The NESCO FD-75PR is a compact stacking dehydrator with many good reviews and a modest price. It is also known as the NESCO 5 Tray Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator.
The FD-75PR has a compact footprint and ships with 5 trays that are stacked on a base unit. Like its slightly bigger brother, the NESCO FD-80, the FD-75PR has a fan and motor located in a power head assembly that sits on top of the stacked trays. The power head on the top of the unit can be conveniently lifted off the trays with a built-in bale handle. However, while the FD-80 features rectangular trays, the FD-75’s trays are round and slightly smaller. The location of the fan and motor at the top of the machine means that they stay clean – foods can’t spill or drip down onto them. As with all stacking designs, you only need to use as many trays as you need.
Airflow system
The FD-75 features a patented airflow system called Converga-Flow. The trays have a hole at their center and special air channels at their perimeter. Instead of forcing air through the trays, the top-mounted fan forces heated air down the exterior pressurized chamber, then horizontally across each tray into the channel at the center. Combined with 700 watts of drying power, the FD-75 airflow system is able to dry foods quickly.
Capacity
The FD-75PR is a medium-sized dehydrator with decent expandability. It ships with five 13” diameter trays, each providing a little less than 1 sq. ft. of drying area. This gives this dehydrator a base drying area of 4.5 sq. ft. The FD-75PR is expandable to 12 trays for a maximum drying area of over 10 sq. ft.
Materials
The NESCO FD-75PR Snackmaster is made from an opaque plastic that blocks light, helping to preserve nutrients in foods while they are being dried. The color of the unit is white and speckled gray. NESCO states that the plastic is BPA-free.
Controls
The controls for the NESCO FD-75 are located on the top of the machine, on the power head that holds the fan and motor. There is no timer or power switch, just temperature control knob with a range of 90 to 150 degrees F. Printed next to the temperature control knob are recommended temperature settings for a variety of foods.
Cleanup and maintenance
The drying trays for the FD-75 are dishwasher safe as long as the dishwasher is set to “air-dry” or trays are removed from the dishwasher before the drying begins. Because the trays are relatively small, you might be able to soak them in a sink for a few hours, which makes cleanup a lot easier.
Overall feedback is very positive and backed by a very large number of reviews. Currently, the average rating on Amazon is 4.5 out of five stars, with 657 reviews. Over 70% of all reviews are 5 stars, and 4 and 5-star reviews together make up over 90% of all reviews.
Negative feedback is mostly centered around defective units, confusion about size (some people feel that it’s too big for a kitchen appliance), time required to dry, noise, and the lack of a power switch.
The NESCO FD-75PR is relatively compact (compared to full size dehydrators), yet offers decent expandability for a medium size dehydrator. The circular stacking trays provide flexible capacity, but are not quite as convenient for loading food as rectangular trays. The airflow system is proven. If you have modest needs, and want a dehydrator that has a smaller form factor, we think the FD-75PR is a good option. If you like the stacking design, and want a little more capacity and a rectangular tray, consider the FD-80. There are some complaints of defective machines, so make sure you keep your receipt and deal with any problems promptly.
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