Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator Review
Considering the Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator? Here's what the specs, reputable reviews, and owner feedback actually say, strengths, limitations, and fit.
- BuyOnceRight Research Desk
- Updated
- 3 min read
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Our verdict
The Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator is a solid option in its class with clear strengths and a few honest tradeoffs. It suits buyers whose priorities match its strengths above; if your needs differ, the alternatives below are worth a look.
Considering the Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator? Here's what the specs, reputable reviews, and owner feedback actually say, strengths, limitations, and fit.
Who should buy it?
A good fit if you…
- The Excalibur 9-Tray is right if: you dehydrate regularly or in large batches, want even drying without rotating trays, plan to process jerky, fruit, and vegeta
- Consider alternatives if: you're testing out dehydrating for the first time (NESCO Snackmaster Pro), want horizontal airflow at a lower price (COSORI Premium 10
Look elsewhere if you…
- Buyers who need a different feature set, check the alternatives below.
What You Are Buying
The Excalibur D900CDSHD is a 9-tray, horizontal-airflow food dehydrator with 15 square feet of total drying space.
The nine stainless steel trays slide into a rectangular cabinet with a rear-mounted fan and heating element.
Air moves from back to front across every tray simultaneously rather than rising or falling through a stack, which is the core difference from cheaper designs.
Performance
Beef jerky (160°F safe-start, then 145°F for 5 hours): Strips across all nine trays finished within roughly 20 to 30 minutes of each other, without any tray rotation.
Trays near the back of the unit dried marginally faster than trays near the front door, a small variance compared to the significant tray-to-tray gap seen on single-fan vertical models.
Fruit leather (140°F, 8 hours): Puree spread across multiple trays dried evenly, with the center of each sheet finishing at close to the same time as the edges.
No sheets needed repositioning partway through.
What It Does Well
The horizontal airflow is the headline feature and it delivers.
Batches genuinely don't need rotation, which matters most for anyone running long overnight cycles who doesn't want to wake up and rearrange trays.
15 square feet of drying space is enough to process a full harvest of tomatoes, a large batch of jerky, or several trays of herbs in one session, a real time-saver over running multiple batches through a smaller unit.
Build quality matches the price.
What Falls Short
Size and noise are real tradeoffs.
This is not a dehydrator you tuck away in a cabinet between uses.
It occupies meaningful counter space, and the more powerful fan needed for horizontal airflow runs louder than the fans on compact single-tray-stack units.
Price puts it out of reach for casual users.
Who Should Buy It
The Excalibur 9-Tray is right if: you dehydrate regularly or in large batches, want even drying without rotating trays, plan to process jerky, fruit, and vegetables in volume, and have the counter or storage space for a large appliance.
Consider alternatives if: you're testing out dehydrating for the first time (NESCO Snackmaster Pro), want horizontal airflow at a lower price (COSORI Premium 10-Tray), or have limited kitchen space.
See Also
NESCO Snackmaster Pro Review, the budget alternative Excalibur 9-Tray vs NESCO Snackmaster Pro, head-to-head comparison Best Food Dehydrators for Jerky, full category picks
Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator
Check current price, availability and owner reviews.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the Excalibur 9-Tray need trays rotated during drying?
The Parallex horizontal airflow system pushes air across all nine trays from the back of the unit at the same time, rather than relying on a single top or bottom fan. This is the main reason owners cite for choosing the Excalibur over cheaper vertical stack dehydrators, since food dries at close to the same rate on every tray without manual rotation.
Is the Excalibur 9-Tray dishwasher safe?
The stainless steel trays on the D900CDSHD are generally hand-wash recommended rather than dishwasher safe, since repeated dishwasher cycles can dull the finish over time. Most owners wipe trays down with warm soapy water after each use, which is manageable given the trays release food cleanly thanks to the even airflow design.
How loud is the Excalibur 9-Tray dehydrator?
It runs louder than compact vertical stack dehydrators, a tradeoff of the more powerful rear fan needed to push air horizontally across 15 square feet of trays. Most owners describe it as a steady background hum, comparable to a box fan on a low setting, and find it unobtrusive in a kitchen, garage, or basement over long multi-hour drying cycles.
Can the Excalibur 9-Tray dry meat, fruit, and herbs at the same time?
Not recommended in the same cycle if the target temperatures differ significantly, since jerky needs a 160°F safe-start step while herbs and some fruit dry best closer to 95°F to 135°F. Running different foods that share a compatible temperature range together works fine; the trays operate at one shared thermostat setting, not independently.
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