L'Equip 528 500-Watt 6-Tray Food Dehydrator

The L'Equip 528 is a rectangular stacking food dehydrator that ships with 6 trays. The trays fit together tightly, and only need to be added when needed, so the 528 dehydrator shares with other stacking dehydrators the ability to dry foods efficiently, with volume matched to the size of the batch. Each tray provides 1.2 sq. ft. of drying space, so base capacity is 7.2 sq. ft. when using all 6 trays. Up to 12 trays can be added total, which provides a maximum capacity of 14.4 sq. ft.

The 528 is made of BPA-free plastic, and it a little more refined than most dehydrators. It is also quite compact, so is perhaps more at home on a kitchen counter than some higher capacity machines. The fan and heater are mounted in the base, and blow heated air up through the trays.  In most cases, the trays will not need to be rotated. The design of the L'Equip 528 food dehydrator is a little different than that of the NESCO stacking dehydrators, which have special channels along the outside edge of the trays to route air up the trays before it moves horizontally across the trays to the core channel at the center.

The L'Equip 528 food dehydrator has 500 watts of drying power, and features solid state temperature control. A sensor checks the temperature 60 times per second, so the 528 has a stable drying environment for food, herbs, flowers, and jerky. The L'Equip 528  has an on/off switch, and a temperature control knob that allows heat to be set between 93-154 F.

Each of the 6 trays included with this unit come with a mesh insert, which makes clean-up easier. In addition, the L'Equip 528 comes with 2 solid sheets for making fruit roll-ups.

The L'Equip 528 Dehydrator comes with a 10 year warranty – 10 years on the base, and 1 year on accessories. There is a link to detailed warranty info here.

Notes:

• Amazon lists the warranty as 12 years, but L'Equip lists the warranty as 10 years on their website
• Amazon (and a L'Equip video) say up to 20 trays can be added, but the L'Equip website currently says up to 12 trays

Email to L'Eqip 9/24/2012, answered the same day:

• "The L’Equip Dehydrators come with a 10-year warranty on the Base and 1-year on the Trays"
• "When using more than 12 Trays, drying efficiency is decreased.  So, when using more Trays, we recommend occasionally rotating them for more even dehydration"