Freeze Dryer Machines, Engineered in California

The Small, the 5-Shelf and the 7-Shelf all run from an ordinary household circuit — a dedicated 15 amp circuit is recommended on the Small, 15 or 20 amp on the 5-Shelf and 7-Shelf. The Large and the Mega need a dedicated 110 V 20 amp circuit with a NEMA 5-20 outlet, so check that before ordering — it is the one piece of preparation that catches people out.

About 12 hours for 5 lb of food on the Small. Main drying runs 16 to 30 hours for about 8 lb on the 5-Shelf and 7-Shelf, and 20 to 40 hours for 20 lb on the Large and Mega. Lowering the target vacuum gives a gentler cycle and a better-looking result, but takes considerably longer.

The 5-Shelf, 7-Shelf, Large and Mega are air cooled left to right: they draw air in on the left and push it out on the right, so leave 12 in. clear on both sides and keep heat sources away from the left-hand intake. Add roughly 2 in. to the cabinet width for the vacuum port and drain line.

The Small breathes back to front instead, so it only needs its 12 in. on the right, where the pump stands. That is what lets it sit in a run of counter rather than out in the room: allow about 42.7 in. of bench for the machine and its clear side, and 22 in. of depth including the door and knob.

Yes — that is what it was designed for. It is 17.3 in. tall, which clears the underside of most wall cabinets, 26.7 in. wide and 100 lb, and it takes its cooling air in at the back and discharges at the front, so it can live against a wall with a clear foot on its right-hand side. It does 6 to 10 lb of food a batch across four trays.

It is the only machine in the range built that way. Everything from the 5-Shelf up is a floor-standing cabinet that breathes side to side and wants 12 in. clear on both flanks.

Every machine ships with an oil filter, a 12 in. impulse sealer, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and a set of trays. The 5-Shelf and 7-Shelf also include a pack of silicone mesh. You will be emailed the Stay Fresh recipe book — 125 recipes across 11 chapters, each with the target vacuum, shelf temperature and final dry time to use — once your order ships.

The Small's four trays are a size of their own at 7 × 15.5 in., so the mesh, divider and parchment sets made for the larger machines do not fit it.

Fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, full cooked meals and candy all work. A few things need preparing first: blanch grapes and broccoli, because raw grapes come out as raisins and raw broccoli shrivels, and pierce or slice blueberries and cherries or they burst. Delicate greens prefer a low shelf temperature and a low target vacuum. High-sugar fruit wants a longer final dry, and watermelon wants a very long one.

The things that genuinely do not work are pure chocolate, Starburst, jelly beans, Sour Patch Kids and most hard candies — Jolly Rancher hard candy is the odd exception that does. Store-bought frozen sliced fruit tends to shrivel, and canned pineapple is never great.

The recipe book that comes with every machine covers 125 foods across 11 chapters, each with the settings it was developed with.

Very little, to start. The patented drying algorithm reads the chamber and adjusts rather than running a fixed timer, and the defaults — 550 mTorr, a 120 °F maximum shelf temperature and a seven-hour final dry — handle most food without you changing anything. Load the trays, press start, do the weight test at the end. That is true of every model, the Small included.

When you do want to intervene there are four settings: shelf chill temperature, target vacuum, maximum shelf temperature and final dry time. The rules for using them are short. If the food shrivels while it dries, lower the target vacuum. If it is not finished when the machine says drying is complete, lengthen the final dry. If it is thick, delicate or high in sugar, lower the shelf chill or use a probe. A lower target vacuum always means a gentler cycle, a much longer run and a better-looking result.

Yes, and candy mode is built into every model — a dedicated process, not just a hotter setting, with the shelf running to 180 °F when a candy needs it. Most candies work somewhere between 150 and 160 °F, though each one has its own best setting and a few — pure chocolate, Starburst, most hard candies — do not freeze dry well at all.

The closest practical differences are the patented drying algorithm, the 180 °F shelf ceiling for candy, the motorised ball valve that keeps pump oil out of the chamber, the vacuum release valve, zoned heating on the Large and Mega, and the fact that the machines are engineered and serviced in California. We lay out the full side-by-side — capacity, pumps, pricing, warranty, returns and support — on one page: Stay Fresh vs Harvest Right.

The ball valve and the vacuum release valve are fitted from the 5-Shelf up; the specifications page lists what each model carries.