My wife and kids want to buy me a dehydrator for Father's Day. I don't have any idea what to buy. I plan on using this mainly for backpacking meals. The number of meals could range from 2(my son and I) to 15(a scout troop outing)

This has been covered previously here. How big should it be?

There are small diameter units, and many of these will be about 500 watts of power demand (maybe $50-$75). Then there are larger diameter units, and those might be 700 watts or 1000 watts (maybe $100-$200). Depending on the rate you pay for electricity, that might be a big factor.

--B.G.--

I have a Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster FD-61 500 watt unit with an adjustable thermostat and fan. I think I paid $70 for it. I've run it through the mill for 2 years, and it keeps on going. You'll need at least 500 watts and a fan to circulate the heat. The thermostat allows you to regulate the temperature for different food types. I've never worked with a 700-1000 watt unit, so I can't compare. But this machine does all that I need it to do. I use just 4 trays at a time, but this model will work with up to 12. Hopefully, Sarah and Laurie will chime in with their ideas as well.

FWIW, I also have the American Harvest drier and have used it to dry veggies, fruits, meats, and sauces. Mine's about 3 years old and still going strong. I think it's a very good product.

I bought a 700 W Nesco from Amazon for $50 or so a couple of weeks ago.. the price seems to fluctuate a little bit (and the wattage might be 750 and not 700).

Anyway, it's worked great the 3 - 4 times I've run it and has lots of good reviews. It's plasticy.. entirely plastic.. essentially a large fan mounted on top of plastic trays. But I guess dehydrators are not so complicated..

This was rated as 5/5 here on BPL.

I thought I had the URL for the review, but I don't, sorry.

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-75PR-700-Watt-Dehydrator/dp/B000FFVJ3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1235137761&sr=8-1

Currently $47.50; has been as high as $66.

Is it worth it to buy the FD-75PR Snackmaster instead of the FD-61 Snackmaster® Encore?

Thanks everyone for all the help. We just found and purchased the fd-75 on amazon for $47.00 w/ free shipping.