Consumer beware! Ronco food dehydrator is a piece of JUNK!

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I bpought a Popiele Ronco food dehydrator from a Half Hour TV Infomercial. It has no fan and no temperature control. IT IS A TOTAL PIECE OF JUNK! I dried onions and you have to continually move trays around to get them to dry even. They still do not dry even and half the onions burned and the other half was only half way dry. I tossed it in the garbage today!!!!! Including the burned onions!!!!

I just bought a American Harvest Dehydrator from Fred Meyer for only $55 and extra trays $17 for two. It has a fan and a temperature control. My son has one. It dries fast and very even!

-- freddie (freddie@thefreeloader.com), October 05, 1999

Answers

That's the truth! I borrowed my friend's ronco dryer to dry tomato slices. They all just grew mold and I had to throw then all away. The ones I dried in my oven on cookie sheets came out better! What a piece of junk.

-- (FKAnobody@nowhere.ert), October 05, 1999.

Yep, don't know about Ronco, but the American Harvest is excellent. We've used it for pears, apples, tomatoes, onions, and fruit "roll ups".

All are fine after 2-6 months. We're sold.

Jolly

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), October 05, 1999.


Things have gone down hill since the Veg-A-Matic days...it slices, it dices, it even julians!

Sorry...you have to be over 40 to remember the Veg-A-Matic.

-- Mabel Dodge (cynical@me.net), October 05, 1999.


Am Harvest is OK but if you are SERIOUS you'll get the Excalibur, 8 tray model. BIG ass box with all the control you want and dries in MUCH less time than the Am Harvest.... Well, SOME less. The jerky gets dried for 12-14 hours so they are both done anyway. 2 Am Harvest driven to 6 trays each (practical max) and 4 trays in the Excalibur does 12# of beef into 4# of jerky.

You can also reconfigure the Excalibur into a solar dehydrator if the power goes away.

Chuck

the only drawback is it's about 3 bills.......

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), October 05, 1999.


well....the ronco that i've had for about 6 or 7 years does just fine by me

(but then, so does the one i built from plywood and a couple of ceramic lightbulb mounts)

neither has a fan or temperature control......and i DO have to actually get off my duff and rearrange the trays a couple of times........but i've dried everything from venison jerky to huckleberries to cantalope to tomatoes to shrimp to......(well....you get my meaning) in both of them and have never had a problem yet

(and freddie.......one of the things i've been drying a LOT of on my Ronco is scallion onions....... so it *can* be done, and Ronco's model with the fan is fairly competitavely priced.....ten trays for about 70 bucks or so)

mable......

i not only remeber the Veg-O- Matic.......but the Popeil Pocket Fisherman as well! HA!!! (can you believe they still sell that?.......what a hoot!)

-- andrea (mebsmebs@hotmail.com), October 05, 1999.



You know, it's hard to believe that the man who invented the in-the-shell egg scrambler, the pocket fisherman and the toupe-in-a-can hair pray would have invented something that was useless.

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), October 05, 1999.

Fell asleep last night with the T-V on.  Oh, what a dream I had.
I dreamed I answered every single one of those late night mail order 
ads.
And four to six weeks later, much to my surprise,
The mailman came to my front door, and I couldn't believe my eyes
When he brought the Vegematic, and the Pocket Fisherman too,
Illuminated illustrated history of life,
And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife,
A bamboo steamer, and a Garden Weasel too,
And a tie-dyed, dayglow souvenir shirt from Six Flags Over Burbank.

The doorbell rang all morning and into the afternoon. I shook with fright as it rang all night to the light of the Master Card moon. There was Parcel Post in the pantry, and UPS in the hall, C O D's to the ceiling, and I just couldn't pay for it all.

I got the egg scrambler, with a Seal-a-Meal carrying case, A set of presidential commemorative plates So I could eat my eggs off the President's face, A Minute Mender, and a needle that'll knit or crochet, And an autographed photograph of Rin Tin Tin at Six Flags Over Burbank.

I remembered I was dreaming, so I gave a mighty cheer. When I awoke, it was no joke, 'cause all that shit was here. So if you fall asleep with the TV on, let me tell you what to do: Tear the telephone out of the wall unless you want it to happen to you. You'll get the Vegematic, and the Pocket Fisherman too, Illuminated illustrated history of life, And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife, A bamboo steamer, and a smokeless ashtray too

And an all expenses paid weekend for three at Six Flags Over Burbank.

(from Vegematic by Steve Goodman)



-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), October 05, 1999.

I have the American Harvester with fan and temp control. Love it. I used the fruit tray as a template and made trays from quality window screen to fit the trays. Great for chopped onions and peppers, shredded carrots and such. Food dries a lot faster if it is cut thin and small. I make hamburger jerky that dries in about 6 hours. I can't keep it in storage, it is eaten so fast.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), October 05, 1999.

Thanks Arnie and smfdoc for the chuckles.

And freddie, if you want a really low tech food dehydrator.. try your car. Lots of space on the seats for cookie sheets or trays of food... heats through free solar energy. And post-y2k your car may not be of much use for transportation anyway. I have had good success drying onions, peppers, mushrooms etc. Fruit leathers too.. though my one disaster was a spilled tray of purple plum goo that was supposed to become plum roll-up. Use a rolled up towel to compensate for the slant of the seats so you can level the trays. Lehman's catalog sells a non-electric hanging mesh dryer that I think would be terrific if you could figure a way to hang in in the car to take advantage of the heat that developes in our wheeled-greenhouses.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), October 05, 1999.


Does anyone own the Magic Chef Dehydrater sold at Wallyworld? Contemplating purchase and need to know if it works o.k. Thanks!

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), October 05, 1999.


>>Sorry...you have to be over 40 to remember the Veg-A-Matic.<<

LOL, Mabel!! And Arnie,.. Steve Goodman was the best, rest his bones, I miss him.

Since quite a few of us are dating ourselves, lest any of the youngster labor under a misperception: The comedian, Gallagher developed his now "infamous" Sledge-O-Matic routine because of the the Vegematic,........"It slices, it dices!!!"

Got sledging hammer? :-)

--Guffawing in her sheet,...

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 05, 1999.


I bought one of the Magic Chef dehydrators at Wallyworld. They were on sale for $17.99.(SF Bay area) I figured if it was a total bust the price wouldn't kill me. Seems to work ok, but I've only had it a month or so. Works well on the carrots and apples so far. I make sure to cut the pieces small and leave room for the air circulation. Have not tried jerkey yet, but that's my weekend project.

Keep in mind you generally get what you pay for. It's not the Excalibur dehydrator, but if it gets the job done, it's ok with me.

-- CA 4x4 (i'm@work.now), October 05, 1999.


Yeah, but... who remembers the Bass-O-Matic?

-- (pshannon@inch.com), October 05, 1999.

Dan Aykroyd's Bass-o-Matic commercial is and always will be one of the funniest things SNL ever did.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see any mention here of the Rhinestone and Stud Setter, or Mr. Microphone, or that Glass and Bottle Cutter.

-- Don (whytocay@hotmail.com), October 05, 1999.


Patrick, I remember, I think (brain cells leap to their death from my ears as I type)....blender/food processor, whole fish, head and all? We are BIG Ackroyd/Murray fans. I have trouble with the later permutations of SNL,...again dating myself. We are fond of Ackroyd's Norge Repairman...I seem to remember him coming to Mrs. Lubner's house.

:-)

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 05, 1999.



I have the rhinestone and stud setter, why? I don't know. I used it once to put two blue rhinestones in the eyes of a cat on a tee shirt.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), October 05, 1999.

I have the rhinestone and stud setter, why? I don't know. I used it once to put two blue rhinestones in the eyes of a cat on a tee shirt.

Ahhhh the rhinestone stud setter... I'm truly jealous... I'll trade you my y2k complient veg-a-matic for your stud setter.

-- Mabel Dodge (cynical@me.net), October 06, 1999.


Ronco ain't so bad. But you do need to be 10% smarter than the appliances you use.

Ya get what you pay for. I've had a Ronco dehyd for 8 years...never had a problem. made jerky, apple chips, cantalope and watermelon chewies, and tons of other stuff.

-- You shillin' for Am Harv? (feddie?@huh.areya?), October 06, 1999.


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