Review of the Excalibur 3948CDB 9-Tray Electric Food Dehydrator
Do you love sinking your teeth into savory beef jerky or tangy fruit leather? With the Excalibur 3948CDB food dehydrator, you will see the amazing benefits of preparing delicious, portable snacks for your family at a fraction of the cost of pre-made, store-bought options.
What is food dehydration? Food dehydration is one of the oldest known methods of food preservation, used by our pre-historic ancestors! It is still used globally as an ideal way of naturally preserving food. By evaporating the moisture content of meats, fruits, vegetables, and herbs, they become shelf-stable and more compact for easy storage or for grab-and-go snacks.
Excalibur 3948CDB Food Dehydrator
Features
The Excalibur 3948CDB 9 tray food dehydrator is the perfect kitchen companion for saving money and time as you easily make your family’s favorite foods.
Overall Dimensions
- Width: 17″
- Depth: 19″
- Height: 14″
- Color: Black (394CDB)
Specifications
- This is a 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator with 15 square foot capacity
- Plastic trays measure 15″ x 15″
- 48-hour digital timer
- Two time, two temperature settings for quicker drying
- Clear door to view drying progress
- Thermostat adjusts between 95ºF to 165ºF
- 7″ fan, 600 watts for increased air circulation
- Includes “Preserve it Naturally” book (a $24.95 value!)
- Limited 10-year warranty
- Made in USA
- 110/120 voltage designed for use in North America
Pros
The Excalibur 3948CDB has an impressive list of features, including ease of use, portability, and a patented temperature control technology that ensures safe food preservation at home.
Versatile
The Excalibur 3948CDB 9-tray food dehydrator has 15 square feet of food space. This means you can dehydrate as little as one small berry or several pounds at once.
The adjustable thermostat is super important. The lower temperature dehydrates fresh produce and delicate herbs or flowers without destroying healthful active enzymes. The higher temperature is necessary to safely dehydrate meat for jerkies or treats for your furry friends.
Because of the patented Hyperwave™ technology and Horizontal Parallex™ drying, Excalibur 3948CDB has a continuous heated air flow that effectively dehydrates your favorite foods without heating up your kitchen.
The unit is light weight and portable enough to use or store in any room of your house.
Easy to Use
The 3948CDB model boasts an easy to set and easy to read digital thermometer and 48-hour timer. The two time, two temperature option can be set at a higher initial temperature for a specific time. When that time ends, it automatically adjusts to the second set temperature and time, reducing the need for continuous monitoring.
The PBA-free plastic mesh trays have a tighter weave that keeps small food pieces from falling through the trays, but big enough to promote maximum air flow and consistent drying temperature. The trays are easy to clean with warm, soapy water, and the machine simply needs wiped down with a damp cloth.
The glass door enables easy viewing and monitoring during the drying process without the need to disrupt the internal temperature by opening the door.
Other Delicious Benefits
By making your own delicious snacks, you can assure the quality of every ingredient. From start to finish, you know exactly what is going into your food. This is important if, like me, you have family members with food allergies or are finicky eaters.
No more expensive beef jerky or sugar-loaded fruit leather. For school lunches, backpacking, running errands, you will have high-quality, healthy dehydrated food at your fingertips.
You can also save money by taking advantage of seasonal produce and great sales at the grocery store and dehydrate in bulk.
Cons
Although in very highly rated, The Excalibur 3948CDB 9-tray food dehydrator still has room for improvement.
Recommended Improvements
The food dehydrator Excalibur 3948CDB model is somewhat noisy, not noisy enough to hear it throughout the house, but noisy enough to know it is working. To buffer the sound, it can be used in a lower-traffic area of your home.
The manufacturer could also improve the packaging, providing better protection during shipping.
Size
It is bulky and takes up a fair amount of counter space.
Necessary Accessories
The solid tray liners necessary to make fruit leather are not included with the dehydrator and must be purchased separately. Excalibur makes a silicone coated non-stick, ParaFlexx™ fruit leather sheet that fits most of their dehydrator models.
Comparable Dehydrators
Excalibur 3900B 9 Tray Dehydrator
Excalibur 3900B 9-tray electric food dehydrator shares many of the same features as the 3948CDB model, such as the same patented technology, temperature range, plastic housing and trays, and a 10-year limited warranty. While it is two inches shorter than the 3948CDB, it still has 15 square feet of drying space. This model does not have a timer, nor does it have a see-through door for easy monitoring.
Ivation 10 Tray Dehydrator
Ivation 10 Tray Commercial Food Dehydrator has stainless-steel housing and stainless-steel dehydrating trays that are dishwasher safe. This model has a temperature range of 95ºF to 167ºF with a single 30-minute to 24-hour timer. It has a 1,000-watt rear mounted fan and is several inches longer and taller than the Excalibur 3948CDB and includes a removable drip tray, one mesh sheet, one solid sheet for fruit leather, a glass door, and a limited 1-year warranty.
Magic Mill Ten Tray Dehydrator
The Magic Mill 10-tray Food Dehydrator has a plastic housing and stainless-steel trays. This model has a single 30-minute to 24-hour timer, a temperature range of 95ºF to 165ºF, and a 600-watt rear-mounted fan. It includes a removable drip tray, a glass door, and a limited 1-year warranty.
Summary of the Excalibur 3948CDB 9-Tray Electric Food Dehydrator
Excalibur has been making dehydrators since 1973 and consistently attains high reviews for quality and longevity, with a 10-year limited warranty. The Excalibur 3948CDB 9-tray food dehydrator is one of the company’s larger models with coveted features such as a glass door for easier monitoring, a two time, two temperature option for faster, low-maintenance dehydrating
This model has a 600-watt rear-mounted fan for even heat and air distribution, and patented technology that maintains consistent internal temperatures, even if external temperatures fluctuate.
Included are nine BPA-free plastic, easy to clean mesh trays that efficiently dehydrate small, wet, or sticky foods. However, you will need to purchase solid, silicone-based tray sheets separately to make fruit leather.
If you desire to spend less money on delicious, healthy snacks and wish to spend less time in the kitchen, dehydrating is the ticket!
For further information and tips on food dehydration, check out these helpful articles.
