Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Reviews

Excellent product and great customer service! Our machine arrived damaged in shipping, the pallet had been pushed into another pallet and crushed the back of the box and dented the back of the unit. We refused delivery and I immediately went in the house to call Harvest Right to let them know what had happened. Customer service answered my call, apologized for the inconvenience and rushed a new machine to us which arrived 5 days later! I've been running the machine daily for two weeks now processing fruits veggies and meats. I wish we'd bought one sooner and I wish we'd bought the large instead of the medium so I could process more than I am. I'm addicted and we're eating healthy yummy food with a long shelf life because of Harvest Right. I highly recommend!

I have a medium and large freeze dryer in Ghana Africa, purchased the medium in 2016 and the large in 2021 the units have to work hard and they have served us well, HR has done well in helping us out when we had problems.

I purchased OA's from another company, but they never sealed the mylar bags. I beleive the OA's were expired. Now that I have used Harvest Right Oxygen Absorbers and they sealed my food storage air tight. I trust Harvest Right with their quality products and fair prices for that peace of mind that my food storage will be safe. Mary B

I've had my large Harvest Right freeze dryer for almost a year now. I've done a little bit of everything in it- meat, vegetables, fruit, broth, and candy. Everything has turned out great. Plus, their service department is amazing.

I have had the large freeze dryer for a little bit over a year now and have been using it pretty consistently. The only problem I had, I called customer service and they were able to send me the replacement part I needed to keep the machine working. It is a bit disappointing this happened and had to go through harvest instead of being able to fix it on my own. Overall it is a great product for food storage and there are many things you can try.

First I must say the customer service is outstanding. Everytime we have called we get an attentive and knowledgeable person on the phone. We first received our Large machine with a missing O Ring...had my husband not been the one installing it that could have gone unnoticed but thankfully he noticed and we didn't try to start it without that O Ring! We received the O Ring and have done 3 batches of food with our dryer! It works great so far but I would recommend pre-freezing all foods as it is a much longer cycle if you don't. One other problem was our sealer didn't seal...we called and troubleshot over the phone and the company will be sending out a replacement. Make sure your mylar bags seal!

Best food preservation method out there. We are new to freeze drying and are very impressed with both the quality of the machine and the foods it has produced. We have almost been able to empty an extra freezer and put the foods on the shelf!

I have a large Harvest Right freeze dryer and had only had it for a few months and 15 or 16 batches before it all went wrong and then very wrong. Got an error of unable to achieve vacuum during a full batch of veggies. Veggies were still in freeze mode so I was able to put the full trays into the freezer to try again once machine is fixed. So, began my journey with customer service and tech. I have to say that Madysen, my appointed tech was really great with correspondence by phone and even with frequent emails. We gave it our best try for about 6 weeks as another problem happened and parts were shipped out to fix a black screen and bad USB board when trying to downgrade the software and then more parts were shipped out for the vacuum issues. Videos of how to replace them all were sent and files back and forth to help her see if she could figure out the problem. However, after 6 weeks or so of this and now 2 months of being down, I finally got frustrated enough to tell her that I either wanted my money back or to send me a tested and good working machine. They agreed that they would have me send in mine and send me a tested and working one. My supplies arrived to ship it back. I even still had the palette that it came on, packed it up and it ships out tomorrow. Then they are sending the new one. Fingers crossed all is in order on the next one but I found that Harvest Right and especially Madysen were very helpful, responded to my emails and did the best they could to help me fix the machine that yes, I should not have to fix myself but at least they are willing to make it right. That to me says a lot about a company. I do believe that they work to do on the machines but those who have the good working ones swear by them and for the few batches that I was able to complete, I really do love being able to freeze dry product for our family. Thank you.

JMS

I love my freeze dryer. I have severe food allergies and I have to know what is in my food. I enjoy freeze dried veggies from my garden. Needed assistance and customer service was great.

I love stocking up on food when it's on sale, but unfortunately, before buying our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer we were having to throw food away all the time. Now, I can buy food at discounted prices and not have to worry about any of it going to waste! I love our freeze dryer and would definitely recommend it to everyone!

I had a few questions about my freeze dryer, Harvest right was quick to answer and respond, highly recommend them to anybody looking for a household freeze dryer

We love our Harvest Right freeze dryer!!! With the way things are going these days~ times are scary! This is hands down the vest investment we have made in years! This gives us great piece of mind in such troubling times. The only time it is not drying is when it's on defrost. It is surprisingly economical~ our monthly electric bill has only gone up $12-18 a month! It's very user-friendly, and in those rare times that you are unable to figure something out, the customer care team is always there and ready to help with any problem you may have. I would recommend Harvest Right to anyone who is worried about the future and what is about to happen... Totally worth every penny spent. Thank Harvest Right, for making this available to the general public/households that would otherwise be unable to achieve self sustainability in this way.

Our interest in freeze-drying stemmed from wanting very-long-term storage of a substantial amount of food. Admittedly, the novelty and flavor of freeze-dried strawberries and bananas has meant that most of those get consumed rather soon after processing. (Bribing the grandkids with freeze-dried strawberry slices is pretty much a sure bet.) We have a lot going on and wouldn’t be devoting all our time to this, so we went with the small, 3-tray unit. Quite honestly, that’s plenty of both preparation and packaging for me. Too, we wanted to limit the financial investment in something with which we had zero experience and didn’t know if we’d be using much.

Over the period of about five months, we’ve accumulated a few dozen mylar packs of everything from mains (ground beef, lasagna, rotisserie chicken, scrambled eggs) to vegetables and fruit. We feel challenged to come up with more main dishes, for variety in those future times.

We’ve twice had problems with inadequate vacuum, which interrupts the processing and results in a failed batch. The first sequence led to HR’s replacement of our premier pump. Whether the pump was actually the problem was rather mooted when parts of a ball check valve in the oil cap showed up in the oil when I drained it. With the new pump, we had a dozen good batches or more, until the “Inadequate Vacuum” problem recurred. Before contacting HR, I checked all exterior fittings and valves on the unit and the pump and replaced the oil with HR-branded oil. (I had experimented with another brand, and wanted to eliminate that as a possible issue.) Nothing helped. Finally, I had to contact HR again, and it was eventually determined to be a small leak in what is called the epoxy plug, where wiring passes through the side of the insulated drum. That was resolved through a process, demonstrated in a video that HR referenced, whereby old foam sealant was replaced with 100% silicone. Testing then produced some bizarre vacuum readings, which in turn was resolved by resetting some parameters in the computer set-up (again, there are videos available to show you how to do this.) At last, everything worked again as intended, and we’re back in business.

After installing the latest software version (5.2.23), I could no longer capture the computer log files to forward to the techs for review. Apparently that’s a known problem, likely being worked on, and we were able to get the machine up and running without examining the log files.

Customer service reps Blake and Jonathan were thorough, helpful, and cordial.

So, final thoughts. I’m a pretty experienced and knowledgeable DIY guy. I have lots of tools and know how to use them. That said, I’m an Apple guy when it comes to I.T., because I like things to work out of the box with minimal fuss. My “strengths” do not include computers or electronics, though I’m reasonably competent with the basics. My advice to purchasers is to understand that the freeze-drier/pump product is a complex machine. It operates under extreme conditions of cold and vacuum, over a “work shift” of 24 hours or more for each batch. Even the ambient temperature (in, say, your garage) affects performance. It doesn’t take much more than a small, imperceptible leak to mess things up, a leak that could be occurring in any of several places. To get at a couple of those places, you may have to open up the metal cabinet surrounding the vacuum chamber. Could you do this if you had to? Are you willing to learn? Do you know what an Allen wrench is? Can you take stuff apart and get it back together? Do you have a healthy respect for electricity? Do you have a healthy attitude about how stuff works sometimes, and sometimes doesn’t work, and how to manage problems? If you’re not a DIY person, do you know someone who could help you?

Ideally, your HR freeze drier will function perfectly over a long period of time, and I suspect that most of them do. I don’t anticipate further problems, but I’ve been working with machines, and how they operate, through decades of farming, logging, construction, fine woodworking, and other projects, and I know that stuff breaks or wears out or just fails sometimes. Then I do what’s necessary to fix it. No big deal, really.

Hello, We purchased a unit a few months ago. After several uses we got a vacuum error. I immediately called Harvest Right, customer service, who began to troubleshoot over the phone. Our issue was escalated and dealt with in a timely manner. Very satisfied and back up and running. Thanks! Melissa Marino

Greg with harvest right was easy to work with. We pulled up the part I needed and it was sent quick! Customer service answered the phone right away. Best freeze dryer in the market. Highly recommend.

I absolutely LOVE my Harvest Right Freeze Dryer and the employees at Harvest Right!!!

I have had nothing but excellent service from anyone I have communicated with from day 1 of ordering, receiving it and having a minor issue which they promptly took care if. They respond in a timely manner, listen to my concerns, and remedy any issues. My FD lost vacuum and they responded promptly and followed up consistently until my issue was resolved.

I have read comments about poor service, etc from Harvest Right and problems with their FD. I understand there can be lemons with anything and employees can make or break a company. Also there can be miscommunication and user error.

With all that bring said, I truly feel Harvest Right genuinely cares about their customers and are working hard to keep up with the demand surrounding producing, marketing, providing informational tutorials, repairs and customer service. And I am thrilled they are made in the USA!!! And customer service speaks English!!! Thank you Harvest Right for doing an awesome job!!!

We have had our freeze dryer for over 10 years. Whenever we have a problem or even a question or when our new one needs an update customer service team is always so helpful and kind. We recommend them to all our friends and family. We love Harvest Right. Thanks for the great service.

I just purchased a large Harvest Right Freeze dryer and discovered that it has a steep learning curve and I ran into a vacuum error problem when I ran the bread test. I called customer service. Each person I spoke with was very knowledgeable and patient. I was even given 2 more bottles of oil because of the multiple times I had to flush the oil on the vacuum pump. Their excellent help has given me confidence and am now going to do my first batch.

I have always found any interaction I have with all of the staff. They are very knowledgeable about the product.

There's a learning curve in figuring drying times. Other than that I'm very pleased with the process. Well worth the investment compared to buying freeze dried foods. I have the power over selecting what product I am preserving. Also, the decision on what method to use: