My Harvest Right XL freeze dryer trays are so big they created two dilemmas--but I found a solution! 

I really appreciate your support (and kind words), Mister E. :) My first 18 videos or so were just me talking, so those were easy. I hardly spent any time editing. But anything cooking- or freeze-drying related takes about 10 times longer. Especially the freeze-drying ones, because I have to wait out the process. :) But my aim is to post twice a week. We’ll see if I get there! I sometimes write the weight of the tray before and the weight of the tray after, but I always record the weight of the bag after I’ve sealed it, because I want to come back a year or two later, weigh it again, and see if it’s gained any weight due to moisture. But if I wasn’t freeze-drying for long-term storage, I probably wouldn’t bother with it either. :)

You still need 20 amps (18 or 19 to be exact) for the medium. Don't know about the small. But I got the medium one and because this 1930's built house is only wired for 15 amps, it stays in my daughter's garage.

They really are! You're right--I could have weighed the little pans instead, but there's such a "time crunch" at the end that I didn't want to have to take the time to reload the little pans. I figured it would be better to just weigh the big tray. So far, so good! I really do love that scale, so I'm glad there was a workaround. I saw on another video that you can fit 5 dozen eggs per XL tray, but I haven't tried that yet. We only have four chickens at the moment, so they have their work cut out for them :)

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Knowing someone is out there keeps me going. :-) If I was freeze-drying for a large family, I would absolutely get the XL. It's just my husband and me now, but I'm always preparing ahead for whatever calamity may come along. We have children and grandchildren and because we have the largest property in our family, I believe that if we had a catastrophic earthquake (and we're in the Pacific Northwest and overdue for a big one) or any other natural disaster, I would likely have 25 people living with us pretty quickly. So even though it's just my husband and me at the moment, I prepare as though I am cooking for many more. And I absolutely love my Harvest Right XL. The hardest thing about having the XL is that it is a lot of food to deal with when the run is over. But that's where you have a big advantage. Having a few extra hands on deck when it's time to process those trays will make all the difference. I have it down now and can do it pretty quickly, and my husband steps in whenever I need him, but that was seriously the biggest hurdle I had to overcome, because the moment you take those trays out you are conscious of the clock ticking and you know that the food is absorbing moisture the longer it sits. And seven XL trays hold a LOT of food. But by now I am in a groove and I know to have all of my packaging labeled ahead of time and have my scale out and ready to go. Everything is much quicker than it was in the beginning when I had such a big learning curve to deal with. I am confident you wouldn't regret getting the XL. You'll just have to make sure you have helpers when it's time to package a run. My friend who had her FD before I got one told me that if she had it to do it over again, she would get the XL. She has a large and says hers is running 24 hours a day. I believe her. :-) I am hindered right now because of the heat we're having but when it's not an issue, mine is running pretty much all the time as well. One thing about having all these extra large trays: you either have to have seven trays worth of the same food, or seven trays worth of similar food. I've gotten to the point where I know what I can combine so I'm able to freeze dry more often than I was in the beginning. Back then I felt like I had to have exactly the same thing on every tray, but I know now that as long as they are all savory or all sweet, and all of similar weights and consistencies, I can get away with mixing and matching. It has really made things easier. But for you, being that you are already cooking for so many people, you probably won't have to think much about that. My suggestion is that you go for it. I think you will be happy in the long run. It's definitely a big investment, but much less of an investment than trying to buy pre-freeze dried food for a huge family. Just seeing the difference in cost between buying freeze dried chicken and being able to do it myself is what sold me. Hope that helps! Please come back and let me know know how it's going. :-)

Thank you sooo much! I really appreciate your response! It means a lot and it really helps us with our decision! Praying for your grandson ❤❤

Oh, thank you!! That means the world to me. Gage is doing really well right now and we are praying that at some point the tumor will just be gone when they take the next MRI. I sure love this RU-vid community. Thank you for your prayers! 💕