BioChef Arizona
Verified79 reviews
In-depth reviews
Arizona 10 Tray is well worth considering – We purchased the Arizona 10 tray model a couple of months ago and are very happy with it. We purchased the older model with the clear hinged front door as we liked its appearance better. It was bought from the warehouse at Byron Bay and the advice and service were superb. We use dehydrators regularly to dry excess fruit and activated nuts. … Read more · 1
This dehydrator replaces our old vertical air flow models and the horizontal flow is much better – no more swapping trays around to get even drying.
Cleaning the stainless steel trays is way easier than the plastic trays in our old dehydrators and the fine mesh sheets work well and clean easily as well. I have not yet tried the non-stick sheets.
I checked the operating temperature against the readout on top and it was quite accurate.
The only issue we have is that the control buttons are a little hard to press but this is something you don’t have to do often and may get easier with time.
All in all it’s a great dehydrator that I would recommend to anyone that does a bit of drying
Good, but could be improved – Cons: 1) the model was refurbished/ex demo. however the dehydrator mesh between the trays and the fans was found bent and was repeatedly struck by the fan blades when rotating when it was turned on. the positioning of the mesh was crooked and not aligned straight along the borders, creating a permanent crinkle in the mesh that makes it… Read more
potentially prone to friction. had to use pliers to pull the mesh away from the fan to ensure that an appropriate clearance gap was created. works now. fan blade and engine may have been damaged. could be a seller issue.
2) ex demo/refurbished: found a 20mm x 30 mm of black plastic curved triangle inside the box. most likely it was snapped off a corner. could not find the damage area of plastic, except maybe a missing shelf ledge. could be a seller issue.
3) bottom (8th) tray is effectively sits on top and rubs against the drip tray. the bottom tray makes it highly awkward to removes, insert and use. easier to use only seven trays and include the 8th one as a back up buffer. could be a manufacturer issue.
4) drip tray is easy to clean and remove but extremely shallow, effectively flat. given the flatness, no wet (or damp) ingredients should be used. could be a manufacturer issue.
5) tray is too narrow, it needs to be an extra 1 or 2 mm wider. I have to be careful with inserting the tray as it may slide off the shelf ledge and wedge itself into the ledge at an angle. otherwise they are solid, good handle and easy to clean. I wonder as this is refurbished, was i was given the wrong tray? could be a seller or manufacturer issue.
Pros:
1) works well (so far, x3 first week)
2) controls are easy and straight forward.
3) booklet information is straightforward but light on details. it could add and expand on more details, however personal experimentation might be required
4) glass door and sliding trays makes the ongoing assessments quick and easy
5) like the x4 tray mats were included: x2 mesh mat; and x2 non stick mat.
Conclusion:
As this is my first dehydrator, I choose this because it was well designed and reviewed well. on my short list of three options this was mid ranged. some design flaws that could be easily improved. due to the damage I would downgrade the item condition from "like new" to "good". was expecting less problems. Need to wait a few months to decide the build and quality. so far 3/5
I can't imagine living without it now – Why 5 stars? The timer, reliable temperatures, excellent air circulation, tray sizes and ease of cleaning, not to mention incredibly fast delivery. We always spend considerable time bottling, freezing and pickling our summer produce, but the BioChef Arizona 8 tray has extended the options considerably. Now we dry apples, pears, plums, apricots,… Read more · 1
peaches,oranges, strawberries, chillies, herbs and wild pepper, make dried tomatoes packed in oil, zucchini chips, and an astonishing array of fruit leathers ostensibly for our baby grandson, but that have become our go-to snacks. I can't believe how easy it is to prepare and dry our produce. If you have some left over, dry it!
The suggested drying times are quite accurate, the timer makes the process convenient and it requires minimal attention to tray and produce position once operating although with all trays loaded thicker pieces may need to be reorganised part way through. It seems to be energy efficient and the design gives flexibility to use all trays or just one.
We definitely recommend it.
Positive reviews
Perfect jerky – After doing research around on the best dehydrators (at a budget level under $300) I came to this machine. It dries the food perfectly evenly and efficiently. My first batch of jerky turned out perfect. Very easy to use machine - the digital view is great, and the machine is constructed with very high build quality. The sliding doors and steel… Read more · 1
trays are fantastic, very easy to clean. I upgraded from the white circular sunbeam machine (which was terrible and noisy). This one is very quiet compared to that. Very happy with this purchase, definitely recommend it to others. Looking forward to making plenty more batches of jerky and other dried fruit.
Highly recommend – Very happy with my new BioChef 8 tray dehydrator. Works great. Very quiet. Easy to use. Drys evenly. Bought the sunbeam dehydrator a few weeks before which the motor smoked and died on me the first time in use so returned it and then did some homework and decided to buy BioChef and I'm very please. Very solid machine. Love the trays with all the… Read more · 1
extras for smaller pieces of fruit and fruit roll ups. Have had success with a lot of different fruits. Have also made hommus which I have grounded up ready to rehydrate on our hiking trip. Next week will be dehydrating vegetables and maybe some whole dinners for our hike. Ordered on a Tuesday and by Friday still hadn't received an email to say it had been shipped so decided to phone. They sorted my order out and put it through to shipping and for the inconvenience they threw in a couple of non stick sheets which is great. So very happy with the customer service. Highly recommend.
should have updated ages ago – We had researched many times on which dehydrator to purchase but always chose to keep the one we had...it recently died. So we made our new purchase and on my we wish we did it years ago. Six trays does so much more food than our last one so it makes it worthwhile. We have dehydrated some butter chicken and rice, chana masala and rice both of… Read more · 1
which we took hiking, it was amazing. Our 12 year old daughter has been making fruit leathers for her school lunches, fantastic. There is always the stash of banana or apple in the cupboard now for Monday lunches when the fruit bowl is looking a little empty. It is so quiet we have been doing it in our dining room with no need to close doors like we did with our old one. It is also a lot lighter than i expected so we have been putting it away in a cupboard when not in use as we don't have a lot of bench space.
Happy hikers live here.
Negative reviews
Overpriced for what it is – I use the dehydrator as a device for drying circuit boards after cleaning, curing protective lacquer, etc. It's poor value for money and cheaply made, but works well. The circuit board inside is exposed to the heat inside the unit, which isn't going to help the lifespan of the components, and using a relay to control the heating element is about… Read more
the cheapest way it could be done. Considering the price, it could and should be of a better design.
Hi Robert, thank you very much for your review of our… Read more
Not what I expected – The machine worked well but I don’t think it was what I wanted. I had hoped for crunchy veggies but got pliable leathery veggies. Perhaps I wanted freeze dried? But a quiet easy to use machine. Apples and bananas worked well tho I dried for a bit in the oven to get some crunch. Show details
Hi Mary, Sorry to hear that it wasn't what you expected.… Read more
Great while it was working – I have had my dehydrator for around 14 months, using it maybe once a fortnight to make chicken jerky for our dog. It worked really nicely. Today, the fan stopped working, just as it did for other reviewers on this page. It is still under warranty, so I will have to send the unit back to the seller, Vitality 4 Life. The manual has already… Read more
indicated that for all warranty claims, cost to return the unit for repairs are the responsibility of the buyer and these costs will likely not be reimbursed. That's bad business already as far as I'm concerned.
I will update this post as my warranty claim progresses.
Hi Riny, I am sorry to hear about your experience to… Read more
Recent reviews
Great for drying Ginger and Tumeric – We bought this dehydrator on ebay from Vitality4life in late July. Whilst we have only used it a few times so far, we have been extremely pleased with the results. We grow a lot of ginger and tumeric, and have used the dehydrator for this purpose. The ginger and tumeric dry for 10 hours, and then we put the dried chips in a food processor to end… Read more · 1
up with ginger and tumeric powder, which is so much better than what you buy in the supermarket. The BioChef is relatively quiet, easy to operate, and portable. We used all 9 drying shelves. We have now tried it to dry sweet potato, so it will get plenty of use.
Excellent product for an excellent price – So Happy with my new BioChef Arizona Dehydrator. Recently purchased from Kitchen Warehouse it arrived quickly and has exceeded expectations by reducing time to dehydrate food consistently. Reduced drying times from my old machine from 6-8 hrs to 4-6 hrs. I have found it dries evenly even with the 8 trays filled to capacity. I have found using… Read more · 1
baking paper for meat products is better than the included nondrip sheets though. Very easy to use. Love the stainless racks as so easy to clean and the clear door so you can see what is happening:)) it is very quiet and love the timer which so it turns itself off so I don’t have to monitor it. I had done quite abit of research and this was the best price for quality product I could find. Others of similar description were around the $700 to over $1,000!
Excellent dehydrator - so far – Observations after a few weeks usage, this is definitely not a long term review. We deliberated about a dehydrator for a very long time, and researched many product reviews. There are plenty of users complaining about the noise their units make, how much power they are consuming, and how long they take to dehydrate - some days, some just never… Read more · 1
get there.. so it is a bit of a minefield. As with most purchases, whether the appliance is right for you depends on your usage. In our case we have a huge volume of Mangoes, many Bananas, and wild cherry tomatoes growing on a small acreage. Most seasons there is a high wastage of Mangoes, that is the primary use for the dehydrator, though Bananas will be a close second. I ended up choosing Biochef after reading numerous reviews, they ticked the boxes on low noise level and good design - and don't seem to have many customer complaints. I will admit this was my second choice - the Kalahari was the one that looked the goods, with stainless build, dual fans and more granular control. For a similar size that model is quite a jump in price, especially while this one is on special, so the Arizona has effectively become the test bunny - we may add a Kalahari if this one proves itself and drying volumes increase.
Build quality - Plastic casing, with a Perspex window, and a mixture of plastic and alloy door frame. These units have an 800w element and single fan, so it will not get THAT hot, the operating temp is only 35-70c, it is more about constantly circulating heat. The door sits out a little and there are front side vents for air circulation. Trays are all stainless, bottom one binds with the Teflon(?) drip tray. The plastics do not get that hot, so it should be fine, and in operation there are no bad odours from the plastics.
Build Design - Some unusual choices. The display is an LED for one... While the display panel is flat to the surface at the rear of the top, which is fine if you have it on an open tabletop, though easily obscured if there is a small shelf above it (our kitchen!). It is controlled by a clunky set of push buttons, controls are fairly basic, up/down through the temp range, and up/down in 30 minute intervals through the time range. Its minimalist but quite sufficient - if you can see it.. I expect it is back there to stay away from the hotter air-flows through the machine, though even a 30 degree angle would be an improvement. The design is pleasing enough to the eye, and its size aligned perfectly to our microwave, so it fit in perfectly next to that - looking more like a tuck-shop pie warmer on the kitchen bench.
Operating Noise - There is minimal noise from the fan, you would need to be within a few metres to realize it was actually running. We have an ultra quiet Bosch dishwasher, the dehydrator is even quieter. If you are as noise sensitive as we are then this unit is just fine.
Operation - After the recommended pre heating burnoff session, we gave it a work out. There is a note to soak fruit in lemon juice for a few minutes, as we are experimenting, and Mangoes have a slightly citrus element, we skipped this. Run#1 - On our first run we dried 7 trays of Mangoes. It breaks down to ~2 Mangoes per tray in 10-15 mm slices. At 65c these were dehydrated to a leathery texture after 8.5 hours, the results were excellent, the flavour is intense. We used the supplied drying sheets, the Teflon paper has a waxy surface, the fruit peels off easily. The mesh Teflon appears to allow more airflow through the sheet, they both had very good results. There was no mess to cleanup in the machine, just carefully remove the sheets from the trays and wash them.
Run#2 - A week later, this session was 4 trays of mangoes, a couple of bananas on a tray, and a tray of cherry tomatoes. Mangoes were a little thicker - ~20mm Bananas ~10mm Tomatoes - Sliced in half, with a couple of whole ones for experimenting.. Temp was dropped to 60c to experiment..
Mangoes were ready after around 9-10 hours, Tomatoes at 11hrs (...always slice your tomatoes in half), Bananas 12.5 hours though could have gone a little longer. Once again flavour is intense, tomatoes have an intense concentrated semi dried texture and flavour, which is perfect in pasta or omelettes etc.. Bananas were excellent, leathery chewy texture, with an intense flavour - completely different to the dried up rocks sold by supermarkets.
Finally: This unit has so far been excellent, I recommend it and would rate it ~4.5/5, especially at a delivered price ~$320. I believe the biochef 10 tray is the best choice in the Arizona's, as it is better to have air circulation and additional capacity than to waste 8-12 hours electricity on a small batch in a 6 tray machine - they are all 800w units, meaning they cost around 25 cents an hour to run regardless of tray capacity. For best results, cutting everything to identical thickness gives uniform results, I found our 2nd mango session more difficult to judge drying due to lack of uniform size. Our experiments found that this unit does a fine job of dehydrating Mangoes that were not completely ripe, so this is a huge bonus on organic properties where there are many critters waiting for their opportunity to pilfer, particularly in late season..
BTW - If you have this on a timber benchtop it is best to place a bread board (or something similar) under it to insulate the surface, otherwise the continual heat will eventually cause damage.
Great workmanship, great product – The BioChef 6 tray that we purchased works every time. Made some great beef jerky, which was our main reason for purchasing, and now looking to expand into fruits and vegies. Ease of operation, and ease of access are good. I would not hesitate in recommending BoiChef to anyone we know. Show details · 1
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Quiet and quick – Dehydrator is so quiet compared to my previous one. Very easy to use, great to be able to look at produce through clear door, now I just have to perfect my timing so that fruit is not too dry. Highly recommend for value, efficiency and quietness. The wire mesh tray works a treat to stop items from sticking. Show details · 1
Good looking machine – I am so in love with my biochef is great looking machine and very quiet too.I use for dehydrating fruit,herbs and dog treats and dehydrate everything to perfection.Timer and stainless steel tray are big bonus and even the dripping tray on the bottom.They also give you 3 years warranty so definitely worth to spend a money. Show details · 1
It's sooooo quiet! :) – After a rowdy dehydrator I just love my new unit!! :) Makes the b.e.s.t. dried biscuits e.v.e.r. :) From ordering to receiving the unit was very quick and efficient. Thank you! Show details · 1
Brilliant dehydrator – 10 trays mean I can dehydrate lots of different things at the same time, saving me money & time. I love the using the mesh trays for my beef jerky as the spices don't fall to the bottom of the dehydrator, love them so much I bought one for every tray! Show details · 1
should have bought years ago – my dog food is cut by half because there is no waste now the fruit is wonderful and am still experimenting with the jerky no failures yet but found that your drying times are a long way out .i have now bought 6 dehydrators for xmas/birthday presents and everyone very happy. special thanks to anouk and colleen for all their help and assistance great staff and great product thanks Show details · 1
My New Hobby! – I've had a lot of fun experimenting with different produce to dehydrate. Am even making my own dog treats that are much sought after by the local pooches! It's really easy to use. My only suggestion would be that a removable ''drip tray'' to place in the bottom of the unit would be really useful - when I make the chicken jerky dog treats I brush coconut oil onto them and this tends to drip into the bottom of the unit. Show details · 1
Great product, love it! – Amazing results and fabulous product, I don't use it often but when I do I'm really enthusiastic about the end results.... I use it for treats in training my dog and for when we go away camping and caravanning. The products that I make are fresh, healthy and tasty.... I don't like buying processed dog treats and really enjoy knowing everything that's hand made in the dehydrator is super fresh and healthy. Show details · 1
Great dehydrator – So easy to use, to clean and love the timer. The machine is very quiet and the timer and settings simple to adjust. Food comes out perfect and has been a great addition for our hiking meals. Shipping was fast and company very easy to deal with. i would highly recommend this dehydrator. Show details · 1
Amazing dehydrator – Lots of space to do a variety of fruits or veg at the same time. Makes perfect jerky. The roll ups turn out so delicious that I can't keep up with making them even tho it has 10 large trays. Auto shut off timer is fantastic for when you are out or in bed. Show details · 1
Find out how BioChef Arizona compares to other Food Dehydrators
Know better, choose better.
Excellent! – Couldn't be happier with my purchase. Was searching all over for a good dehydrator but didn't want to buy a commercial unit. Found the bioChef and love it. 8 trays is enough room to fit about 3kg of jerky so plenty of room. Great build quality and simple to operate. The included book and extra goodies is great. For the price of the unit it really is great value especially when comparing to other similar units. Thoroughly recommend it. Show details · 1
Great value for the money, does the job of a more expensive dehydrator – I love my new BioChef, I upgraded from one of those cheap round ones. This is so much easier to use, easy to clean, and dehydrates evenly because of the fan. Good solid unit, though they could improve the door by making it more solid and putting a magnet at the bottom corner as there is still a little gap. I have used it to make bukinis, dried… Read more · 2
fruit and almond biscuits. They all turned out perfect. Overall it is good value for money, if you don't want to spend a lot of money this is the one to go for. I picked the 8 tray over the smaller because it was made better, so glad I did. I try to do all my dehydrating in one go to save on electricity. This also has the timer and temperature control so you can set and forget. Not too loud when it is running and fits easily on the bench, but check your measurements to work out where you are going to put it as it is a bit big to be packing away all the time.
Great dehydrator – Heaps of room. Reliable. Easy to clean. Set and forget. Makes reasonable noise but not too loud. Very easy to use and comes with an instruction booklet which had hints and guidelines for dehydration for many foodstuffs. Great for fruit on the go as healthy snacks. Highly recommend as it saves wastage of fruit. Show details · 1
This is a great machine – I love my BioChef 8 tray dehydrator & am so pleased I made the right choice ! In the past I had tried a cheap round one which was terrible . Great to have temperature control plus timer. Would highly recommend this to anyone wondering what to buy I can’t fault it . Show details · 1
Only used it once so far!!! – I've only just received it, when opened up I found the door was broken on the bottom hinge, but Vitality 4 Life have sent a new hinge and some spare trays for the inconvenience (Big Kudos for those guys for looking after me)... I've only used it once so far and have found it very easy too use and of good quality, the stainless trays wash up… Read more · 1
easily and I like the that it comes with a variety of trays for all your dehydrating needs and a drip tray for the marinade.
Can't wait to do my second lot of meat...
Love it – This thing is great, we had our best food ever on a hiking trip. Not very loud sits on the kitchen bench in our unit when running. Price is very reasonable and a few months in we have no complaints! I don't have much more to say but Product Review asks for fifty words Show details · 1
Great product – I bought this as a gift for my daughter and she loves it. She uses it all the time and says her dehydrated meals are the envy of her outdoor ed classmates when they are out bush on expedition! She loves how easy it is to use & clean, and has had no problems with it to date. Show details · 1
Healthy foods here I come! – So far, I am very pleased with my BioChef Arizona 6 Tray. My order was processed quickly and the BioChef arrived sooner than I expected. I have only had it for a coupe of days and have so far dried some of my home grown Pink Lady apples. I am nibbling the results as I type this review. My son also loved the dried apples I gave him. I may try a… Read more · 1
longer drying time next as I would like to taste a more crunchy dried apple. looking forward to drying some more of my home grown produce.
Good model for home dehydrating – I have enjoyed trying different fruits and veggies but Would like more recipes that are specific to makes vegie chips and also some crackers including times. I would also like some guidelines on electricity use e.g. Use my solar during the day or lower rates at night. I am concerned about running costs. Show details · 3
Arizona 6 Tray Dehydrator. Good Product – Happy with Dehydrator, Fan and heating element in the back, Even distribution of heat/ flowing air. I also use for making Yogurt, Cultured Vegetables, Raising Bread Dough etc. Motor needed replacement under the 2 year Warranty period, Might be rare. The temperature knob is not too accurate.Need to play with it a little. Show details · 1
Not as good as i hoped. Use a older version at work and live it. Not enjoying this purchase – Does not dehydrated evenly. Very hard to clean. Use a older version at work and love it. The 10 tray for 340 dollars is disappointing. Not happy with it at all. Dont know why the a newer product is inferior to oldet version. Was going to call this week to complain and ask for refund. Show details
Hi Tylor, Sorry to hear about your experience to date ,… Read more
dehydrator 8 shelves – never used one before liked the fact this one had metal shelves, even after having a faulty product, the service and shipment on a replacement one was great. little nervous incase it has the same issues. But I am loving the fact my family is enjoying the dried fruits and the jerky I am creating Show details
Hi Jiles, Great to hear your family are enjoying the… Read more
Brought the BioChef Arizona 8 tray – I was hovering between the 6tray one but the 8 tray won. The white 8 tray unit has a timer, which is very useful, stainless steel trays (easy dishwasher cleaned) and comes with 2 mesh slips for drying small items plus 2 non stick slips for sticky rollups recipes. So far I have done chicken and beef jerky ( strips of chicken breasts and lean… Read more · 1
beef, no seasoning) for premium dog training treats and they are a winner! Whilst jerky was dehydrating the aroma in the house was very appetizing! Lots of recipes online, utube and on biochef. I have limes and paw paws almost ready to pick so none will be ever wasted !
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