Sunbeam DT5600 Questions & Answers

Hi These are absolute Rubbish - I had two new ones from Harvey Norman - both were noisy and both had cracked fans - have a look at your fan carefully - I went to Harvey Norman to complain and the ones they had in stock also were also faulty - one even caught fire in the shop. Take it back !!!!

I bought mine online from Dick Smith/Kogan. I have contacted them. Thank you for your advice.

Check the fan blade mine had cracks in them which led to a total failure of the machine when it then caught fire. I bought three of these each had the same fault. Sunbeam issued a warning email about these machines to nz shops. They are total dangerous rubbish.

The product is rubbish. I was shown an email saying if yhid happened to tell customers to turn it off let it cool down and then restart it. Me I would take it back it's dangerous because if its overheating it could catch fire

Hello Ryan, Thank you for contacting Sunbeam. Please see page 5 for heat settings - external link  There will be a 1 to 2 degree drop in temperature with each tray added above the heating element. Please follow the below hints and tips:

Use quality food: Best results are achieved when quality food is used. Select produce at the peak of ripeness, colour and flavour, for the highest nutritional content. You can dry overripe produce successfully, as long as you remove any spoiled areas.

Wash food: Food should be washed and dried thoroughly, removing soft or spoiled areas. Be certain that your hands, cutting utensils and food preparation areas are clean.

Cut food uniformly: Produce can be shredded, sliced or diced, 5mm slices are best for efficient drying.

Variation in drying times: Check produce drying chart times can vary. Drying times are affected by the size of the load, thickness of the sliced produce, humidity, air temperature and the moisture content of the food itself. (Therefore, broad drying times have been given in the drying tables).

NOTE: The food dryer may be left on overnight, however this may not achieve optimum result. We recommend the rotation of drying racks every 3-4 hours throughout drying time to achieve even drying.

Fruit Roll Trays: Non-stick baking paper can be cut to fit rocks, if you want more roll up trays.

Rotate Racks: Rotate racks while drying foods, this ensures even drying of produce and air circulation.

Testing for dryness: Be sure to let the produce cool before testing for dryness. To test for dryness, cut a piece open – there should be no visible moisture inside.

Uneven drying: If you notice uneven drying, rotate the drying racks, i.e. move the bottom rack to the top and the top racks down.

Keep records: Records of humidity, weight of produce before and after drying times, will be helpful in improving your drying techniques for the future. Use the Drying Record Chart provided on page 29.

Thank you, Sunbeam Customer Care

Hi Melinda, The reasons behind extra trays not being made for the machine is due to the fact that the more trays that are in use that it doesn't dry well. We suggest rather then using extra trays that you do it in 2 lots. Thanks

Hi Fiona T, If you refer to the product manual attached external link  if you to pages 10 & 15 this will tell you what settings you need to put your DT5600 at. Thanks

Hi Fiona, Also as grapes are very moist use the highest setting -3 - to dry them too. Thanks

Hi Ness, Attached is the product manual for you (refer to page 5) external link  Thanks

Hi Peed, I have just sent you a private message if you could kindly respond via that please. Thanks

I have same issue and it is only 2nd time I have used it

Hi Luke, there are 3 settings, 1st is 35o, 2nd is 55o and 3rd is 75o approx.

Thanks for information of setting degrees

Sadly our one crapped out on us after a bit over a year,so we bought an American made 9 rack one.

The small vent is to allow air to escape and the lock/unlock is to allow for cleaning of the filter. It does not close when locked, it only holds the lid in place. As for timing, the manual has given guidelines for expected timing. For apricots (similar size and fruit to plums) they would that up to 12-14 hours, peaches would that 8-10 hours. Dehydrating produce is not a quick process, unfortunately. See manual below for more timing guidelines: external link 

So should it be unlocked or unlocked position when in use dehydrating ?

It does not affect the dehydrating processes ether way but keep it locked so the lid is not lost while using the unit. Locking it only holds the lid and the filter in place, locking or unlocking it does not close/open the vent.

Hi lauren, Thank you for contacting Sunbeam. This will not work in our dehydrators. It will be more like a hardened toffee and will not crystalize completely. Kind Regards, Sunbeam

Hi Geoff M, Thank you for your question. You can use just two trays. We suggest to put a spare empty tray on the top shelf and then place the 2 trays evenly apart below. The empty top tray allows the air to circulate evenly rather than directly onto the next tray down.

Hi Baeney, Thanks for your question. Sorry- this cannot be done without drying the kernel too. The heat will penetrate through the outer layer to the kernel.

Thanks. That is what I was concerned about.

No mine doesn't do that. I set it for the time allocated for the particular product I am drying and it always takes two to three times the time that it should. Yours must be faulty to do that!!! And very frustrating. Hope that this helps.

I honestly have no idea. My power bill does not rise appreciably to notice. I run the unit for days at a time over Autumn, drying apples/pear other fruit, herbs etc.

370W on max temp settings. Less on two other settings but then you will get lower temperatures. But why bother to know how much power the junk quality device sucks ?