I recently had a failure of my Excalibur dehydrator‘s heating element. Since it comes with a 10 year warranty, I had plenty of time left to get it fixed. An email to the company along with my make, model number, and serial number showed I was still under warranty and they started the process of troubleshooting the issue.

 After a few tests, it was obvious I had a part failure. The tech stated that in order to be sure to resolve the problem, it was best to replace two parts, either could be the culprit. The parts in question were the thermostat, and the fuse, and since it required a bit of disassembly, it made good sense to go ahead and change both at the same time.

Since I was under warranty, I only had to pay shipping, a minor annoyance, but it was $10.50 for a First Class package. The replacement parts were listed at $30 for the thermostat, and $10 for the fuse. From the looks of things, I paid for the wholesale cost of the parts along with the shipping. A bit underhanded, I must say. See the pic below for the actual shipping costs, $2.92.

The parts arrived in about a week. And I let them sit. I had nothing to dehydrate, so I figured I would wait until I needed it. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I thrive under pressure, or at least I must think that I do.

I stopped at a green market today to grab more cucumbers for making pickles, and saw that sweet peppers where on sale again. So I loaded up, buying 12 pounds for $8.

I guess I needed to repair the dehydrator!

The process is a straightforward parts swap. Unplug from wall. Disassemble the back plate until you can replace the two parts. Replace the parts. Reassemble.

Here it is in pictures:

That’s it! Now plug it in to test it. You should see the heating coil start to glow, and feel hot air blowing out. If you do, you’ve done it right!

Things NOT to do.

• Don’t work on the unit while it is plugged in!
• Don’t put the safety screen back in place and put all the screws in with the control knob inside. Like I did.

It took me about 15-20 minutes, not counting distractions. Its a very simple, straightforward job, and if you know how to operate a screwdriver, you should be able to make this repair.

Mine is now running, with all the trays full of sweet peppers. The house smells like peppers, and it is a lovely thing. When they are done, I’ll vacuum seal them into jars for future use.

The gallon of dried peppers I ended up with from last year are almost all gone, so I’ll be increasing the amount to two gallons of dried peppers this year. Hopefully I’ll then be able to carry some forward to the following season.

Peace,
db

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