# Why so expensive



## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

Why in the world is the harvest right freeze dryer so expensive. For what it is and what's it made of seems like a huge rip off. I figured some of the high price is due to being the only in home freeze dryer but how do they justify charging that much. I know it saves you a lot of money down the road but still. Does anyone know of a cheaper freeze dryer made from another country that is cheaper or does anyone know of anymore companies that are going to start making a freeze dryer for in home use.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

My advice is to wait out the hype. Soon there should be competition for the harvest right freeze dryer and their prices should be a little bit lower. Even the brand name ones will be more affordable a few years down the road. Also, waiting could actually net you an improved product from the current one as the models are fine tuned and updated. Maybe more options or features will be commonplace later on that arent on today's models. 
Never been one who is too eager to pay top dollar for the 'latest and greatest' technology, but that's just me.


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

> I figured some of the high price is due to being the only in home freeze dryer but how do they justify charging that much.


Limited demand often allows for high pricing and there is no doubt that the demand for them is very limited. But then that is the same question I have always had about All American pressure canners - how do they justify such a high price - and there is much more demand for pressure canners and AA has plenty of competition. 

As long as people are willing to believe all the hype about something and pay the price the manufacturer has no incentive to reduce it.


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## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

yea that price is way to high. i have enough presh fruits on my property i could probbly sell and make the money back real quick but id have to find time amongst freeze drying for my own stock


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## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

does anyone know of any companies out the that will start making there own freeze dryers for home use in the near future id like to get one in a couple years


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## hickerbillywife (Feb 28, 2014)

As far as I know Harvest Right is the only one making freeze dryers for in home use. I know $4000 seems high but if you are of a mind to put away food for long term storage I don't think you can do better than a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. Buying Freeze dried food is very expensive and you could easily spend 4K on FD food and not have a forth of what I have been able to put away in less than a year. I mostly use mine for meat, we have our own beef and pork. I am trying to get as much out of the freezer as possible, in case of a power grid failure. I do raw as well as cooked. The cooked is usually from left overs or something I cooked a huge amount of for the sole purpose of Freeze drying. I also use it for my garden veggies. Buying in bulk when on sale is the other way I use mine the most. They are a small company and they have the best customer service I have ever experienced. Their support team are so helpful and they will walk you through any problems you are having. Plus everyday that passes is one less day we have to prepare.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

To me it doesn't seem that expensive.

Yes, the bottom line, cash on the barrel head, is quite a bit but in my mind that has to be balanced -like any major appliance purchase- against what you get for it.

The ability to lay by food for my family that will last for years and years, a machine that in our house would probably replace the freezer and the canner and the dehydrator, a major appliance that I would probably (at the beginning anyway) run 24/7. 

And I have yet to talk with anyone who regrets purchasing one.

If we had the cash I would buy one today - no hesitation.


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## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

i know it will probably be worth it but im talking for the material you get its basically a metal box with coils and a pump for 3000. Not to mention the only 1 year warranty. its kinda like paying 40,000 for a 10,000 car.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Until this freeze dryer came out, the cost of a freeze dryer was in the $20k range and up. Harvest right managed to produce a very good machine for a fraction of that cost. I don't see the price dropping much. The demand is growing.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Also it's not as simple as a box with coils and a vacuum pump. There is technology that controls the process. There are heaters in the rack that holds the trays that cycle on and off to pull the moisture out of the food without actually heating the food or damaging it. The research and development for this machine has to have been a very significant investment.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

I guess I'm not seeing what the issue is.

If you don't see the value in what's on the market there are youtube videos about how to build your own.


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## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

It seems you need a really good freezer in the machine, you have to freeze food to -40. Then you need a vacuum. The vacuum in one of these machines is pretty close to no air. Best I could figure out it is close to 99.5% empty, I wan't able to get exact figures. It isn't easy to get it that devoid of air. The water must boil at below freezing and this can only be done in a very strong vacuum. Both of these requirements would make a freeze dryer expensive. Then they have careful controls on how slowly it is allowed to warm up. As it warms toward freezing the water evaporates out changing from solid to gas directly. It doesn't seem like it is simple technology. Plus they need to make a profit. I would guess $1000 per unit, maybe more depending on how much their over head is.


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## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

its way more then a 1000 profit. Sometimes they give them away at 1500.


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## Montanalife (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi All, I am new to the group. I am regretting that I ever purchased a Harvest Right. Our has not worked properly from about 3 weeks after we bought it. Our experience with customer service has been dreadful and is turning into a nightmare! I don't want to elaborate the whole story here but since June of 2015 we have only been able to complete about 50 batches running the dryer every day.

After months of diagnosing by email and phone and trying new parts, it looks like we bought a lemon. I would be OK with that if the company would replace the freeze dryer. It looked like we had an agreement to get a new one but when the replacement arrived it was a very old, used, dirty unit. I have tried appealing to Harvest Right but they are very difficult to work with and fail to see my point of view.

Here is a simple question that expresses our point of view: If you bought a new car that started having problems a few weeks after you bought it, and for months the manufacturer tried many things to fix it but could not, then they agree to replace the car but send you a model that is a few years older, dirty, with lots of use and miles, would you accept that? 

I wish I had something good to say about their customer service but it has been awful. They have tried several times to weasel out of their responsibility. It pains me that I need to warn others about Harvest Right but I now feel it's the right thing for me to do. Buyer Beware.

Otherwise, it's a great day!

Larry


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## hickerbillywife (Feb 28, 2014)

Next time they give one away for $1500. I am certainly going to grab a second one. LOL I think what they are doing is offering a drawing for 3 winners to win a coupon for $2000 off the purchase of a machine in the month of January. One entry per person and I have already entered. They have given away one machine a month for the past several months. The most I have ever seen is $500 off and that was a black Friday sale.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Yeah even refurbished models are around $2800. They have never given them away for $1500 unless you are talking about the three $2000 off of a purchase as mentioned above. I sure entered the contest. I'd love to have a second machine!


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

I'm too poor or I would snap this right up. http://www.equipnet.com/fts-systems-flexidry-mp-bench-top-freeze-dryer_listid_484942/
It is used, but more affordable than the harvest right dryer. There are other used models on this site for $2000 as well, and one going for best offer. Not sure this one is suitable for what we want it for but some of the others are. I know nothing about the shipping costs, was just curious and Googling around to see if there are better deals out there.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

That FD has a teeny little chamber. Look at the picture that shows the cord and plug. That chamber looks like it may be 8" in diameter at the most. It's made for FD bacteria samples. Personally there is no way I'd want to FD food for myself in a used bacteria Freeze dryer. Plus the harvest right holds 10 pounds of food at a time, and can process that in 24 to 36 hours. These lab machines have a much slower cycle time, some as long as a week or more. im not saying that all used lab machines are a bad idea. Some are larger, And there is at least one guy on the egullet forum that's using one. He had to do some modifications to make it work right. If you have a background in electronics and perhaps some hvac experience it's certainly an option. But getting a used laboratory FD and making it work for food is really going to be beyond what the average person can handle.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

http://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Food_Freeze_Dryer.html can get your choice of a few new models for around $3k here...

http://expertsurvivaltips.com/how-to-freeze-dry-food/?wprptest2=2
The DIY methods may work, might have to try this myself.

http://www.hitechtrader.com/Laborat...-Freeze-Dryer-Model-5/210700307/60265/60265-p another $2k model with mention (from my understanding of this POD thing anyway) that it is $1k if you can manage to pick it up from them.

Build it yourself discussion and options-- too technical for me though.
http://www.refrigeration-engineer.com/forums/showthread.php?5214-Building-a-Freeze-dryer

I'm having waaaaaay too much fun doing the OP's homework for them this evening.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Hmmm let's see....$3000 plus shipping from China or $500 more made in America. Really easy choice for me. try to get warranty work from China. NOT. Lol


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## Gadget_Lover (Feb 6, 2017)

Yes, its a lot of money, and don't forget the time you have to put into keeping the Harvest Right working. You need to fiddle with the oil each time, troubleshoot problems, make sure you don't mix the wrong foods together in one batch, and wait the 24-36 hours for the VERY LOUD machine to finish. Afterwards you can clean up the oil it spurted and clean everything up for your next batch. 

You would have to be pretty dedicated and spend a lot of time to get your money's worth out of this thing without going insane.


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## Bungiex88 (Jan 2, 2016)

Yeah I'll just wait till more companies start producing them


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