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Post by ncguy on Sept 14, 2014 6:23:22 GMT -7
First of all I have never really done much dehydrating. I picked up a nesco unit yesterday and was planning to do some bananas today but we have had something come up today. My question is how safe is it to leave a dehydrator running with no one home.
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Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 14, 2014 7:08:36 GMT -7
I would rank it up there with electric coffee pots left plugged in, not on, just plugged in. My brother lost his house to a fire caused by one, the heating element didn't kick off and it overheated. Do you feel lucky? Today people take risks with many small electrical appliances such as crock pots, coffee pots, even baby monitors. Add On: We all leave our fridges, t.v.'s, washers and dryers plugged in. We're still taking chances by doing so.
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Post by ncguy on Sept 14, 2014 7:15:42 GMT -7
That's kinda the way I feel CL. I was just wondering what other thought of leaving one on. We will be gone for about two hours today and that's just to risky for me.
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Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 14, 2014 13:36:35 GMT -7
I no longer leave my washer and gas dryer running while I'm gone. I had a dryer which started smoking. That was another time my smoke detector saved my booty.
Another sad story I read in Reader's Digest. A woman had her young son sleeping in the same room as her infant daughter. The monitor was electrical and rested on a chest of drawers near the window curtain. Apparently they didn't have smoke alarms 'cause by the time they smelled smoke the whole room was consumed and both children died. So an item meant to protect her children ended up killing them.
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Post by ColcordMama on Sept 15, 2014 16:00:00 GMT -7
I leave my dehydrator going unattended for hours at a time, just like I do with my crockpots and bread maker. If I worried about every single electrical appliance bursting into flame when I'm gone I'd never be able to leave the house.... tv sets on, TIVO on, refrigerator, freezer, light bulbs, the air pump on the aquarium, computer modem, electric can opener, clock radio... you can't disconnect everything in your house. I would never turn off my dehydrator if I want to go shopping. Can't imagine what effect such changes in temperature would do to the product, plus which when it cools down, it might attract pests like flies or ants who'd want a snack (or like your cat, jumping up on the counter to sample the jerky...)and if you're drying something like raw poultry, letting it cool to room temperature could allow the growth of dangerous organisms such as salmonella. Nope, turn the dehydrator on and let it do its business uninterrupted. That's what it was built to do.
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Post by angelhelp on Sept 15, 2014 16:20:23 GMT -7
Same here. Ceorlmann's done it many a time, although he's always told us when he's dehydrating something (as if we can't smell it -- heh!).
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Post by mountainmark on Sept 15, 2014 16:29:27 GMT -7
For what it's worth, I often leave my dehydrator unattended. I'm too busy to babysit the thing. As has been mentioned, I'm sure it's a risk. I guess sometimes you just have to pick your battles.
MM
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