Tchibo Food Dehydrator

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Tchibo Food Dehydrator
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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 4:06 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

I've just ordered one to replace my dead Ezidri.

It died? How come

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 4:15 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

cab wrote:

I've just ordered one to replace my dead Ezidri.

It died? How come

The heating element stopped working. Fan still works. The element itself is basically a big spring, but in itself it still conducted so it seemed pretty much okay. Still, I took it off and replaced it with another (a lucky find and almost exact match, from a heated incubator of some kind I found in a skip). That didn't work. All of the other connections were good, but somehow it wasn't getting power to the element. Its still sitting on a shelf in the back hall, waiting till I get time to mull over how to jury rig it, but the Tchibo one is so cheap that I'll go for that instead.

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 4:48 pm Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

Blue Peter wrote:

What's the advantage of using a dehydrator over just using an oven?

I thought this had been covered before...I see actually you asked the question before (or something simliar) but didn't actually get an answer:

https://forum.downsizer.net/viewtopic.php?p=63155#63155

I realise I have been rather making assumptions...I assumed it would be more energy efficient, safer, and possibly more reliable. But I don't know that for sure. We have dried a lot of mushrooms in the oven and this year, chillis too, having no airing cupboard, but it took a long time, as we use the oven near enough every day we couldn't manage to leave things in for long enough to dry them in one go so they went in and out. Another of my assumptions is the dryer perhaps does a lower temp for longer so it has less risk of leaving you with a cooked smell. But I don't know. And I'm thinking twice about whether we should try it or not.

Frightening that you have a much better memory for what I've asked than I do

Peter.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 5:09 pm Post subject:

Blue Peter wrote:

Frightening

You'd be surprised how often people say that to me. This time at least I just remembered that something was asked about how efficient they were and had a look, I thought there'd been an answer though.

I had a look in at lunchtime and they hadn't them in but as Whitelegg1 says their "healthy eating" stuff is supposed to be from 18 January, although this didn't seem to be in the leaflet I saw so maybe it is web only. I won't be ordering from them again though, it may be partly down to the rubbish delivery people in my area, but I found their service very disappointing in trying to sort out what had happened to it, and the comments about it being so heavy are a sarcastic reference to their excuse that the delivery company didn't bring it because it was "too big or too heavy". It's about the size and weight of an electric kettle, I understand

Hopefully your experiences, if anyone gets one, will differ. Myself, I will be walking down to the shop and if it's not there my decision is made for me

mrsnesbitt

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1576

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 5:13 pm Post subject:
Well we have no shops near so have ordered mine over the phone.....................will have to wait and see what happens now!

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 6:00 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

The element itself is basically a big spring, but in itself it still conducted so it seemed pretty much okay. Still, I took it off and replaced it with another (a lucky find and almost exact match, from a heated incubator of some kind I found in a skip). That didn't work. All of the other connections were good, but somehow it wasn't getting power to the element. Its still sitting on a shelf in the back hall, waiting till I get time to mull over how to jury rig it, but the Tchibo one is so cheap that I'll go for that instead.

Umm...
Do you have a meter to check what connects (conducts) and what doesn't?
You could jury-rig one from a working torch and a couple of bits of wire...

My guess would be switch (if there is one) or themostat stuck open.
You could bypass those, (straightened paperclip) and see if you get heat.
But I doubt there's much chance of finding an economic thermostat (hmm, unless you canibalised and recalibrated a central heating room stat...)

Naomi

Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 1945

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 06 9:35 pm Post subject:

Last year I managed to pick up a food dehydrator very similar to the one in the link .
I paid �2 for it from a bootfair. I think it has a few more trays than the one shown and a couple of silicon type liners that you can add to the trays for drying out fruit leathers etc .It also had a mandolin type cutter to slice food really thinly in with it.So it was a good bargain!
I can't see a makers name on it anywhere ?But it works fine and I use it mainly in late summer to dry tomatoes and other fruits and veggies etc .
In the winter I tend to use my Rayburn's cool oven ,as that is running anyway and it seems silly not to use it.

Here it is.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 8:54 am Post subject:

dougal wrote:

Umm...
Do you have a meter to check what connects (conducts) and what doesn't?
You could jury-rig one from a working torch and a couple of bits of wire...

I have my trusty old multimeter, so my torch is currently safe

Quote:

My guess would be switch (if there is one) or themostat stuck open.
You could bypass those, (straightened paperclip) and see if you get heat.
But I doubt there's much chance of finding an economic thermostat (hmm, unless you canibalised and recalibrated a central heating room stat...)

I thought that it might be that. But then, I couldn't find a thermostat in there. The only control over heat in there is the little bit of circuit board with three buttons that control the heat setting. So its sitting, looming on a shelf in the back hall till I get round to having another look (or get rid of it).

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 12:17 pm Post subject:
I bought one of these last year from Tchibo and it has been great.I don't have a lot of space to store stuff so its definately been a good buy for me Bugs are you going to have another try to get one this year? I remember the saga last time...

Gai

Joined: 31 Dec 2004
Posts: 408
Location: Ireland

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 12:49 pm Post subject:
I ordered mine by phone as well, their site wouldn't let me order online for some reason.

nora

Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 1539
Location: West Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 1:40 pm Post subject:
I just phoned the shop near me and they said they are getting them in next Wednesday. How long does it take to dry things in one e.g. slices of apple?

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 1:50 pm Post subject:
I see they have a shop in Halifax. I'm just completing my claim to the hospital fund for the cost of my eye test to the value of �25. I see the dehydrator is �25. It's all so logical.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 2:03 pm Post subject:

nora wrote:

I just phoned the shop near me and they said they are getting them in next Wednesday.

Thanks nora, I'll be at my local shop next Wednesday.

What can you dry at this time of year?

nora

Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 1539
Location: West Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 2:12 pm Post subject:
It was the Halifax one I phoned. I presume they are all the same but it may be worth ringing the one nearest to you to check (I got the number off their web site where they have a store list).

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 06 2:29 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

What can you dry at this time of year?

Sweet potato chips, parsnips, beetroot? I'm thinking about those vastly expensive packets of posh crisps.

And yes, I succumbed as well. I blame Whitelegg1.

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