Freeze drying and storing food in an airtight container with an oxygen absorber will preserve it up to 25 years.

Then there are other costs like vacuum pump oil ($16 per year) and any accessories you buy. We have purchased additional trays, tray lids and tray separators.

Just a few years ago freeze dryers were only available commercially. As of 2025, there are now several brands and models of home freeze-dryers to consider.

We’ve presented quite a lot of information, but as always: if you have any questions let us know and we would be happy to help. We found the Harvest Right Home Pro Medium Freeze Dryer to be the best option given its value, effectiveness, capacity, profile, and durability.

Given our experience, the decision to purchase a freeze dryer again if we had a do-over is a no-brainer, we would get it every time.

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Harvest Right freeze dryers feature patented Smart Freeze technology, ensuring efficient preservation of food and specialized applications like cannabis processing.

As soon as we opened the package we could feel how flimsy the bags were compared to those provided by Harvest Right and were not convinced they would exclude the oxygen as required for long term storage.

How much food you will be freeze drying – If you plan on freeze drying small amounts of food for your future personal use, then a small freeze dryer should serve you well.

Harvest Right’s Pharmaceutical Freeze Dryer removes water from plants and organic compounds while they are in a frozen state. This locks in website the freshness of herbs and plants. Their appearance, nutritional content, and potency remain the same as when they were fresh.

All of our picks use similar pumps and all get down to -40 degrees to effectively freeze dry the food within a reasonable amount of time. Industrial freeze dryers can do this more quickly but are of higher capacity and are much larger.

These are listed as source references. Please visit the manufacturer’s website directly if you are looking for a specific model’s manual to make sure you have the correct and most current copy.

Most of the maintenance on a freeze dryer involves the vacuum pump, especially if it is an oil-based pump. You’ll typically need to change the oil every 4-20 uses but your manual will let you know.

Vacuum pumps are crucial because they create the low-pressure environment necessary for sublimation to occur in freeze-drying. They help remove air and moisture from the chamber, allowing for efficient and effective preservation of materials.