* Reviewer Information
Name; Andrew Preece
Age; 45
Gender; Male
Height; 1.76 m (5’9”)
Weight; 87 kg (191 lb)
Email; a1preece at iinet.net.au
City; Perth, Western Australia

* Backpacking Background
I mostly car camped up to about a year ago when I got into hiking and camping.
I have done a lot of hiking over the years but only now carry a tent and all the gear for overnight stays of 1 to 2 nights.
I would normally carry approximately 17 kg (35 lb) which includes food and water— I am hoping to purchase gear that's lighter still.
My trips are usually between one to two days duration, over weekends during winter with temperatures ranging from 4 C (39 F) to 18 C (64 F) with at times heavy rain to summer with the temperature ranging from 20 C (68 F) to 35 C (95 F) and very dry.

*Review
This is my first dehydrator and it’s a very easy one to use with no heat settings or timers to worry about. The fact that it does not have a timer is a downside for me but I was able to use a timer that plugs into the wall socket and then plug the dehydrator into that. I was then able to start the dehydrator and have it turn off after a certain number of hours.
The instruction book that comes with the dryer is very good and I followed it until I became familiar with the drying of foods. All foods must be cut at a uniform size 6 mm (1/4") thick is recommended. The book contains a log type section where I can record foods dried, date, food weights before and after drying and so on.
It also has sections on, features, using, storage, drying, recipes and much more.

I have used the dryer to make dried fruit, beef jerky, (I used the internet to find a lot of different recipes to try lots of flavors). I have also used it to dry tomato paste, spaghetti bolognaise and other left-over food. I have dried a lot of left-over foods from our dinners and then once dried I seal it into plastic bags that I place into the freezer for later use. I find that depending on the size of the pieces of food I may have to use one or more trays. The booklet gives a good idea on what will fit and typical drying times but it is still a bit of trial and error.  When I have dried left-over food that has juice/gravy I place plastic wrap on the tray under the food so as to stop the juice running all through the dryer but this means that it does not get enough air passing through the motor and I find I must space out the full trays with empty trays. If the dryer gets too hot and there is not enough air circulating around, the motor will shut off and restart once it has cooled down. I have found that a couple of times I have had to rotate the trays around to ensure even drying, on one occasion the top layer was very dry but the under side of the food on the bottom layer was still quite damp and needed a longer time.

With fruit I have found it better not to dry it out totally but to leave the pieces a little bit supple, I find the flavor and texture a lot better this way.
The dryer when on and running does seem a little noisy, I have mine set up in a spare room away from the bedroom as I run it mostly overnight and cannot hear it from bed, as this is my first experience with a food dryer I did not know what to expect.
I have found that about two hours in cold water is enough to rehydrate the food and the taste has been very good, I use the dehydrator often to dry leftovers which I then freeze until I need them. This way I can prepare food in advance and never have to worry about drying food before a camping trip.

*Test conditions
The dryer has been used right through winter with a minimum temperature of 8 C (46. F) and a maximum of 18 C (64 F) to summer with temperatures of 20 C (68 F) to 31 C (88 F). The dryer is only ever used inside one of my spares rooms and so outside temperatures should not effect it.

*Conclusion
The Sunbeam Healthy Food Dryer is an easy to use, cheap to buy food dehydrator, my food requirement are simple at the present time and find this dryer more than good enough. Would I buy another one of these? Yes.
Pro
Cheap to buy, cheap to run, small in size, has 5 trays plus an insert.
Con
A little noisy and doesn’t have a timer, or temperature control.