, and tomato soup...all turned out perfect!! Looking forward to the next batch which will be shrimp and imitation crab meat, yummy!!

My experience with the Harvestright freeze dryer has been a very pleasant one. All though there is a definite learning curve to mastering the various kinds of foods, the dryer is very forgiving so do-overs are possible. I realize that the customer service must be overworked, so I have found great support from current owners and from social media. There is nothing like getting your feet wet, so get started and

and become part of the FDG [ freeze dryer generation]

When it works, it’s a must have product. If you get a machine that was not made correctly beware. Our machine is now working and it’s great!

I wouldn’t say their customer service is poor, however the protocols customer service has to follow are absolutely ridiculous! Our customer service rep was good. But, we had to pick a time slot to chat to a real person. If you don’t get the problem solved in 15 minutes, you need to make another appointment. If you get a machine that does not work from day one as the one we purchased, they have you do hours worth of testing and troubleshooting before they will even consider allowing you to return the machine. Instead of sending you a replacement part, you need to do hours worth of troubleshooting before you can even qualify for a replacement part. When the machine works properly I love it!

I just think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they send out machines that don’t work properly. Then, the company expects YOU to figure out why your brand new machine isn’t working which takes hours of running your machine and following the pages of instructions to run one test after another. I didn’t spend thousands of dollars on a brand new freeze dryer so that I could become a mechanic for the company.

I have loved my Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. I've had it set up for about a month and it's working great. Because of user error I had to call Customer Service and buy a new Demister. They answered promptly, spoke clearly, answered all of my questions, ordered the part for me, sent me a video on how to install the part and were polite, kind, patient, and helpful! This is going to be a good journey!

- I have had the large freeze dryer for a little over a year now and am pretty happy with it in general most of the time it does a good job.

- It does use quite a log of electricity.

- My pump leaks oil, especially during the drying cycle, so I have to check it at least once during the cycle and fill it back up, and I called support about it and they weren't willing to do anything about it.

- The large has a 20 amp plug with the one side at a 90 degree angle from the other ( - | ), so you need a 20 Amp plug to plug it into.

- It was slightly damaged during shipping, I called support and they said that if it still works, then they weren't going to do anything about it.

- I Have to replace the drain valve because it is not closing all the way, which is causing a leak and it gets an error. I called their support and even though it seems like a manufacturing defect, but it was out of warranty (1 year from being recieved, and they needed proof of that, so keep your reciepts), so I have to buy a new one. It seems like a cheap part, so maybe I would baby yours, so it doesn't break and not close all the way.

- I freeze dry a lot of fruit. I have also done meat, soups, skittles, Salt water taffy and other candies, I now stay away from anything that is covered in chocolate (it makes a mess). Most of the time it freeze dries very well, but sometimes I have to dry it twice, because it doesn't dry them completely. I bought an extra set of trays and a set of silicone mats. The silicone mats come in handy when doing stuff that is sticky and the stainless steel trays are expensive, but are good quality and make it easier to do back to back loads, as I pre-freeze everything which saves time and electricity.

- It is quite noisy, so you probably want to have it tucked away in a room where you can close the door.

Freeze drying is easy to do. You can complete a batch in less than two days. We freeze dry excess garden produce, left over food from holidays, and just about everything. We make our own survival food which is more tasty, you can eat it right out of the packages, without rehydrating or boiling water, and at a fraction of the cost of store bought. We had our original machine for 7 years now. Very reliable and well made. We originally put a lot of different foods in wide mouth canning jars with an oxygen absorber just to see how well they would keep and they are still perfect 7 years later. The company’s customer service is excellent and great technical support, Buy one you won’t regret it.

I would say I am shocked at the high reviews had I not learned that HR controls their reviews, particularly on Amazon. This company expects it's customers to perform maintenance, which is frequently required. My machine never worked properly, evidenced by the 1st call for help just after arrival. The machine is extremely noisy, requires frequent software updates, and mechanical & electrical adjustments. Yes, they have customer service reps eager to help, but only in 15 minute increments as that is how many other customers are needing help. The 'send it back at no fee' policy is a trick. Mine weighed 60 lbs., a pallet and special shipper is required. I can pick up a 60 lb child, not 60 lbs of structured metal. I lost a lot of money to include the loss of food. When freeze drying can be easily accomplished without a special freeze dryer, why add this to your home and take up the valuable space? I don't think you can place this far enough away (garage) to not affect your hearing. Use your freezer or dry ice and skip the expensive machine, it's just unnecessary trouble.

We love our HarvestRight freeze dryer!

We purchased our machine in 2018 and it has not skipped a beat. The food is excellent! Our grandkids love the snacks we make for them and our dogs love their treats too!

5 Freeze dryer is great but premier pump not so great 1 year later. Now need to replace the pump because of strong oil smell filling my house. Warranty expired and HR doesn't cover the full cost. 3 months into it and still trying to resolve the problem.

Very pleased with the purchase of the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer in the small model. Packed well to prevent any damage to the unit or accessories. Very simple to install - instructions for set-up were clear. Overall extremely easy to operate with step-by-step instructions for the various process steps. Have processed 7 batches so far with no equipment performance issues. There is a learning curve to overcome with the different recipes - as expected some foods dry faster than others - knowing how to load the trays and whether to add extra time to the cycle is an ongoing process. I have contacted Customer Service on several occasions - reaching them has been easy - if the Representative doesn't know the answer they have been able to contact Technical Support for more in depth answers. Overall very pleased with the purchase and would make it again.

Harvest Right freeze dryer is a great tool to your food preservation options. It is nice to have an option that maintains most of the nutritional value of the food.