Harvest Right Freeze Review With A Cost Analysis

Home freeze dryers, such as the Harvest Right freeze dryer are a hot topic right now in the preparedness industry.

I was debating whether to invest in one for my family, but after much research and a cost analysis, I decided not to. At least for now.

I did a lot of research and spoke to some of the Harvest Right team to get some questions answered and below are all of my findings! I hope it helps you decide if it is right for you.

What Is A Freeze Dryer?

A freeze-dryer is a machine that uses extremely low temperatures and a vacuum to remove moisture from food. A good freeze dryer may remove as much as 99% of the moisture.

Through this process and with proper packaging, food can be used for as much as 20 years!

It is a perfect way to improve your food prepping goals.

What’s Great About Harvest Right Freeze Dryers

The Harvest Right home freeze dryer, while pretty expensive, can be a great addition to your prepping life. Up until the launch of the Harvest Right, the only way to preserve food at home was by dehydrating or canning it.  

But there are so many benefits to storing freeze-dried food instead.

  • Freeze-dried food is more nutritious than dehydrated or canned food because it doesn’t require heat processing.
  • Freeze-dried food lasts longer than canned or dehydrated food.
  • Freeze-dried foods don’t require any additives/preservatives (sugar/salt).
  • Freeze-dried food is easier to use in recipes as freeze-drying doesn’t change the texture or size of the food.

The idea of being able to use the Harvest Right home freeze dryer to make your own quality freeze-dried food is exciting! It means you control what food you preserve, how fresh it is, what preservatives you use, and more.

Some Harvest Right Concerns I Have

While I personally have not purchased one yet because it is not in my budget, I did reach out to the team with some questions and they were so helpful. In the research I have done I see many happy customers noting how great the support and service have been.

But there are some concerns, besides cost, that would also affect my purchasing decision.

#1 – Warranty

The Harvest Right only offers a 1-year full warranty for US buyers.  This makes me wonder if they have product manufacturing concerns. Why so short with something that has so many moving parts?

Other appliances have much longer warranties.

I look to look at things in numbers.

As you will see in #3 below, it will take more than a year to make your money back by freeze-drying your own food. 

What if your machine breaks after one year, but before you can make your money back?

I’ve read reviews that say that when users perform the recommended cleaning after 30 cycles or so, they find a good deal of rust with black un-plated bolts and not much stainless steel. A new pump can cost hundreds of dollars. 

These things make me nervous about investing thousands of dollars in this machine.

I personal would wait to buy a Harvest Right until the manufacturer offers a warranty of at least two-three years – or as long as it would take to earn my money back from using it.

#2 – New Technology

Home freeze-drying technology is still relatively new. 

Any new technology has a “learning curve” so to speak. I’m certain that home freeze dryers will get better (and less expensive) over time. 

But there is currently no solid competition for the Harvest Right, and I’m not 100% confident in the technology yet.

I work closely with Thrive Life (affiliate) owners and executives. I know that in order for them to produce quality freeze-dried food they need to do the following:

  1. They test each individual product multiple at different settings–testing it after each run. They adjust the setting again and again until they get it perfect.
  2. The settings for each food item (strawberries vs chicken) are different. This is why they test each product individually.
  3. They are carefully monitored by the FDA in order to ensure that their food is properly preserved and safe.

I’m concerned that the lack of control in the settings combined with my user error may create food that isn’t safe for my family. 

That would be the worst possible scenario, but even if that doesn’t happen, I’m not sure the shelf life would be as long or the nutrient level as high.

Anyway, do you know the difference between free-dried and dehydrated food?

Harvest Right themselves sells a “scientific” freeze dryer that allows you to control the temperature and pressure per product. 

How can the two machines deliver the same quality in the product? The quality of the “home” dehydrator has to be different.

I get that many of these same concerns exist for home dehydrated and canned foods–you don’t have as much control, and there is far more room for user error.  However, because both of those technologies have existed for a very long time “at home,” there are lots of competitors (reasons to try and be the best), so I am more confident that the technology is sound. I can finally freeze-dry my cheese or mango fruit.

Another Concern:

Harvest Right also suggests freeze-drying whole pork chops, chicken breasts, casseroles, etc.  You can’t find these items freeze-dried commercially because they are thick and don’t always freeze-dry safely.  It makes me nervous that they recommend using these less-than-precise machines to have people try this at home.

I have had multiple people who own a Harvest Right (granted, they all own the oldest version) tell me that casseroles and large pieces of meat that they have dried have gone bad quickly.

While you could simply decide not to freeze dry such things, it makes me question Harvest Right in general that they suggest such things are okay to their customers.

So, for me, I will wait on Harvest Right (affiliate) until they have at least one solid competitor to drive up the quality of the technology and machines.

#3 – Investment Return

Many people look at the cost of the Harvest Right and think “I’ll make that money back in no time by not having to pay a premium to a food storage company to freeze dry my food for me.”

In fact, the Harvest Right website says that if you freeze dry daily, you will make your money back in just one year.

Well, by my calculations*, you may not make your money back as quickly as you think.

Let’s break down the numbers a bit:

  • For the two smaller machines, the only way to make your money back in a year is to freeze dry 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Who will really do that?  Not me.
  • You would also have to get premium prices on the food you are drying year-round.  This might happen in the summer with low produce prices or by using your own garden produce, but it isn’t going to happen in the winter.  And if you are freeze drying 24/7/365, you will be freeze drying in the winter.
  • You will also need to pay for electricity, oil, cans to store the food in, and oxygen absorbers (affiliate).  These costs add up.
  • If you shop the right sales, you can get great deals on commercially freeze-dried foods.  The “make your money back” assumptions are based on you paying full price for commercially freeze-dried foods.

When you take all that into account, it will take one year, two months-three and a half years for you to make your money back, depending on which size freeze dryer you buy.  And this is still based on buying freeze-dried food at full price.

With the biggest–and most expensive machine–it would take just over a year to maybe 18 months.  This is reasonable.  But, that is only if you freeze-dry 335 cans in a year, which would be more than a one-year supply for most families of around four-six people.

*(If you want to see my detailed calculations, you can scroll down to the end of this post.)

All these estimates are beyond the one-year warranty period, and I just can’t confidently invest in something that I’m not sure will last long enough for me to make my money back, especially since I never pay full price for my commercially freeze dried foods.

I will wait on the Harvest Right (affiliate) until the warranty period increases or the time to freeze dry the food decreases.

#4 – My Time Is Money

Maybe spending time in the kitchen is your thing, but not for me!

I don’t want to be cooking, chopping, peeling, and shredding foods every day or two for 1 1/2 – 3 1/2 years in order to regularly use my freeze dryer and make my money back. 

I don’t want to spend time maintaining the machine’s pump between every cycle.

That honestly sounds exhausting to me right now with 4 young kids at home and a full-time business to run! 

My time is worth a lot. Not only financially, but also in my relationships with my family members and other things I want to do with my time (exercise, developing talents, serving, volunteering, spirituality, etc). 

I don’t have the time to prep multiple #10 cans worth of food several times each week and maintain an expensive machine.

So, I could use it just during the summer–that would decrease my production cost if I use garden produce, and I could involve the kids…but then it would take three-four times as long to freeze dry the same amount of food (because I’m only doing so three-four months of the year instead of twelve).

I can just order my freeze-dried food from Thrive Life and be done with it!

You Might Also Want to Know

  • You can put the machine on layaway to secure a sale price, so watch for sales even if you aren’t quite ready to buy one yet.  This is a FANTASTIC option!
  • Even the smallest Harvest Right (affiliate) is pretty big (over 2 ft tall and 1 1/2 feet deep).  The largest one (affiliate) is nearly 3 feet tall and just slightly deeper than my countertops. You will also need room for the pump. This is not an appliance that is going to fit nicely under the cabinet.
  • The Harvest Right is not quiet.  It isn’t crazy loud, but it’s not quite, imagine a noisy dishwasher.  So, if you are running it all day every day, you may not want it in the kitchen.  You may want to consider a utility room or garage.
  • One thing that is not very obvious on the Harvest Right site is the need for pump maintenance.  You have to drain 2QT of oil after every use.  Then, you should completely change the oil every 5-6 cycles.  Then, after 10-12 cycles, you have to do a power flush, and it can get quite messy.  At 30-36 cycles, you have to remove the pump cover and deep clean the pump.

How About You?

I totally get that not everyone will have the same opinion as I have.  Purchasing a Harvest Right (affiliate) may be a wise decision for you.

Do you have a Harvest Right?  Have you considered getting one?  Why or why not?

Why I won't be buying the Harvest Right yet?
Why I won’t be buying the Harvest Right yet?

Cost Calculations

Below you can see exactly how I calculated how much money Harvest Right might save youand how long it would take to “pay it back.”

Cost to buy commercially freeze-dried food

Below is the average cost of one # 10 can (based on costs from three different companies) for an average freeze-dried fruit, veggie, and meat. 

Each #10 can typically holds approximately 11 cups.

  • Freeze-dried strawberries: $23.76 ($2.16 / cup)
  • Freeze-dried chicken: $51.84 (4.71 / cup) each can include approximately seven-eight pounds of meat
  • Freeze dried green beans: $18.44 ($1.68 / cup)

(Average cost per gallon can: $31.35)

I have not considered sales in this pricing, which can reduce these costs significantly.

Cost to Buy the Same Food at the Grocery Store:

Now, obviously, to freeze dry your food you need to buy it first. Below are estimated costs of the same food from above in their full form. These costs will of cost vary based on location and the store you actually shop at.

I am using costs from my local Walmart – all are low-quality, non-organic foods. If you choose to buy higher quality, organic foods of course your costs will be more.

  • One 1 pound container strawberries (approximately 2 1/2 cups when sliced): 
    $3 ($1.20 per cup-$13.20 per gallon can)
  • 7.5 pounds of chicken @ $3 per pound
    $22.50  ($2.05 per cup-$22.55 per gallon can)
  • 1 pound green beans (approximately 2 cups when trimmed)–
    $1.50 ($0.75 per cup-$8.25 per gallon can)

Yes, during the summer, you could likely get some produce for less, but I’m going with averages here.  If you are using your freeze dryer all year, you won’t be paying rock-bottom prices for your produce for seven-nine of those twelve months.

You may garden and use that produce, but that still isn’t no cost; gardening does cost money (soil, water, seeds, plants, time, etc), and you will only be able to use fresh garden produce a few months of the year. In order to run your freeze dryer all year, you will need to buy some of what you freeze dry.

As for the chicken though, if you buy it at Zaycon like I recommend, you will likely play closer to $1.89 per pound bringing your cost for chicken down to $1.29 / cup and get much higher quality chicken.

I might consider buying a Harvest Right just to freeze dry my own meat as the savings there is greater than produce, but I will wait until the technology is a bit more advanced.

(Average cost per gallon can: $14.67)

Additional Costs When Using Harvest Right

Not only do you have the cost of the food, now we have other costs to consider.

Electricity
The Harvest Right uses electricity.  According to Harvest Right, it costs around $1-$2.80 per day to run ($1.90 average) for the small and medium sized machines.

Oil
One thing that is not very obvious on the Harvest Right website is the need for pump maintenance. You have to drain 2T of oil after every use. 

Then, you should completely change the oil every five-six cycles.  Then, after 10-12 cycles, you have to do a power flush, and it can get quite messy.  After 30-36 batches you are to completely remove the pump cover and deep clean the pump.

Various estimates I’ve found from online reviews put this cost at around $1 per cycle.

Supplies
If you are going to freeze dry your own food, you will need to store it properly – which means no oxygen or light.

Storage options include:

  • Mylar bag (shorter shelf life of three-five years)
  • #10 can (25+ year shelf life)
  • Food grade bucket with a mylar bag (25+ year shelf life)

Now what are the costs of each of these?

Cost to store in mylar bags
This will obviously vary depending on where you shop, but mylar bags are quite inexpensive. But, you may lose much of the shelf life and risk rodents getting into your food if you choose this method.

  • 50 1 gallon (same size as a #10 can) mylar bags plus oxygen absorbers:
    $15.99 ($0.32 each) 
    (Total cost per gallon if using mylar bags alone: $0.32)

Cost to store in #10 cans
These can be hard to fin, but after a bit of searching, I found this source for lined #10 cans at a reasonable price:

  • Cost for the cans and metal lids: $2.15 each (must buy in bulk)
  • Cost for plastic lids (to be used once you open the can): $0.43 each (must buy in bulk)
  • Cost for the machine to seal the metal lid to the metal can:  $1,491 (I will add this to the cost of the Harvest Right Freeze dryer in my final calculations, but you could also share a sealer with multiple people in your neighborhood).  I don’t know of anywhere you can rent these anymore.

(Total Cost per gallon if using #10 cans: $2.58 (plus the cost of the sealer)

Cost to store in buckets
Each 5 gallon bucket will hold the equivalent of five #10 cans.  When storing in buckets it is best practice to store with a mylar bag as well.

(Least expensive cost per gallon if using buckets: $2)

Which Storage Method is Best?

At first glance, it seems like using buckets would be the best idea, but there are a few issues you’d want to consider.

You can only freeze dry one gallon of food at a time and each gallon takes 24-48 hours.  That means that by the time you get the fifth gallon freeze dried, the first one will have sat there, improperly packaged and exposed to oxygen and moisture for seven-nine days or so.  It will no longer be as crisp or as fresh.

When you open a package of freeze dried food, it will immediately start taking up moisture and becoming “sticky.”  It could take months (or even years for some families) to get through one # 10 can of green beans!  This means that by the time you get to the end of that bucket, your food won’t be as fresh.

Both of these issues can be mitigated a little by using the gamma lid instead of the regular lid, but that will increase your cost.

Last, there may simply be some foods that you don’t even want five full gallons of!

So, you could go with the mylar bags, but then you face issues with rodents and a much shorter shelf life.

If it were me, I’d go with the #10 cans. For this reason, this is what I’ve based my price comparisons on.

Comparing the Costs

So, if we add the average cost per #10 (gallon) can for the food ($14.67) and the #10 cans ($2.58), we get $17.25.

Compared to $31.35 that you’d spend on the same commercially freeze dried food, that is QUITE the savings!  You are saving around $14.10 PER CAN!

But you need to add the cost of the sealer, freeze dryer, oil and electricity into the mix.

On the Harvest Right site, they provide estimates for how many #10 cans worth of food you can do for each batch.  

However, these estimates assume you run your Harvest Right all day every day for 365 days.  I know I won’t do that.

I have kids, I’m busy, it may take me an hour to two between each batch (if I’m not sleeping when one finishes).  Heck, it may take days between each batch. We will take vacations; we will get sick.  I will want a break (it is noisy).  I know myself and my life, and I know I won’t run it 100% around the clock.

So, if I am realistic with myself, I may run it 50% of the time.  And honestly, even running it every other day (or six months of the year) is going to be a stretch for me.

The Smallest Harvest Right:  (affiliate)

It costs around $1.90 per day to run this machine. It takes 24-48 hours to freeze dry one batch (about one gallon can).  This means that each batch costs $1.90-$4.80 or an average of $3.35.

Each batch also costs $1 in oil, which for this machine = one can.

So, the cost for the food ($14.67) plus the can supplies ($2.58), plus the electricity ($3.35), and the oil ($1) is $21.60 (on average) per #10 can. A commercial can is $31.35 on average.  So, on average, you are saving $9.75 per can, which is still pretty significant!

But remember, you first have to use that savings to pay back the cost of the freeze dryer ($2795) and can sealer ($1491).

The Harvest Right site says you can freeze dry 240 cans per year, but as mentioned above, I’m not going to run it 100% of every single day. So, if I am more realistically freeze drying 120 cans per year, that is $1170 per year in savings.

If I don’t share the can sealer, it’d take about three years and eight months to earn back what I spent.  If I share the sealer, with three neighbors it’d take closer to two years, ten months.

The Standard Harvest Right:  (affiliate)

Electricity, food, and supplies are the same for this size machine and each batch still takes an average of 36 hours.  But you are getting around two gallons per batch instead of just one, so this lowers your electricity and oil cost per gallon can to $2.17 total making your savings per can around $11.92

The Harvest Right site says you can freeze dry 380 cans per year with this size, so I would more realistically freeze dry 190 cans per year, which is a $2265 per year in savings.  This machine costs $3495, and the cost of the can sealer is the same.

If I don’t share the can sealer, it’d take about two years and two months to earn back what I spent.  If I share the sealer, with three neighbors it’d take closer to one year and nine months.

The Largest Harvest Right:(affiliate)

Electricity, food, and supplies are the same for this size machine and each batch still takes an average of 36 hours.  But you are getting around three-three and a half gallons per batch instead of just one or two, so this lowers your electricity and oil cost per gallon can to $1.34 total making your savings per can around $12.76.

The Harvest Right site says you can freeze dry 670 (WOW!) cans per year, so I would more realistically freeze dry 335 cans per year, which is $4274 per year in savings.  This machine costs $4495 and the cost of the can sealer is the same.

Suggested Read: Home Freeze-Drying and Harvest Right At-Home Freeze Dryer Review

If I don’t share the can sealer, it would take about one year, or three months to earn back what I spent.  If I share the sealer, with three neighbors it would take closer to one year and two months.

I hope this can be a helpful guide as you do your own calculations! In alignment with this, you should also know how to rehydrate freeze-dried food.

Final Thoughts

I think the idea of the Harvest Right freeze dryer is fantastic! 

I’m excited about the technology and find it interesting. I love the idea of freeze-drying my own food, but don’t love the amount of work that is required.

However, I will wait to invest in a Harvest Right until:

  1.  It has a longer warranty
  2. The technology has been around a bit longer and there is some solid competition
  3.  I can make back my investment more quickly
  4.  I don’t have to invest hours and hours of time freeze drying year round because I feel pressured to make my money back

Save

Save

+ posts

Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

105 thoughts on “Harvest Right Freeze Review With A Cost Analysis”

  1. I got my Harvest Right Freeze-Dryer a few weeks ago and already made a third of the cost back in freeze dried candy sales. In a couple of months it will have paid for itself. I eat more fruits and veggies than I used to because I love the crunch and texture. It’s all in what you like and how you use it.

    Reply
  2. Excellent article, thank you for the thoughtful insights. You might be glad to know that the warranty on the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer is now a full three years! We will be purchasing one soon, as we have just closed on our first homestead, with gardening and raising our own meat the central focus.

    Question, did you ever do a review on the Harvest Right that you mentioned testing at the beginning of this post? I’d love to read your thoughts.

    Reply
  3. Items I purchase with American express gold extend the warranty for one year past the manufacturers warranty if manufacturer’s warranty is less than 5 years. If the manufacturer’s warranty becomes null the warranty extension begins they day it became null.
    This analysis though accurate does not consider the amount of wasted food that hits the garbage can or disposal which may be accumulated in the freezer and then processed in bulk.

    Reply
  4. Items I purchase with American express gold extend the warranty for one year past the manufacturers warranty if manufacturer’s warranty is less than 5 years. If the manufacturer’s warranty becomes null the warranty extension begins they day it became null.

    Reply
  5. you have obviously done a lot of research and it is greatly appreciated. Will give it all great consideration. Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Bought a harvest right because all the advertisement said made in the USA. Open the box and took everything out. Whoops the hi vac pump in a Chinese manufacturer. Took it back and got a full refund. That was false Advertisement.

    Did I say I made 9 calls to the manufacturer in Utah and tech support was not in (all day). The other calls were useless.

    The motor is a brake down waiting to happen and subject to Chinese supply chain wimps. No China made and no harvest right. Back to canning.

    Reply
  7. You call yourself “family preparedness” and your penny-pinching logic completely misses the point of purchasing a freeze dryer AT THIS TIME.

    If I have to explain this to you, you clearly will not understand. Enjoy your noncommittal position.

    Reply
  8. Thanks for this review and write-up. Hard to argue with any of your points of contention – a couple of which I hadn’t taken the time to calculate on my own … although they had crossed my mind and I had vowed to myself to do so before ordering one of their machines. You saved me the time and I greatly appreciate you doing-so, thank you.

    Reply
  9. Dear Misty,

    Two thoughts:

    (1) I have had a Citibank Credit Card for some years and they offered to increase the manufacturer’s warranty for up to 24 months additionally. I called them this month and that’s what I was told. You may need to check this out for yourself before posting.
    (2) It would be nice if someone set up a co-op for folks to have someone who lives close to process the freeze drying sharing the costs and whatever depending on how close each lives. I too am interested but not yet a purchaser. Thank you for the unbiased information. Harvest First does not mention the cons of doing this venture.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Misty Cancel reply