I’ve used my Harvest Right about two dozen times since I purchased it over the summer in 2022. That’s not nearly as often as I’d expected, but not the “mistake” I’m talking about today. Before I get to that, I figured today would be a good time to point out some of the general annoyances I’ve had with my freeze-dryer.
Overall, I shouldn’t complain as I haven’t used the machine quite long enough to form a well-rounded opinion, but I’ll do it anyway. Besides the one time that the drain valve got clogged and left standing water in the bottom of the chamber, I haven’t had any real trouble aside from my learning what I can freeze dry and what I can’t.
In any case, here are several things that bother me about the unit, some big and others small.
The Pump
Let’s start with the pump. I have the upgraded, premiere pump:
If I remember correctly, the manual states that the pump is “quieter than a dishwasher” but if that’s true, then it must be the noisiest dishwasher on the planet. For a while there, I’d considered putting the Harvest Right in our kitchen and I’m glad I didn’t as that would’ve been an annoyance nobody would’ve wanted for hours on end. Instead, the unit is in an unoccupied room in our basement and, even then, I can hear the pump running in our living room upstairs. It’s not noticeable with the television on or any other noise, but it is still there. And, regrettably, the pump runs constantly once the unit has reached the proper freezing temperature. As such, it could run for days!
Additionally, I understand how checking that things are in order before starting a process is a good idea, but I have to ensure that the pump oil is at the proper level each time before starting a batch:
I think I only recently added some oil when I noticed it was lower than halfway. Speaking of which, I did have to change the oil a few weeks back after my twentieth run. The oil starts off clear but turns an amber color as it picks up impurities, so it was clearly due to be changed:
Again, checking or changing the oil really isn’t big deal, but if I’d thought about this more then I might have upgraded to the oil-free pump. [Note: now that I looked up the price again for the oil-free pump, it’s an extra $1495, so I almost surely wouldn’t have upgraded.] Ultimately, pump maintenance isn’t a big deal; it’s really just the noise that’s the issue… and it’s a big one if you don’t have an out-of-the-way place to put the unit.
On/Off Switch Placement
Another minor annoyance is that they chose to pump the main on/off switch at the very bottom right of the unit. I can’t show the switch without moving the freeze-dryer, so I’ll point out the general area with a red arrow:
Again, it’s a small thing, but I do like to turn off the freeze-dyer after use, and with my aging back not in agreement with some movements, the master switch placement isn’t ideal with having to reach around the vacuum hose and whatnot. I guess I could just leave the unit on?
The Drain Hose/Connection
Moving to the other side, one of the first things I noticed upon setup was how floppy the drain hose valve/connection is. I know you can’t tell from a photo, but the connection just flops around in a hole that’s about two or three times larger than it should be (see the red circle area):
I can only imagine they designed it like this because they expect some sort of maintenance that’s easier with a large hole, but that’s only a guess. Maybe they just assumed nobody would care? Well, I do. It speaks of poor craftsmanship.
On a related note, the drain hose is at the bottom of the unit, which isn’t convenient when trying to drain into a bucket. It does work, but there’s always water that’s leftover in the hose which inevitably leaks onto the floor when I take the hose out of the bucket. It’s another small annoyance, but if I had something besides concrete underneath then I might start to get perturbed at water I had to wipe up.
Non-Standard Electrical Plug
Although I knew that the large Harvest Right I purchased required 20-amp service, I didn’t realize that I would also have to switch out the outlet to one that’s compatible with the 20-amp plug attached to the unit (it’s the horizontal part of the plug that’s important):
I’m positive Harvest Right did that to ensure you don’t try to plug in an appliance that requires 20 amps into an outlet that can only supply 15 amps safely, so it’s not a problem… just something else that had to be corrected before I could start using it. [FYI: The spot where I placed the Harvest Right was already wired for 20 amp service because of an unused sump pump, so you can’t just switch out the outlet and expect things to work. Ensure you have the correct size wiring or risk a fire hazard!]
Computer Settings
When starting up the freeze-dryer, you have two options: you can just start it or customize the settings, which you can see the initial state below:
It would be nice if I could simply save my changes as a preset of some sort so that I don’t have to go back in and change it for times when I want to freeze-dry candy or whatever. The settings don’t change much, but I don’t always remember off-hand what they should be. Hmm… maybe I should write those down?
No Wi-Fi Connectivity
Perhaps most important of all: I really, really wish they would add wi-fi connectivity. I can’t imagine that given the three to four thousand dollars a consumer spends on one of these machines that they can’t add wi-fi to the computer. It would make applying updates easier (rather than having to download them to a USB drive and then uploading the fix to the machine.
Best of all, if the unit had wi-fi, I can envision the Harvest Right texting me or somehow alerting me that the freeze-dryer is done, about done, having a problem, or whatever so that I know what’s going on. Right now I have to go check on it, which isn’t ideal and because I can easily ignore it for many hours, especially when it’s “almost done” then I waste time and energy if I don’t catch it when the unit finally finishes.
The “Mistake” Video
Now, how about that “mistake” I was talking about. In my very brief search for a fix as to why my impulse sealer isn’t working quite right, I ran across this video absolutely bashing the Harvest Right:
Yikes! If you watched the entire video, he’s not a fan. Truth is, I agree with some of his assessment, like the floppy drain hose connection and placement, but I think he’s a bit harsh in other areas. Maybe he just got a bad unit. I don’t know. But what really frustrates me is that I wasn’t even aware that an alternative freeze-dryer existed. Of course, that’s on me for not doing my research.
Although the unit costs are similar, I do wonder about the internal workings and overall craftsmanship, especially when it comes to the little details. I don’t know how important any of the problems he points out with the Harvest Right will be for me in the future, but I am becoming concerned. And I’m especially concerned if the company isn’t willing to stand by their product.
Look, if it were only a few hundred dollars and the unit crapped out, I would just eat the cost and move on, but I spent close to $4000 on this thing, so I expect it to work and I expect the company to fix a problem should something arises. At the very least, I expect a hell of a lot of help if nothing else.
Again, I know nothing about the Stay Fresh freeze dryer mentioned in the video. Maybe they have other problems that the Harvest Right doesn’t. I haven’t a clue. And I’m not saying my Harvest Right is a complete failure either. Not at all. Overall, I’m fairly happy with the unit after a few dozen uses. But it’s after a few hundred runs, and years down the road, that has me wondering if I made a mistake or not. Only time will tell.
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