Weston 75-0201-W VegiKiln 10-Tray Food Dehydrator

Great dehydrator!
raw foodists will go for an Excalibur dehydrator (expensive)...just because all their raw book authors tell them it's the best. A dehydrator is not exactly a high tech machine, so I bought this less expensive brand instead. (Also because I already splurged on a good blender) It had qualities that the Excalibur also has: fan in the back instead of the bottom and a thermostat so you know you're not destroying enzymes. I've used this for 3 months now and it does just about everything I want it to do. If you're making raw crackers, you will need 13.5 x 10.5 nonstick dehydrator sheets. You can use plastic wrap at first but it gets messy. The sheets fit pretty well on the trays except for that rounded indented shape in the front of the tray . This did not bother me since those crackers don't turn out perfectly square anyway, they will sort of shrink when dry.

cons (that I can live with):
-The excalibur has a door that covers all the trays at once, so if you want to dry...
Solved the Problem!
I've tried dehydrators before, the cheapies you find in thrift stores, but they never worked. I finally did a little research and learned that the horizontal airflow type is best, and I looked for something inexpensive. Knowing "you get what you pay for," I was a little nervous that the Weston 6-tray dehydrator was so cheap, but I bought one. Wow! I am delighted! It dries sliced tomatoes perfectly. Sliced bananas become little bonbons. I even tried drying potato slices--blah, they're not potato chips, they're crumbly and bitter. But that wasn't the dehydrator's fault. Everything I have put in, it has dried perfectly. I couldn't be happier.
Really nice, but I still like my older one better...
I purchased this dehydrator to use side-by-side with my Nesco. You can view my review for the Nesco for additional info on that one. The main reason I went for having a second one was because I make different flavors and didn't want to make them at the same machine, getting the aromas mixed up. Here's my take:

First and foremost, IF YOU ARE USED TO A DIFFERENT DEHYDRATOR, keep an eye on the timing with this one. This is a very powerful machine, which is a great thing! But if you're used to something that is not as powerful, keep that in mind. The first time I used this dehydrator, I calculated that, if my Nesco took about 3 hours, this one would probably take about 2. When I checked after 2 hours, my beef jerky was crispy like potato chips. It's not bad, but not the end product I was looking for.

PROS:
- Very fast drying
- Huge drying area, approx. 10 sq ft
- Nice looking for a dehydrator, doesn't look bad on the counter, even if it's huge
-...
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Weston 08-0801-W Number 8 Commercial Meat Grinder, 1/2 HP

Not what I expected......
I would give Weston's customer service a 5 star rating, but not for this grinder. I purchase this grinder on June 11, 2013, received the grinder within two business days later, and as of today, I can not grind a boneless chicken thigh without it getting clogged. There's no problem grinding the meat; the ground meat just backs up into the Auger in the grinding head until the head gets so that full the excess meat gets stuck between the grinding knife and the grinder plate. It's almost as if the grinder is operating in reverse, even though it does not have a reverse function. So, every time I ground a chicken thigh, I would have to remove the grinding head, scoop up the ground meat in the head, clean the Auger and knife and then unclog the grinder plate. Well after several telephone calls to Weston's customer service, they are sending me a new grinding head and parts to the head. I have to say this grinder certainly does not live up to the Weston brand name. Their customer service was...
Just keeps on grinding
We got this grinder to grind a large amount of meat on one day and it performed flawlessly. It took about 9 hrs. to do 450 lbs. of beef ground twice. It never even slowed down. We have only used it that one time so far but it sure seems like it will be able to do anything we could want to do. I read some reviews before getting it and they talked about grinding bones, but we didn't use it for that, so I wouldn't be able to comment on whether it could do that or not. The only issue we have had, is when we got it, my husband wanted to clean it thoroughly to get it ready to go and he took the cover off the machine and when he put it back on and tried to turn it on it didn't do anything. He got to looking at the manual and discovered that all the pictures inside the manual show the cover situated with the handle to the back and that is how he put it on, but upon further inspection he found that one of the handle bolts sits right on a part of the motor that keeps it from turning, so...

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Weston Pro-2300 Vacuum Sealer

Weston Pro-2300... Excellent Vacuum Sealer
Reading Geeky Geek's post has prompted me to leave a review for the Weston Pro-2300 in the main listing area. With that said, I feel compelled to comment on GeekyGeek's feedback for this product.

This product is NOT cheap chinese-made junk. This is a quality product.... The poster simply broke his doing something that the machine was not designed to do. Foodsaver Sealers are hit or miss, and many tend to fail after moderate use in 2-3 years while others will keep chugging for 10 years or more. This sporadic build quality drove us away from the Food Savers and ultimately led to the selection of the Pro-2300.

GeekyGeek,
Regarding your inability to use other types of plastic sealing bags... I have had no problem using other bag brands with my Pro-2300. But if you buy incredibly cheap bags, they will not work very well (with any sealer).

Furthermore (and more importantly),
Mylar bags are not designed to be vacuum sealed. The User Manual clearly...
How Do I Love Thee! Let Me Count The Ways!!
Weston S/S Vacuum Sealer Pro 2300

Since this baby came into my life I now know what love for a kitchen appliance is all about. I have gradually changed so many things about how I cook, how much I cook and when I cook. Let me count the ways:

I cook larger quantities of foods that will freeze well even when there are only two of us (plus 2 lovely ESS dogs, who always manage to get a taste) so that I have leftovers to freeze. Sealing tip: wrap fresh cooked, after cooled pasta, lasagna, wet meats like ground patties, fish (patties) or anything that is slightly damp that the machine would pull moisture from in plastic wrap first, lay on cookie sheet and freeze and then insert into vacuum bag. This also prevents the need to clean edges of the bag and every bag seals without failure. It also prevents juices from being sucked into the vacuum hole of the machine and possibly damaging it!

I buy in bulk refrigerator and freezer items and vacuum seal...
Fairly Satisfied
On the whole, the product was suitable for my purpose.

However, I found it did not work well with the bags that were made for it (from Vacmesh). It did not completely suck all the air out until the bag was NOT laid flat. Once it is bulky, it works well.

The instruction manual is very basic.

There is no way to alter the duration of suctioning time.

Once I figured it out, I have become satisfied but it left an untidy edge.
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Weston 07-3101-W-A Manual Heavy Duty Meat Cuber Tenderizer

Meat Cuber/Tenderizer
The cuber came in A-1 condition, and on time. It is easy to use, and works perfectly. I would recomend this to anyone for a addition to their kitchen. You can turn a hunk of tough meat into a tender cut of meat. Hunters take notice--- if you process your own meat, like we do, you will love this . No more throwing out meat cuts because they are tough. IT REALLY DOES WHAT THEY SAID IT DOES !!!!!
We highly recomend this product
meat cuber/tenderizer
This is a heavy duty piece of equipment that does everything that it says it will do and more. It will turn the toughest meat into tender cube steaks with ease and will continue to do so for years. Only plastic on it is the teflon bearings on the ends of the blade rollers and the nylon base that you clamp to a counter or table top. Everything else is metal. After you are done using it, it takes apart easily for cleaning and air drying. The first time I used it I had 10 pounds of eye of round beef that was cut into 3/4 inch thick steaks. I ran them through the cuber 1 time then turned them 90 degrees and back through again. You talk about good chicken fried cube steaks that melt into your mouth!!! Actual process time for the meat was about 15 minutes counting time to trim the fat off and run it through the cuber twice. Disassembly and clean-up of the cuber only took about 5 minutes. Remember this was the first time I had used it. Great machine!!!!
meat tenderizer
This is a handy piece of equipment. It works well and is easy to clean. My only complaint is that two of the screw inserts were stripped, but that's an easy fix.
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