I've never used a freeze dryer but it's amazing to watch all of the things people put in them and what those things look like when they come out of the dryer. Very interesting gadget.
I'm enjoying my Harvest Right Medium Pro. I've only done a few batches, mostly rotisserie chicken, pork shoulder carnitas, and cooked ground beef. I have plans to do a lot more.
Nice Pete! I'd say you really wouldn't go wrong with either one. Nice to see the comparison as if I'm being honest, I would probably ever only own one of the two. Thanks for sharing 🤠
Glad to see I'm not the only person in East Texas prepping. Keep up the good work! I have one of the original Harvest Right freeze driers (back when there was only one model to choose from). It has and still serves me well and I run it about 3 times a week.
@@REELTIMEREVIEWS1 I don't pay attention or care as having put away thousands of dollars of food is priceless should I need them. Plus it's everything from crab, shrimp, fish, corned beef, rib eye steaks, hamburger, pork, sausage, chicken, veggies, avacados, fruit, etc. I'm talking buckets upon buckets upon buckets! Why worry about cost of electricity? Having the foods you like in a SHTF scenario is priceless.
Plus, the foods I put away 10 years ago have probably tripled in value! A freeze dryer is probably the best prepardness item I ever bought next to a water well, boom sticks and ammo,
Thanks for the information Pete. I would have gone ahead and filled the HV with the additional tray. I'm guessing that it would not have taken any longer with the additional tray than leaving it out and would have provided approximately 20% more freeze dried food for the additional two hours as part of the comparison. I agree about the blender versus smashing it in the jars. You get more uniformity and should be able to get more in the jars. Best regards and keep the videos coming.
I was just trying to be fair using the exact same amount of broth. The more food you put in a freeze dryer, the more water it has to remove and added time it will take.
Or even a better test would have been to put the same amount on the 5 trays instead of the 4, the HR would have probably finished quicker. And you are correct adding the additional tray would have probably not added any more time.
Could you elaborate on which freezedryer you like better and why? We are trying to make our final decision and your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I really like both freeze dryers but, we've had many issues with our HR. We had insufficient vacuum error that took several weeks to straighten out with HR on the phone and me tearing down our brand new freeze dryer. I had to replace the on/off switch and it lost all it's refrigerant do to a leak, so I had to send it back to HR and that prosses took one month and $380 in shipping. I can't say that the Cube will never have problems but, now that I've had the Cube for a while, I can see that it's a better built machine.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thank you for your response. HR is available in Canada at the moment, but P4L is still trying to get the distributor going. So we decided to wait. We are considering coming to the US to buy it but they didn't disclosed their location. I appreciate your videos and sharing your insight on freezedryers.
Thank you for promoting the product. I wonder how much is your energy bill and did they give you the freezer for free in exchange of promoting it? I think after 101 video on this subject we got the idea. The food will light and storable without any water.
Great comparison, Pete. Thanks for putting this together! I must admit, I was surprised to see you try the chicken broth. For whatever reason, I had thought that you were vegetarian. Take care and God Bless.
I'm mostly plant based for health benefits but I occasionally eat wild caught fish. I'll have chicken broth in soups as long as it's organic. It's getting really hard to truly eat good because of big food companies poisoning our food with pesticides and herbicides.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Makes total sense to me, sir. Fortunately, you have your hens cranking out eggs for you, which is a great source of protein, vitamins and healthy fats. My wife and I are expanding our own on-site food production to help us stay clear of the really dreadful stuff that is the modern American food supply. Take care and God Bless.
Great video! Do you have a link for the tray stackers? I plan to order my cube freeze dryer next week, very excited. I will use your promo code for the extras.
Did you read any of the safety warnings on your pressure cooker, the part that says not to fill more than 2/3 full?? to avoid food being boiled into the vent pipe??
That is not a fair comparison. You should have used a medium-sized Harvest Right with 4 full trays. The large Harvest Right with 4 trays and 1 empty bin is naturally going to take longer because it is working harder. Phil at 4800 has a good comparison between the 2 freeze dryers. We do enjoy your channel though, but didn't think it was a good comparison. We have a Harvest Right medium freeze dryer and love it.
The only issue Phil has, is the fact that he doesn't have the cube and can't compare them physically like this. Now these are not that scientific. For instance, by measuring weights to see if they actually were dry. Who knows, HR could have been done at the same time.
Actually the more food you put in a freeze dryer the harder it has to work to get the water out. So the HR had less food then it normally can hold so the machine actually worked less. I do like the HR too, but I wish they would use better quality parts or quality control because we've had many issues with ours from vacuum leaks that took several weeks with HR on the phone, refrigerant leak where we had to return it to HR to get it fixed which took one month and $380 in shipping and a bad on/off switch. I'm glad your HR works great and I hope it continues working, but there are many of us that happen to get a lemon for a freeze dryer.
The harvest right determines when the food is done by how low the vacuum is in respect to the temperature. The Cube has a sensor that checks the moisture of the chamber. You would think that the HR would finish first because it's a bigger machine and I only put four trays in it rather than the five it can hold.
My harvest right gets oil residue in the effluent water. This mean is must be geeting pump oil.in the chamber and in the food. Harvest right refused to help me with this issue. Do any of you see oil residues in the melted effluent water??? I refuse to eat pump oil!
No, because the lids on the jars have a rubber gasket/seal that will break down in time and are only good for about 5 years. If you want to store them longer, put the in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber.
Just looked up the cube tray size which is slightly bigger than the harvest Right medium trays. Cube is much more expensive than the Harvest Right machine though.
Cube comes standard with an oil free pump, add the oil free pump to the Harvest Right medium and they are comparably priced. Myself personally I'd have to take a long hard look at if paying for the oil-free pump would be worth the added cost. In that case I would agree - the HR is much cheaper without the pump upgrade.
@@Cowboy_Steve I have a large Harvest Right, but I do not have a Cube so I can't do a true comparison between the two - but I had initial problems with my Harvest Right machine (vacuum leaks and a defective touch screen). Harvest Right expects their customers to be prepared and able to carry out a large amount of troubleshooting on their own without very responsive customer support. I believe that HR is having quality control and support problems based on rapid sales growth. This is VERY annoying when you consider the high price of the product. Maybe Pete B can comment on what (if any) problems he had initially with the Cube as compared to the vacuum leaks that so many HR owners have dealt with. If the Cube has better Quality Control and Customer Support than Harvest Right, that would be enough to tip the scales in their favor in my opinion. Take care and God Bless.
@@Cowboy_Steve still over $1k more if you get the HR oil free pump. HR comes with most of the accessories you need to get started. You'd have to upgrade to the cube pro to get accessories
@@theElderberryFarmer Yes Harvest Right quality control is lacking but they've been in business over 7 years. The cube is brand new so over time reliability, quality control and support are to be seen.
Yep you could do that but most people don't realize just how big the XL really is. Unless you are in the freeze drying and selling business, it would take a whole lot of food to fill that machine. Most people aren't preppers that have huge food storage rooms, but I'm glad they came out with it for those that are really serious about freeze drying. Also you have to take into consideration the quality of the machine. We've had lots of issues with our large HR and there's lots of videos of people having problems with their HR.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading We bought a cube from 4Patriots and it wouldn't finish the batches. Had to return it to 4Patriots. We got a harvest right and have never had an issue. I think you aren't taking into consideration that there are way more people who have the harvest right.
@@carolclarkson4859 That's very true, there are way more people with HR, they've been around much longer. The 4Patriots machine is an older model, it may look the same but is really a different machine. They've improved on it quite a bit.
That is not a fair comparison. A four tray to a five tray machine? The HR 5 will take longer than the HR 4 tray. The sensor has nothing to do with the difference because the HR's have sensors too. I understand you are trying to sell your brand but compare apples to apples. FYI your Food Saver will eventually break the right hinge. Use ductape to repair until eventually the left hinge will break ... then trash it! I've had 2 of them, never again. A Native Texan!
Thank you Pete for taking the time to compare the two machines for us.
Thanks for the comparison!! I sure appreciate it!
The algorithms have not been nice to you is correct. Just got this recommended today even though I've been subscribed for years.
Yep, it's been that way for a while 😕
I've never used a freeze dryer but it's amazing to watch all of the things people put in them and what those things look like when they come out of the dryer. Very interesting gadget.
I'm enjoying my Harvest Right Medium Pro. I've only done a few batches, mostly rotisserie chicken, pork shoulder carnitas, and cooked ground beef. I have plans to do a lot more.
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pete B. Have a great day and God bless.
Thank you, God bless you too.
My Cube should be shipping soon, I can’t wait to get started. Love your videos!
Thank you 👍
Nice Pete! I'd say you really wouldn't go wrong with either one. Nice to see the comparison as if I'm being honest, I would probably ever only own one of the two. Thanks for sharing 🤠
Glad to see I'm not the only person in East Texas prepping. Keep up the good work! I have one of the original Harvest Right freeze driers (back when there was only one model to choose from). It has and still serves me well and I run it about 3 times a week.
what does that do to the electric bill just curious?
Depending on what you're freeze drying, it could cost $1.50 to $3.50 per batch with a .10 cents per kilowatt hour energy cost.
@@REELTIMEREVIEWS1 I don't pay attention or care as having put away thousands of dollars of food is priceless should I need them. Plus it's everything from crab, shrimp, fish, corned beef, rib eye steaks, hamburger, pork, sausage, chicken, veggies, avacados, fruit, etc. I'm talking buckets upon buckets upon buckets! Why worry about cost of electricity? Having the foods you like in a SHTF scenario is priceless.
Plus, the foods I put away 10 years ago have probably tripled in value! A freeze dryer is probably the best prepardness item I ever bought next to a water well, boom sticks and ammo,
Great device that vacuum seals jars!
Hey I have a pot on now!!
I did beef bone broth yesterday!
Thanks for the information Pete. I would have gone ahead and filled the HV with the additional tray. I'm guessing that it would not have taken any longer with the additional tray than leaving it out and would have provided approximately 20% more freeze dried food for the additional two hours as part of the comparison. I agree about the blender versus smashing it in the jars. You get more uniformity and should be able to get more in the jars. Best regards and keep the videos coming.
I was just trying to be fair using the exact same amount of broth. The more food you put in a freeze dryer, the more water it has to remove and added time it will take.
Or even a better test would have been to put the same amount on the 5 trays instead of the 4, the HR would have probably finished quicker. And you are correct adding the additional tray would have probably not added any more time.
Could you elaborate on which freezedryer you like better and why? We are trying to make our final decision and your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I really like both freeze dryers but, we've had many issues with our HR. We had insufficient vacuum error that took several weeks to straighten out with HR on the phone and me tearing down our brand new freeze dryer. I had to replace the on/off switch and it lost all it's refrigerant do to a leak, so I had to send it back to HR and that prosses took one month and $380 in shipping. I can't say that the Cube will never have problems but, now that I've had the Cube for a while, I can see that it's a better built machine.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thank you for your response. HR is available in Canada at the moment, but P4L is still trying to get the distributor going. So we decided to wait. We are considering coming to the US to buy it but they didn't disclosed their location. I appreciate your videos and sharing your insight on freezedryers.
Good soup stock.
Thank you for promoting the product. I wonder how much is your energy bill and did they give you the freezer for free in exchange of promoting it?
I think after 101 video on this subject we got the idea. The food will light and storable without any water.
The cost to run a freeze dryer is very low. Here's a video I did based on the kWh cost. th-cam.com/video/K5AJcjVz-h4/w-d-xo.html
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Thank you 🙏. Preparation also includes cooking and freezing in the freezer. It’s all takes energy. 😊
PUT YOUR JARS IN A LARGER BOWL BEFORE LOADING THEM THAT WAY THE CRUMBS FILL THE BOWL AND YOU SAVE PRODUCT!!!!!Thank you for this demonstration
Great comparison, Pete. Thanks for putting this together!
I must admit, I was surprised to see you try the chicken broth. For whatever reason, I had thought that you were vegetarian.
Take care and God Bless.
I'm mostly plant based for health benefits but I occasionally eat wild caught fish. I'll have chicken broth in soups as long as it's organic. It's getting really hard to truly eat good because of big food companies poisoning our food with pesticides and herbicides.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Makes total sense to me, sir. Fortunately, you have your hens cranking out eggs for you, which is a great source of protein, vitamins and healthy fats. My wife and I are expanding our own on-site food production to help us stay clear of the really dreadful stuff that is the modern American food supply.
Take care and God Bless.
I'm pretty sure he's making dog food.
You can add cans of green beans to your chicken. Dogs love vegetables.
Please, will really love to know, in absence of the freezing machine, can the chicken or beef broth jelly sun dried?
Really want to know. Thank you
No, it will go bad and stink before it dries up.
Great video! Do you have a link for the tray stackers? I plan to order my cube freeze dryer next week, very excited. I will use your promo code for the extras.
Thank you, yes I do have a link in the description under the video for tray stackers.
Did you read any of the safety warnings on your pressure cooker, the part that says not to fill more than 2/3 full?? to avoid food being boiled into the vent pipe??
How many square inches of tray does the Cube have? Can't find the measurements anywhere
That is not a fair comparison. You should have used a medium-sized Harvest Right with 4 full trays. The large Harvest Right with 4 trays and 1 empty bin is naturally going to take longer because it is working harder. Phil at 4800 has a good comparison between the 2 freeze dryers. We do enjoy your channel though, but didn't think it was a good comparison. We have a Harvest Right medium freeze dryer and love it.
The only issue Phil has, is the fact that he doesn't have the cube and can't compare them physically like this. Now these are not that scientific. For instance, by measuring weights to see if they actually were dry. Who knows, HR could have been done at the same time.
Actually the more food you put in a freeze dryer the harder it has to work to get the water out. So the HR had less food then it normally can hold so the machine actually worked less. I do like the HR too, but I wish they would use better quality parts or quality control because we've had many issues with ours from vacuum leaks that took several weeks with HR on the phone, refrigerant leak where we had to return it to HR to get it fixed which took one month and $380 in shipping and a bad on/off switch. I'm glad your HR works great and I hope it continues working, but there are many of us that happen to get a lemon for a freeze dryer.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading this is why I am so interested in your use of the cube and it's reliability
Could the time difference be contributed to the size difference and the different amount of product in the machines?
The harvest right determines when the food is done by how low the vacuum is in respect to the temperature. The Cube has a sensor that checks the moisture of the chamber. You would think that the HR would finish first because it's a bigger machine and I only put four trays in it rather than the five it can hold.
My harvest right gets oil residue in the effluent water. This mean is must be geeting pump oil.in the chamber and in the food.
Harvest right refused to help me with this issue.
Do any of you see oil residues in the melted effluent water???
I refuse to eat pump oil!
Yes very nice for a person that has money. I certanly cant afford one. Nice however
If you put oxygen absorbers in the jars would that make the 5 year shelf life extended?
No, because the lids on the jars have a rubber gasket/seal that will break down in time and are only good for about 5 years. If you want to store them longer, put the in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading good to know! Thank you!
Just looked up the cube tray size which is slightly bigger than the harvest Right medium trays. Cube is much more expensive than the Harvest Right machine though.
Cube comes standard with an oil free pump, add the oil free pump to the Harvest Right medium and they are comparably priced. Myself personally I'd have to take a long hard look at if paying for the oil-free pump would be worth the added cost. In that case I would agree - the HR is much cheaper without the pump upgrade.
@@Cowboy_Steve I have a large Harvest Right, but I do not have a Cube so I can't do a true comparison between the two - but I had initial problems with my Harvest Right machine (vacuum leaks and a defective touch screen). Harvest Right expects their customers to be prepared and able to carry out a large amount of troubleshooting on their own without very responsive customer support. I believe that HR is having quality control and support problems based on rapid sales growth. This is VERY annoying when you consider the high price of the product.
Maybe Pete B can comment on what (if any) problems he had initially with the Cube as compared to the vacuum leaks that so many HR owners have dealt with.
If the Cube has better Quality Control and Customer Support than Harvest Right, that would be enough to tip the scales in their favor in my opinion.
Take care and God Bless.
@@Cowboy_Steve still over $1k more if you get the HR oil free pump. HR comes with most of the accessories you need to get started. You'd have to upgrade to the cube pro to get accessories
@@theElderberryFarmer Yes Harvest Right quality control is lacking but they've been in business over 7 years. The cube is brand new so over time reliability, quality control and support are to be seen.
@@steelhorses2004 Aha... great point I missed that. I stand corrected! 🤠
Why not just purchase an XL Harvest Right and get 3-4 times the capacity of the Cube for the same price?
Yep you could do that but most people don't realize just how big the XL really is. Unless you are in the freeze drying and selling business, it would take a whole lot of food to fill that machine. Most people aren't preppers that have huge food storage rooms, but I'm glad they came out with it for those that are really serious about freeze drying. Also you have to take into consideration the quality of the machine. We've had lots of issues with our large HR and there's lots of videos of people having problems with their HR.
@@petebeasttexashomesteading We bought a cube from 4Patriots and it wouldn't finish the batches. Had to return it to 4Patriots. We got a harvest right and have never had an issue. I think you aren't taking into consideration that there are way more people who have the harvest right.
@@carolclarkson4859 That's very true, there are way more people with HR, they've been around much longer. The 4Patriots machine is an older model, it may look the same but is really a different machine. They've improved on it quite a bit.
Put oxygen eating packs in the jar.
That is not a fair comparison. A four tray to a five tray machine? The HR 5 will take longer than the HR 4 tray. The sensor has nothing to do with the difference because the HR's have sensors too. I understand you are trying to sell your brand but compare apples to apples. FYI your Food Saver will eventually break the right hinge. Use ductape to repair until eventually the left hinge will break ... then trash it! I've had 2 of them, never again. A Native Texan!