The equipment arrived packaged very well and in great shape. Quick shipping and tracking information. The freeze dryer and industrial pump has worked wonderfully. Many batches of candy. Batches of chicken, spaghetti sauce, minestrone soup and tons on apple slices, wedges and apple sauce. Enjoying the machine while preparing for the future.
K25 are very reliable and there are no concerns w/ deterioration of a silicone hose over time. They are also very easy to install/remove when necessary.
The K25 stainless steel hose and clamps provide confidence and improved performance. I wasn’t sure about the extra cost, but I’m glad I invested in it.
good morning everyone, i ended up getting the stayfresh after my harvest right dryer died this fall. the quality of parts and the design of the machine used by stayfresh is so far above what hr uses it's amazing, as luck would have it i figured out the issue with the hr and repaired it along with updating the software and it now performs better than it ever has which is wonderful. i'm able to use both machines on the same product at the same time for a comparison. i don't understand why but the few times i have done candy the sf has produced such higher quality results than the hr that it is amazing. using nerds as an example, the finished product is almost half again as large as the hr produces and both are completely finished. when doing tomatoes i'm finding that besides holding more product that the sf is finished normally and hour or two sooner based on weighing to insure dryness. As far as user friendliness i have to give that to the hr. i don't know why but it just seems like when it says it's done and has gone into extra drying time that it actually is close to being done. i still have to pull and weigh trays to ensure dryness but i know when to start monitoring it. i find that i do more weighing with the sf but even with that it is done sooner with more product . i find myself using my notes from previous runs to know when to start weighing. at first i wasn't using the probe because i prefreeze everything and it's hard to stick the probe into frozen food. finally i read to take a drill bit and drill holes into the food for the probe to fit into, that was a big duh moment. i now drill holes in the food on every tray and use the probe. i have no idea how or why it works but it sure does. use the probe. if both machines were to die and i was ordering a replacement it would be a no brainer, the stayfresh is so much better built and how it performs that i wouldn't consider the hr even though i like the software better in it. when i have smaller amount to dry i use the sf, it works that much better. ps, i've had a couple of friends stop by that also have hr machines. after discussing the pro's and cons they also have decided that as of now, if they had to replace theirs it will be with the stayfresh. sorry for the length of this but it's just what i have observed
Originally had another brand which failed almost immediately. And the service was atrocious. The StayFresh is worlds above the other brands in both engineering and the use of quality components. It has performed flawlessly since we got it and the owners are right there to answer any questions. Love it.
Great machine, superb quality construction.
Company stands by its product. Tim was there for me during the set-up of the freeze dryer. Once set-up, it has run flawless.
Two tips for defrost.
1. Tie a string around the chamber with the knot at the bottom. This will guide the water down the string and into my bucket. Very tidy and quiet.
2. I drilled a hole in the styrofoam packing, push it against the chamber to create a seal. Then use the air pump to clear the drain tube without removing the rack. Some trimming and heat to seal the edges keeps the styrofoam from shedding. Saves time and wear on the cables.
It is a life changer, if you are a type of person who loves being independent, this is a must. I just started and it is very satisfying. All of or friends and family are amazed by it. I must say, I can become a vegetarian with this machine. Wow, the flavors are so good and clean.
I haven't been able to use my FD yet as we are building a "she shed workshop" specifically for freeze drying. with that being said, I inspected everything when came in and all materials seem to be of high quality and even watched a video of how everything is put together and that was a key feature in my reasoning for purchasing a StayFresh over other brands. Customer service has been excellent with all my questions as well as promptly sending me a replacement manual when I misplaced my original one. I am truly excited to get started using it soon.
The customer service is great. He always calls back if you leave a message. I bought the Stayfresh Freezer Dryer on 10/10/2024 with the industrial pump. The freeze dryer has been running great. I'm very happy with the purchase.
Exactly what I was looking for , though the spacing stops certain treats , for food applications it’s great
This is my first freeze dryer, so I’m still learning, but I can’t say enough good things about the unit and the support you get from Stay Fresh. From my limited experience I could confidently recommend a Stay Fresh freeze dryer.
We purchased two Stay Fresh freeze dryers. We have other brand machines and they don't even compare to Stay Fresh. We have been using Stay Fresh for about 5 months now. We will definitely purchase from Stay Fresh again - craftsmanship, support and willing to work with us. Thank you!!!!
Setting up and learning to use the machine was easy. I had a few questions initially and Tim at Stayfresh was back to me via email quickly with answers and recommendations. So far (I am in my 19th sessions) the machine is problem free.
Filter arrived promptly and in perfect condition. Everything I have received from Stayfresh has been of highest quality and I LOVE my Stayfresh Freeze Dryer! Have done 40 batches with no fails.
These trays are great for increasing the amount of food you can freeze dry, kind of obvious, lol. Seriously it just makes freeze drying sliced vegetables, fruit, etc more efficient with the three extra trays. Well worth the money in our book.
After wanting one for 5 years I finally decided to purchase yours. I think the major issue that was holding me back was all the bad reviews for Harvest Right. Your service has been exceptional and the only thing that could have been better for my husband and I was the delivery which I had contacted you about and more videos for newbies as we had so so many questions about set up and learning to run the machine. We never received a booklet with our machine so my husband had to print one up at work.
I had another brand of freeze dryer that was nothing but a headache. After researching the various manufacturers I decided on StayFresh. It's easy to maintain and built with the consumer in mind. One of the best features is the separate release valve from the drain. Other Freeze Drier valves are also used to drain the water, which makes contamination a big issue.
I had an issue with the industrial pump when it arrived. Contacted StayFresh and had a replacement the next day. Support is awesome.
Very interesting to watch the change in internal temperature of food compared to shelf temperature. A very nice feature!
Well built, solid machine. I’ve made numerous batches and they’ve all turned out perfect. Customer service is excellent. I’m glad I got the industrial pump.
I have used a Large Harvest Right freeze dryer since 2018. I now have the Mega Freeze dryer.
1. Stay Fresh Mega vs Harvest Right Large. In my case the build quality is much much better.
2. The Mega does twice as much as the large Harvest Right. Calculated sq inch.
3. It appears to run much faster than my Harvest Right. I can run 30lbs of ground beef in 24 hours start to finish.
4. Not a single problem as of yet. I run one to two batches a week right now. My harvest right also runs one to two batches a week with no problems as of yet. Yes, for years I struggled with low vac alarms on my HR. I programmed it so it no longer does that. Drove me crazy.
5.If I had to choose one to keep and sell the other, I would keep the Stay Fresh over the Harvest Right. Design is much better.
6. Things I would change.
6A. I would put something in the front of the machine to tilt it back so that when defrosting all the water would go to the rear of the machine. I currently use an inflatable wedge for lifting. I do not use the defrost, but instead have found that a small fan blowing into the chamber melts the ice very quickly.
6B. I wish you offered a strong floor table with casters to put that heavy thing on. I made my own and it works great. It sits where my clothes dryer used to sit. When draining I can just roll it to one side and put a 3 gal bucket under the drain line. This freeze dryer is about the size of a clothes dryer so it works really well. Without a caster base, it would not fit there.
For now that is about it. I am glad I purchased the Stay Fresh Mega Freeze dryer.
6C. I wish your vacuum pump drain plug was like Harvest Right. They nailed it on the drain plug. I do however like your filter (works and less expensive) (Industrial Pump)
David
First let me be clear, I do not write reviews for any company ever. But I feel and believe these company deserves one. I will also write my expenses with HR as well.
I am no beginner when it comes to freeze drying. In my 2 years in business I have bought sold used about 28 HR machines I’m down to 3 of them left and I had everything from smalls to XL from home units to Scientific models. I have tried them all none of them come close to the basic model from stay fresh. And the mega unit is on a bench mark of its own. I’m doing my testing on my last XL unit vs the mega and in my testing the mega holds the same of the XL but drys it 25-30% faster than the six tray XL. Because of the food probe built in the machine in the stay fresh units. These save me electricity cost and time for another batch.
Let me talk about the 2 models I got, I got the standard 4 shelf tray with and 7 shelf tray extra. These machine is a power house, I bought 28 trays for these machine only, I been getting 12-14 dry time on 8 pounds of cook proteins, i sometimes do 16 pounds in a 24 hour period. These is truly amazing. The mega unit is huge, it does average 30-36 pounds of food in a 30 hour period. Both machines are truly great. Any advice I can give out for anyone that’s looking to start out, owns a business or just want to make a switch, definitely check out these company. Please do you homework on what are you looking to freeze dried and how often your going to use the machine. The stander basic model is perfect for anymore starters or pros is great and you can add items to the machine when needed to. The mega is great for large batches, ideal for the small to medium sized business out there that want scale up production, great machine will be buying more Mega’s in the near future.
Again I want to thank you for reading these review to the end. I hope these information is helpful in any way shape of form.