Chard Dehydrator: An In-Depth Review and User Experience

The Chard Dehydrator is a convenient kitchen appliance that comes with a massive ten trays that allow you to dehydrate your favorite fruits, herbs, meats, and vegetables in bulk. See your food being dried with the transparent acrylic door, which also has a latch and lock to make sure the food is efficiently dehydrated. The appliance comes with a power supply of 800 watts that provides more than enough power for large jobs. 

CHARD 5 Tray Food Dehydrator

Introducing the revolutionary CHARD 5 Tray Food Dehydrator! Perfect for food preservation enthusiasts and healthy eaters alike, this incredible appliance will make your life easier! With its enhanced airflow and digital timer with automatic shut off, you'll always have perfectly-dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even meats. But the convenience doesn't end there: the CHARD 5 Tray Food Dehydrator can be expanded to 25 trays - transforming it into a full-fledged power house of production. That's right - no more having to buy multiple appliances or constantly reloading trays. With its 14.8 x 11.8 x 9.4 inches compact size, you can now make delicious snacks with ease! Gray in color, this machine has all the modern features you need with none of the fuss. Invest in your health today with the long-lasting CHARD 5 Tray Food Dehydrator today!

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The Chard dehydrator gives you more than 1700 square inches of space for dehydrating your foods. It is one of the most effortless appliances to use. It comes with a temperature dial and an illuminated on/off switch.

Chard 10 Tray Dehydrator

Let us have a closer look at this appliance.

What’s in the box:

Unboxing the Chard 10 Tray Dehydrator: The First Impression

Unwrapping the Chard 10 tray dehydrator uncovers a sleek, minimalist design. Constructed with durable plastic, the unit has a professional touch that resonates immediately. The weight suggests durability, without feeling overly heavy, ensuring stability on your kitchen counter. The clear acrylic door provides easy viewing of your ongoing dehydration process without needing to disrupt the heat and airflow contained inside. 

Upon closer inspection, the removable dehydrator trays appear robust. They look readily up to the task of large dehydrating jobs, whether you want to make healthy fruit leather snacks, dry herbs, or even exotic options like mango habanero buffalo jerky. The nonstick drip sheet beneath the trays is a thoughtful touch, designed to catch any dripping liquid during the dehydration process, ensuring an easy cleanup afterward. 

The control panel is user-friendly, displaying the temperature easily. It marries functionality and simplicity, allowing you to adjust the settings with a couple of dial turns. With a glance at the user’s manual, you’ll see various temperatures suggested for different food items such as meats, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. This is an excellent guide for beginners starting their adventure into food dehydration. 

Overall, the first impression of the Chard dehydrator retains the promise of an effective and affordable dehydrator, equipped to handle sizable jobs with ease, all the while ensuring an easy clean-up process once the dehydration run is complete.

Spotlight on Features: What Sets the Chard Dehydrator Apart

The Chard Dehydrator demonstrates its unique value proposition with a suite of features designed to optimize ease of use and performance. Whether you want to make fresh vegetable chips, healthy fruit leather snacks, or your mango habanero buffalo jerky, this efficient dehydrating machine has got it all covered. 

The Chard 10 tray dehydrator, for example, offers a generous dehydrating space, which is perfect for large dehydrating jobs including drying meats, fruits, and herbs alike. Each of the Chard dehydrator trays is engineered for perfect air circulation, ensuring evenly heated air across all your food items. Yet, this dehydrator still makes way for better heat transfer tray rotation, enhancing its efficiency and heat-retention capabilities. 

The control panel of this digital dehydrator perfectly sits on its front side and comes with an easy-to-use temperature dial that lets you preset different temperatures suggested by the incorporated drying guide. Besides these staples – like vegetables, fruits, and herbs – the machine also handles meats for optimal drying meats. 

The clear acrylic door of the Chard 10 tray dehydrator adds more than just elegance to its design. This simple acrylic door facilitates easy viewing; you can check the progress of your mango habanero buffalo jerky or any other delicacy without disturbing the dehydration process. And since the dehydrator runs quiet, it’s easy to forget it’s hard at work! 

But wait, there’s more! The Chard dehydrator also features a nonstick drip sheet that catches dripping liquid and provides simple cleanup. The trays and drip sheet are indeed easy to clean, and the dishwasher-safe length of these trays only points to the ease of cleaning them. 

Power is key when it comes to dehydrators, and the Chard dehydrator does not disappoint. It comes with sufficient power to dry foods speedily, ensuring that your veggies and meat cuts are evenly dried to perfection. The sizable jobs it can undertake are powered by a large fan for perfect airflow, along with a heavy-duty fan motor that drives its superior performance. 

To join this impressive list of features, the Chard Dehydrator even incorporates an illuminated on/off switch, essential for safety and easy operation. The base unit of this effective and affordable dehydrator is made of durable plastic for durability and longevity. 

So far, the Chard Dehydrator is shaping up to be an ultimate choice for those who value even airflow, efficient dehydrating, and easy cleanup. Whether you want to preserve vegetables for the long winter or create the perfect dried herbs for your spice rack, this machine offers a useful, robust tool to achieve it all.

Details Matter: A Closer Look at the Chard Dehydrator Trays

A key feature distinguishing the Chard 10 tray dehydrator is, as the name suggests, its ten spacious trays providing ample dehydrating space for large-scale food dehydration tasks. Crafted from durable stainless steel, these trays are robust enough to handle sizable jobs ranging from drying meats and vegetables to creating healthy fruit leather snacks. While the Chard dehydrator gives plenty of space for your dehydration needs, the design is such that it doesn’t compromise on efficient dehydrating. 

Another benefit of these trays is the added, nonstick drip sheet that catches dripping liquid and provides a simple cleanup process. Each tray is easy to clean by hand wash, allowing for the ultimate convenience after a long drying process. The trays have been designed in such a way as to promote perfect air circulation, ensuring that each tray gets evenly heated air for more efficient dehydrating. 

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the design of the Chard 10 tray dehydrator is the clear acrylic door. This serves multiple purposes – it allows easy viewing of the dehydration process, aids in proper heat retention, and supports simplified access to the trays. No more guessing games about whether your favorite meats, vegetables, fruits, and herbs are ready or not. This transparent door helps take the guesswork out of the equation, letting you monitor the progress without needing to interrupt the process. 

Additionally, while most other dehydrators might require you to manually rotate the trays for even dehydration, the Chard dehydrator tray design eliminates the need for such rotation. The large fan located at the back of the unit ensures even airflow across all trays, resulting in uniformly dried food items, significantly reducing the chance of some pieces being over or under-dehydrated. 

Features of the Chard Dehydrator

  • The Chard Dehydrator provides more than 1300 square inches of drying space.
  • The 800 Watt heating element on the machine offers sufficient power for large dehydrating tasks.
  • The large fan flows evenly heated air; this eliminates the need for tray rotation.
  • It has a transparent door with a latch and lock door closure.
  • The 10 large trays are included with the Chard dehydrator.

Pros

  • It has a max temperature of 160 degrees.
  • The trays are BPA-free.
  • It comes with 10 trays.
  • Can use all ten trays to make jerky and other foods.
  • It comes with an on and off switch.
  • It has a fan located in the back center of the unit along with the heater element. It circulates heat evenly between all the trays.
  • The unit is made of metal.

Cons

  • The trays are plastic, but many customers have said that the trays are sturdy and heavy-duty.
  • This dehydrator does not have a timer like most of the brands in a similar price range.
  • The Chard 10 Tray Dehydrator does not come with tray liners to make fruit rollups; you have to purchase these separately.
  • The power supply is 800 watts which can increase electricity bills when in constant use.
  • According to the manual, Trays are not dishwasher safe.
  • The tray holes are big; this would make it very challenging to dehydrate foods such as blueberries, carrots, and celery.

Dimensions

This food dehydrator is 13-1/4 inches wide, 18.5 inches long, 14.5 inches tall.

Item Weight

19 pounds

Ratings

Is it easy to clean: Yes

4.7 out of 5.

Is it easy to use: Yes

4.5 out of 5.

Noise level rating of 4.2 out of 5.

Color

Black

Does The Chard Dehydrator Come In 5 Tray Version?

Yes, the Chard Dehydrator does also come in 5 trays. This is ideal for those who are looking for an entry-level machine or for those who have limited space.

Chard 5 Tray Digital Dehydrator

What’s in the box:

  • 1x Chard 5 Tray Dehydrator

Features

The Chard 5 Tray Dehydrator is great for fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and jerky. With 450 watts of drying power, it is sure to get the job done quickly and efficiently. It features a digital control display with temperature and timer. Includes five trays and can be expandable up to 25 for larger batches.

How To Use The Product?

It’s really easy to use the Chard 5 Tray Dehydrator.

  1. First, you need to plug in the unit. The display light will flash OFF.
  2. Next, press the On/Off button. You will hear the fan start.
  3. Press the + or – button to set the temperature. ( refer to the guide for temperature settings).
  4. Once you have the desired temperature set, press the TEMP/TIME button to start the dehydrator. The display will show the time in hours and minutes. The dehydrator will run until the set time is reached.

Temperature Suggestions:

Fruits: 131-140 degrees

Vegetables: 122-130 degrees

Herbs: 95-104 degrees

Pros

  • Auto shutoff
  • Easy to use
  • Trays can be expanded
  • Great price
  • Rectangle design for better air circulation
  • The trays and cover are dishwasher-safe trays and cover
  • ETL Certified

Cons

  • The tray size is a little small.
CHARD 5 Tray Food Dehydrator, 15.157 inches X 12.008 inches, Gray
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    Components

    • COVER
    • 5 DEHYDRATING TRAYS
    • BASE
    • VARIABLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL BUTTONS
    • ON/OFF BUTTON

    Replacement Trays:

    Chard dehydrator replacement trays can be found here.

    CHARD 5DST-2 Food Dehydrator Tray, Gray - Set of 2
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      These can only be used with the Chard DD 5S dehydrator; they will not fit any other models. However, these trays are great if you want to do larger batches or if you want to have spares on hand.

      Can I Buy Directly From The Manufacturer?

      Yes, you can buy directly from the manufacturer.

      Click the link below to be taken to their website.

      chardproducts.com

      On the Chard Products site, you will find all the different models they offer. If you have any questions, they have a contact form on the site that you can fill out, and they will get back to you as soon as possible.

      Comparing Chard Against the Competition: Where Does It Stand?

      The competitive landscape of food dehydrators is diverse, with several brands offering similar features and benefits. Here’s a comparison of the Chard 10 Tray Dehydrator with some of its top competitors:

      BrandKey FeaturesUnique Selling Point
      1. Excalibur 9 Tray Food Dehydrator9 trays, tray rotation, adjustable thermostat, drip tray included.Renowned for longevity and durability, has patented Parallex Horizontal Airflow for even drying.
      2. Nesco GardenmasterAdjustable thermostat, patented Converga-Flow drying system, expandable to 30 trays.UniqueConverga-Flow system ensures fast, even drying without the need for tray rotation.
      3. Presto Dehydro Electric Food DehydratorAdjustable thermostat, expandable up to 12 trays, no tray rotation needed.Affordable and compact, suitable for those with limited kitchen space.
      4. Cuisinart DHR-20 Food DehydratorAdjustable temperature control, expandable to 9 trays, 620 Watts of power.Backed by a reputable brand, it offers simplicity and straightforward operation.

      While each brand presents its strengths, the Chard Food Dehydrator stands out for its large capacity, efficient dehydration, and easy cleanup, making it a robust choice for those seeking value, versatility, and performance.

      Final Word

      What makes the Chard Dehydrator stand out is its ten trays; this is more than enough to dehydrate all your favorite foods in one go. The clear door is another excellent addition to this machine. Most dehydrators have a transparent top that only allows you to see what’s being dehydrated at the top. This appliance has a transparent door that shows you all the trays so you can keep an eye on your food items.

      The price is affordable compared to other dehydrators on the market, such as the Magic Mill MFD 1010, which has 11 trays and is over $200.

      I believe this is an excellent food dehydrator that will be a great addition to the kitchen. We give this appliance a 4.5 out of 5 for performance and ease of use.

      Looking for another 10 tray dehydrator, why not read our review of the Samson 10 Tray Dehydrator.

      author avatar
      Danny
      Hey there, since 2016, my mission has been to provide you with the information and guides you need to make food dehydrating simple and fun. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, my site offers helpful guides, reviews, and recipes to enhance your dehydrating experience. I take pride in only recommending products I believe in, ensuring my readers' trust. As an affiliate of various programs, including Amazon Associates, your support helps me continue providing quality content. Thanks for stopping by, and happy dehydrating!