I imported this Nesco 75PR dehydrator to Brazil, so I can tell you how it behaves in very humid climates like we have here, where we get normally 90% air humidity, specially in the summer. I bought a power consumption measuring device to attach between the dehydrator and my power source to check how much power it drains. I guess this data possibly may interest you. Many people say the power consumption is not high, but how high/low it is? I have done some tests and I think I have the answer for different situations. Energy in Brazil is not cheap so this is an important topic for us to discuss. And, of course, nobody likes to shred money and the environment, regardless of energy taxes. First, lets talk about performance: Only in a few ocasions I could dry something with less than 12 hours using a moderate temperature and thin slices. This is why I give this product a 4 instead of a 5 stars. But a 4,5 or 4,7 stars would be more fair, since this dehydrator has a lot of good points and we live in a very humid area, in the sea coast. And, the manual covers the "worst drying period possible" as being coincident to ours. In other words, they are not lying when they affirm that something can dry between "6 and 18 hours". We sit right in the 18 hours extreme. Be aware that this may be your case. Evaluate this point before buying a unit. Fruits: unsliced bananas can take 24-30 hours to dry to a flexible texture (we call this "banana passa" in Brazil, that are made in an industrial scale using gas dehydrators and constant 70 Celsius). The drying temperature is between 60 and 70 Celsius. Thin apple slices can take between 12 and 18 hours to get a leathery texture. Maybe if you let it more time it can eventually be crunchy, but be very aware that crunchiness is NOT an easy thing to achieve using dehydrators, because commercial fruit chips normally are made using fried fruits in coconut oil. I also had the fantasy of making homemade banana chips. Well, they get to a chewy point and taste quite good, anyway. (If that serves as a solace...). Meat: Didn't try it yet. Peppers: dried Jalapeños got an undesirable brownish color. I think the temperature cicles got some peaks that cooked the pepper instead of only drying its remaining water. I think if you are willing to put some peppers in a dehydrator, you should use very low temperatures, those used to dry herbs and other fragile stuff. I followed the 135F and it was a bit high, possibly. Now, about the sound and physical attributes: This unit is QUIET. VERY quiet. I can not believe some people say this dehydrator makes some undesirable noise to the point that they need to put them in a room far from their bedroom otherwise they couldn't sleep! I am VERY sound sensitive and I can assure you, the sound will not bother you. I can even watch TV close to the dehydrator and I only hear its noise if I mute the TV. Not an exaggeration. A fact. Weight, appearance, height: Very discreet. Very light. Did I say VERY light? The gray and white marble finish fits incredibly well in any room, like it's camouflaged, hard to explain. It just looks like another generic thing or pan or tupperware that you have in the kitchen, not a thing that a boring friend or neighbor will come and say "WOW, WHAT'S THAT THING?" You know how boring is that kind of people, but they won't bother you, I assure you. I bought 4 more trays (9 in total) and it still feels light. I can carry it with 9 trays full of bananas with ease. (if that matters: 67 bananas). Cleaning: easy to clean. Dehydrated fruits leave virtually no residue, they stick very lightly to the trays and can be easily pulled out. Not a single banana or any other fruit like apples got stuck in the trays to the point that they couldnt be removed easily with the fingers, and entire, not in fragments. Power consumption: Ok, here we go. (Room temperature: 28 Celsius) With 9 trays full of fruits: 1st hour: 650 Watts (average). 2nd to 5th hour: 380 watts (average). After 6 hours: 360 Watts (average). Total consumption per run long: 31 hours, 7,16 KWH (average: 231 watts). Temperature set: 145F (63 Celsius). With 5 trays full of fruits and/or fruit rolls, in a temperature set of 135F: 1st hour: 301 Watts (average). After a few hours, it dropped to below 200 watts average. Explanation: the first hours take more power because the machine is heating the trays so the thermostat rarely turns off. After a few hours, the thermostat only activates ocasionally to refresh the temperature, since the trays are already heated and only need a maintenance to keep the warm air flow. When the electric resistance turns off, the measure of wattage reads 28 watts, that's the power consumption of the fan (negligible). Conclusion: the shorter the run, less efficient it will be, because whenever it warms up the trays, you are removing the foods from them. Long runs are more efficient, so I guess its better to make a full charged dehydrator rather than little runs with little quantity of food. Just an opinion without any scientific claim. I can not say anything about durability of this Nesco dehydrator, since I bought it recently. I will update this review if anything unexpected occurs, or if I have any important thing to add, like new food experiences, et cetera. To finish this review, I'd like to apologize for my awful English, I had a hard time writting this because I am not a native speaker, so tell me if something sounds odd or particularly unusual, I can clarify your questions in the comments section. I hope this humble review can be useful for you. Thank you very much for the attention.
