Review: TSM D-10 Dehydrator with Stainless Steel (Not Chrome) Trays

If you're in the market for a sturdy, large-capacity stainless steel dehydrator for your family and don't care if it's not from Excalibur, then you should definitely take a look at TSM Products' D-10 Dehydrator with Stainless Steel Trays. With this feature-packed, spacious model, you'll be able to dry even larger batches of foods with minimal effort. To learn more about the pros and cons of this interesting alternative to the pricey Excalibur dehydrators, keep reading.

Pros

16 Square Feet of Drying Space

If you are looking for a family-sized stainless steel food dehydrator, you should definitely take a look at TSM Products' D-10 unit with stainless steel trays—its 10 trays provide a whooping 16 square feet of drying space in total! What's more, as the trays are rectangular rather than round, you will also have plenty of space to dry long pieces of food such as beef jerky.

Back-Mounted Fan

The TSM D-10 Stainless Steel Dehydrator has a rear-mounted fan, which results in horizontal airflow. This means hot air will be evenly distributed across the trays, and you won't have to rotate the trays. Dehydrators with bottom-mounted fans, by contrast, promote uneven airflow and require periodic rotating of trays. What's more, as the fan of the TSM D-10 is located at the back, you won't have to worry about drippings from fruits, vegetables and meats soiling the fan.

All Key Components Are Made of Stainless Steel

Unlike most other food dehydrators out there, this dehydrator has a stainless steel case made of rust-resistant stainless steel. Also all of the 10 trays that are included are made of stainless steel, so you won't have to worry about chemicals like BPA or phthalates leaching into your food. But beware: there is also a version of the TSM D-10 dehydrator that comes with chrome-plated stainless steel trays. Therefore, before purchasing TSM Products' D-10 dehydrator, it is best to check with the seller whether the model they are selling has stainless steel trays or chrome-plated stainless steel.

Cons

No See-Through Window

One of the downsides of getting an all stainless steel dehydrator such as the TSM D-10 Dehydrator is that you won't be able to monitor your foods without opening the door. If the lack of a see-through window is a problem for you, you might want to check out the Excalibur EXC10EL Dehydrator—it is a pricey dehydrator, but it has a stainless steel case and trays, as well as a see-through door made of glass.

D10 is Not Expandable

One of the drawbacks of the TSM D-10 Dehydrator is that it's not expandable, which means you won't be able to expand the drying space by purchasing more trays to stack on top. Therefore, if you at some point realize the 10 trays and 16 square feet of drying space no longer meet your needs, you will need to buy a second dehydrator.

This is Not a Low-Budget Model

Yet another downside is that the TSM D-10 comes with a pretty hefty price tag, so if you're on the hunt for a cheap dehydrator, then this model is probably not the right choice for you. However, if you compare this stainless steel dehydrator with other dehydrators of the same capacity, you'll notice that the TSM D-10 is actually quite reasonably priced.

TSM versus Excalibur — Key Features

Here's how TSM Products' D-10 Dehydrator with Stainless Steel Trays fares against Excalibur's stainless steel model of the same capacity (16 square feet):

	TSM D10 with SS Trays	Excalibur EXC10EL
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Number of trays	10	10
Drying space	16 square feet	16 square feet
Fan type	Rear-mounted	Rear-mounted
Tray material	Stainless steel	Stainless steel
Case interior*	Stainless steel	Stainless steel
Case exterior*	Stainless steel	Stainless steel
Door/window	Stainless steel	Glass
Tray size (approx.)	16.3 x 14.5 inches	15 x 15 inches
Adjustable thermostat	Yes	Yes
Wattage	800	600
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