Excalibur Parallexx Drying System

Advantages:

Standard Dehydrator

Disadvantages:

Turbo Charged Parallexx™ Horizontal-Airflow Drying System

Complete drying system in rear. (includes thermostat and fan)

The Parallexx design, with a temperature controlled, fan forced, horizontal drying system mounted in the rear is exclusive to the 2000 and higher Series. The same features found in Excalibur's USDA approved $3500.00 commercial model...in an affordable home unit.

Cool air is drawn in the back, heated, and distributed evenly across each tray. During the dehydration process, warm air removes moisture from foods and is pushed out the front of the machine.

Typical Round Dehydrator

Round Stackable Units Heating unit in bottom. (many without fan or thermostat)

Normal drips fall on the electrical controls beneath the food. This can cause electrical problems as well as being very difficult to clean.

The more trays that are added, the further the food is away from the heat, dramatically increasing the drying time, and requiring frequent tray re-stacking day and night to prevent spoilage. This is compounded when extra(and expensive) trays are added to the basic configuration of the unit. Using fruit leather (rollup) sheets further restricts air flow, as each one blocks more upward movement of the heated air.

Easy to clean... Spills fall on seamless bottom. Flexible mesh tray inserts (Polyscreens) hold food above the tray frames.

Hard to clean... Spills fall directly on electric components. Food is placed directly on their rigid trays.

Horizontal drying provides even drying, eliminating tray re-stacking. Fast drying... you don't lose heat because you don't have to take your Excalibur apart to change the tray sequence.

Vertical drying requires tray re-stacking as trays closest to heat source dry first.

Who wants to "BABYSIT" THEIR DEHYDRATOR?!!

Adjustable thermostat allows perfect drying every time.

Value of an Adjustable Thermostat
Range: 85º -145º F

For faster drying, and best overall versatility, the following temperatures are recommended: herbs 95º, cake decorations 100º, flowers 110º, yogurt 115º, vegetables 125º, fruit 135º, jerky, plaster of Paris, curing epoxies and clay 145º. Note: Those following the concepts of raw and living foods can set their thermostat to 105º with assurance the food will not reach the enzyme destruction temperature of 120ºF.

Slow drying... Units without fan or thermostat may spoil food or not dry at all. Foods placed in the bottom tray may dry at a much higher heat than recommended for best results. While foods in the top trays may not receive enough heat for proper drying.

Many round dehydrators sold without a thermostat advertise that you can make jerky in their units.

Compare the temperature settings needed to dry jerky (145º) to those for herbs, fruits and vegetables. Why subject delicate herbs to the temperature needed to dry meat?

Square design increases drying area "25%" with no holes in center of tray. Prove it for yourself: Draw a square on a sheet of paper. Now draw a circle, as large as possible, inside that square. Next, draw a hole in the center of your circle. Color all parts of the square not covered by the 'ring' that you just drew. That's the amount of drying area that you lose with every round tray.

The square design makes it easy to spread puree for fruit leathers and rollups, using Teflex™ sheets, plastic wrap, or parchment paper tray liners.

Round design cuts off corners and has holes in center, reducing usable drying area. Because of the round design, it is often difficult to position large slices of fruits and vegetables without further loss of drying space.

The round design also poses problems when lining trays with plastic wrap or parchment paper in lieu of round plastic tray liners. Additionally, the completed fruit or vegetable leather comes out like a big doughnut, regardless of the type tray liner used. Difficult to cut into equally sized strips.

Versatile... Trays can be removed to expand drying chamber.

The Value of Removable Trays: One or all trays may be removed making space for larger items such as: whole fruits, wedding or prom bouquets, special crafts like apple-head dolls, dough art, clay figures, paper machete, dried flower and fruit wreaths.

Non-adjustable stackable design restricts size of drying chamber. There may not be enough space between the shelves to dry Roma tomato halves!

Even if the round dehydrator includes a yogurt making option, you can't use your own individual serving size containers nor pint, quart or even ½ gallon mason jars.

Removable door and trays - An Excalibur does not have to be taken completely apart to check drying or add more food. Each tray rests on its own support, making it easy to slide each one in and out, as needed. Especially useful when removing thinner slices that finished drying first. It only takes a few seconds to check a tray, thus your food doesn't have time to cool to any material degree.

To check on the drying progress of the bottom tray -- the one closest to the heating element -- every tray above it has to be taken off the base. Simply stated, you have to take the dehydrator apart frequently during the drying cycle. While you're doing this, the food may cool back down to room temperature! This prolongs the drying process.

Almost unbreakable and FDA approved polycarbonate trays. Excalibur trays are dishwasher safe. Flexible Polyscreen tray inserts make cleaning a snap. Polyscreen inserts are available for all Excalibur models.

Before you buy a typical round dehydrator, make sure to check on the materials used for their trays. Are they dishwasher safe? Will they break easily, if accidentally dropped? Are the materials FDA approved for use with foods?

Polycarbonate plastic cabinet and opaque polycarbonate door. With its dark interior, an Excalibur protects light sensitive vitamins during the drying process.

Many typical round models have clear trays and a transparent cover. This admits light, and causes a loss of light sensitive vitamins. Inexpensive plastic covers can shatter if accidentally dropped on the floor.