Read quite a bit about them on some of the more "survivalist" oriented forums on the web - fairly mixed reviews as I recall with the main complaint being the lack of instruction manuals.

We had a brief discussion here about it last year sometime but I can't find the discussion right now. One outside info link/review I bookmarked was http://survivalblog.com/harvest-right-freeze-dryer-part-1-by-hjl/ It's a 3 part article on the pro and cons.

That said, for those who don't want to do home canning/dehydrating then both short and long term storage of dry foods in vacuum sealed mason jars or 5 gallon pails using mylar bags and O2 absorbers is a very common practice and there are many how-to discussions available on sites like homesteadingtoday.com and other similar forums.

Dave

I have one of these units and so far love it! One of things that does get missed is there is a large vacuum pump that has to sit next to, or under, the unit. This device is noisy and the two combined do generate heat.

I can't recommend this product. The videos and websites and blogs (which appear to work on commission or something) do not mention the realities of operating this machine - it is heavy, over 100 pounds, and requires it own dedicated 20amp circuit. Demos show this machine being used in a kitchen, but this machine is so loud, that being in the kitchen at the same time it is running is impossible. It is hot and takes a long time. Cycles last 12-24 hours. We had to put it into the garage, but who has heating and cooling in their garage to maintain the recommended operating temps for the machine. The vacuum pump (not shown in the fancy videos) is highly sensitive and frequently drips or sprays its hot oil. Not only that the oil has to be drained from the pump and filtered after each use. Messy and annoying! None of this is mentioned in the videos and on their fancy website.

Although we were assured by customer reps that the machine is "easy" to use, it is far from that. Our experience was very unpleasant, involving us being sent a damaged machine, and after that, as a replacement, a machine so poorly constructed that it never once functioned properly. The hose for the pump was not even the correct hose and leaked air so it never achieved a vacuum. Then, a cable inside turned out to be the wrong cable. We had to submit a claim to the BBB before our concerns were taken seriously and we could finally get a proper refund. Beware - if you order and even try to use the machine, it voids the return/refund policy. It could quit one week after you get it, having used it only once or twice, and you'll be stuck with it, no refund possible. They'll try to help make it work again, but as we found, working with their customer service is a very protracted and nerve-wracking experience. The amount of food we lost trying to get the machine to work and the time we wasted on trouble-shooting was very frustrating. After 3 months, we finally got our money back.

What a nightmare, glad you got your $ back.

That's horrible, I'm glad you finally got a refund. It's sure good to know from someone with experience, hopefully you'll save someone else from that experience.

Annie