Review: Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6

If you have a high-quality food dehydrator in your kitchen arsenal, you can make sure your family is eating healthy and delicious foods—and save a lot of money and time at the same time. The only trick is to find the perfect food dehydrator for your family’s needs and budget. In case you want an easy-to-use appliance that delivers great results and at an affordable price, Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 is the one for you.

If you’re a beginner, you’ll find this food dehydrator to be particularly great. With digital touch settings and innovative design, this food dehydrator offers impressive features. Read on to find out what are the best functions this gadget boasts, as well as what to look for, and whether this Chefman’s model is the right match for you.

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 Key Features

• Adjustable digital thermostat with built-in presets
• Integrated timer and automatic shut off for added safety
• Comes with 6 BPA-free plastic trays included

The sleek and modern design of this food dehydrator hints at its impressive features. The Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 boasts digital thermostat and timer that allows you to adjust everything in just a few presses of a button. The temperature presets range from 95°-158° F, which lets you dehydrate a wide variety of foods to perfection—and minimize the need for fidgeting with manual controls. The built-in timer can be programmed for up to 19.5 hours in advance, so you can just ‘set it and forget it’ without having to worry about getting your food over or under-dried or forget about your alarm and risk a disaster. Once the time’s up, the Chefman Food Dehydrator will turn off by itself, a great safety measure for any kitchen appliance, but especially for a food dehydrator.

Of course, with the 6 trays that come with this dehydrator, you’ll be able to dry big batches of food all at once. Perfect if you’re making snacks for a big family, planning a camping trip and want to be equipped with enough snacks, or want to do all your food preservation in just a few takes to save time! The trays are made from BPA-free plastic that’s completely safe for food preparation, so you won’t have to risk getting any toxic chemicals in your jerky or fruit leathers if you prepare them at home. To boot, these trays are really easy to clean, as all it takes to get rid of any traces of food is to soak them in warm water with a bit of dish soap and them rinse it all off in your sink. Simple as that! Further, this machine is cETL approved with advanced safety technology for long lasting durability.

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 Pros

• Simple to use and suitable for beginners
• Transparent door for monitoring the process
• Lightweight and easy to store away

The digital touch settings on this machine are not just a nifty feature that will save you time, but they also make the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 a great gift for beginners in the dehydrating world. Easy to operate, this gadget requires minimal (if any) fussing over controls to deliver great results. Just press a few buttons to set your desired temperature and time for drying, and you’re all done. Easy peasy! The automatic shut-off at the end of the dehydrating process is another great feature, as it ensures your dehydrator will turn off by itself rather than overheat if not constantly checked up on or if you forget about your alarm to shut it off.

In case you want to monitor the process, the front of the Chefman food dehydrator is completely see-through, allowing you to see if your food is ready without having to pull out the trays or switch off the dehydrator.

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 Cons

• The motor could be more powerful
• The instructions booklet provided with the machine is not accurate
• Trays are not suitable for a dishwashing machine

While the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 has a whole lot going for it, its also got some drawbacks, and some of its pros are actually coupled together with the cons. For example, it is exceptionally quiet during work, and it’s in big part because of its modes motor of only 480 watts of power. In comparison with dehydrators such as the NESCO FD-1018A which boasts a 1000 watts motor, Chefman leaves a bit to be desired. Its lower horsepower is also responsible for the “inaccuracies” for temperature and time settings in the instructional booklet. 

A lot of users report that they had to dry food on a higher temperature setting or for a longer period of time than the instructions suggest. However, having in mind that the doors are transparent and you can see if you need to up the time and that after some trial and error it all comes to its place, this shouldn’t discourage you if the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 is your choice.

The Verdict

For the buyer that’s looking for a cheap food dehydrator that actually works great, the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 is the smart choice. Lightweight and easy to store away when not needed, this affordable model will meet all of your expectations. Whether you want to make perfect beef jerky at home, make dried fruits and veggies, or no-preservative, no-sugar healthy snacks for your kids, you can do it all with this Chefman food dehydrator.

While there’s no denying that digital settings make Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine RJ43-SQ-6 easy to use, it will take some getting used to. Owing to its motor, this gadget requires more time to fully dry some trickier produce. However, even though you’ll need to adjust the recommended temperatures and timing a bit (which may take some tries), this is still a great food dehydrator for beginners. Not to mention you can’t beat that price, either!