Nesco has been making food dehydrators for over 30 years and their tagline is "The Best Food Dehydrators in the World". The majority of the Nesco food dehydrators have the following features:

• Circular, stackable tray design versus square/rectangular design. This allows for many of the units to have additional trays added. However, since each tray has a hole in the middle to accommodate for airflow it can make it difficult to dry large items such as bread or tall items since the trays range from 0.5 to 2.5 inches in height.
• Vertical airflow versus horizontal airflow - Most of Nesco’s food dehydrators have their patented Converga-Flow* fan which forces heated air along the exterior pressurized chamber, then horizontally across each individual tray, converging in the center, for fast, even and nutritious drying. No flavor mixing! No need for tray rotation.
• Vita-Save* Exterior - The opaque exterior blocks light to retain more of the food's nutrients and vitamins during the drying process.
• Dishwasher safe trays (if you wash them on the top rack and remove them prior to the drying cycle)

	Nesco FD–35	Nesco FD–61	Nesco FD–75PR	Nesco FD–80	Nesco FD–1010	Nesco FD–1020
Size inches	14.1x14x10	13.5x13.8x9.8	13.5x10.9x13.3	14.5x14.5x9.6	17.3x17.3x11.5	15x15x9
Weight lbs.	4.4	8.0	9.0	10.0	13.9	11.0
Air Flow	Vertical Top Mounted Fan	Converga–Flow System	Converga–Flow System	Converga–Flow System	Converga–Flow System	Converga–Flow System
Thermostat	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thermostat Range	NA	95–155°F	95–160°F	95–155°F	95–155°F	90–160°F
Timer	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Watts	425	500	700	700	1,000	1,000
Tray Size inches	13.5x13.5x.5	13x13x.5	13x13x.5	14x14x2.2	15.5x15x2.8	15.5x15x2.8
Number of Trays	5; up to 7	4; up to 12	5; up to 12	4; up to 8	4; up to 30	4; up to 20
Drying Area Initial Trays	5.0 sq ft	3.7 sq ft	4.6 sq ft	5.5 sq ft	5.2 sq ft	4.9 sq ft

* Patented

Published 08/16/2009

Tags: Thermostat, Converga-Flow, Vertical Air Flow Food Dehydrators, Food Dehydrator Features