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Chefman 6 Tray Digital Review

An inexpensive six tray, shelf-style dehydrator that struggles with maintaining accurate temperature settings
Chefman 6 Tray Digital
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
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Price:   $100 List
Pros:  Easy to use controls, transparent door
Cons:  Tough to clean, inconsistent internal temperature
Manufacturer:   Chefman
By Nick Miley and Michelle Powell  ⋅  Aug 12, 2019
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Our Verdict

The Chefman 6 Tray Digital Food Dehydrator is an above average sized shelf-style machine that renders decent dry food. Unfortunately, this machine suffers from poor internal temperature regulation and it is very difficult to clean. As such, it is hard to imagine a customer that wouldn't be better off selecting another product in our review.

Our Analysis and Test Results

This box and tray style dehydrator has ample square footage at a reasonable price. The user interface is easy enough to use, but the thermostat fails to consistently maintain the unit's temperature. Moreover, the inside of the machine is one of the more difficult to clean.

A small window is better than none at all.
A small window is better than none at all.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Ease of Use


We found the Chefmen 6 Tray to be straightforward to use. The controls are simple, with on/ off, temp/ time and +/ - buttons. The trays are rigid plastic, so flexing them to remove food isn't an option. However, the gaps in the grating are large enough to push sticky foods off from the bottom with a finger tip. Finally, there is a transparent viewing window that allows one to check the progress without opening the machine.

Ample tray space is always a plus.
Ample tray space is always a plus.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Temperature Accuracy


The internal temperature regulation of this machine is not the best. In our series of tests across four different settings, the Chefmen 6 ran consistently below the marked value.

Digital controls don't always ensure accurate settings.
Digital controls don't always ensure accurate settings.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Dehydration Results


We processed several different types of food with this machine using the manufacturer's recipes. While the difference in dehydration results between the best machines and the worse isn't vast, this machine landed in the middle of the class. However, it did struggle with drying meat.

Clean-Up


Truth be told, most dehydrators are a pain in the you know what to clean. However, this machine is particularly challenging. This critique is solely a product of the shape of the bottom of the machine. Our tester resorted to vacuuming the Chefman out and them attempting to wiping it down with a hot, wet cloth.

Value


The Chefman 6 is relatively inexpensive considering the amount of tray space that it enjoys. However, those savings come at the cost of time cleaning up the machine. For this reason alone we think that this model is not as good of a deal as it first appears.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Conclusion


Time is a precious commodity and one that can't be bought. The Chefman 6 Tray Digital Dehydrator has a number of fine qualities such as ample tray space and simple controls. Unfortunately, the clean-up time required to maintain this machine is a costly and unnecessary burden. There are other machines with similar capacities that are much easier to maintain.

— Nick Miley and Michelle Powell