I have recently made my health and the health of my family a top priority. Thanks to eye opening, life changing documentaries such as Food Inc., Forks Over Knives, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, [EDIT/UPDATE - added Food Matters to the list] and numerous YouTube videos, I am transitioning from a predominantly high meat, high fat, low fruit/veggie diet to an organic plant-based/raw diet (and I too want to prove to myself and the world that you can be a Vegan body builder/athlete and not be weak or sickly looking). Additionally, I began my first ever compost experiment and will very likely build a couple of raised bed vegetable gardens in my back yard next month. I'm learning a lot about organic, sustainable gardening (permaculture) and I'm VERY excited to begin living this peaceful, harmonious, and loving & caring lifestyle. In the short amount of time I've been eating a cleaner, more wholesome diet (two weeks now), I sleep more profoundly, wake up feeling fully rested, am not moody with the kids in the morning, have a spring in my step, and have an abundant amount of energy throughout the day. Eating clean coupled with strength training and cardio exercising, I can literally feel the fat 'melting' away from my body, especially from my mid-section, where men typically store excess fat. It's always been a goal (more like a far-fetched dream) to see my 6-pack abs and I feel I'm on the right track to achieving that and many other goals and milestones with my new attitude in place. All of this information serves as a segue to say the following: believe me when I say pulling the trigger on this product came after an exhaustive research period. Although all the writings on the wall pointed to the Excalibur line of food dehydrators (at least, here on Amazon anyway), the Excalibur product line still appeared archaic and antiquated to me. Granted, if something isn't broke, you shouldn't fix it, which I found to be the main point from faithful long time users of Excalibur food dehydrators; however, the numerous side-by-side video comparisons and demonstrations on YouTube of both these dehydrators is what sealed the deal for me. Problematic/defective units are a risk no matter what the product is. From automobiles, home theater equipment, PCs, juicers and blenders, 'oopsies' can happen on the assembly line or in manufacturing (especially if parts making is outsourced by a third party manufacturer). With that said, that is why the manufacturer's warranty is in place for nearly any product a consumer purchases nowadays. John from Discountjuicers.com has even done a video on location, in Korea, of Tribest's manufacturing facility, where the Sedona food dehydrator, among other products, come to life (found on YouTube). This footage may put to rest some concerns other reviewers shared where they were apprehensive about their product being manufactured in Korea. This purchase may be 'un-American' but I stand firm in my decision based on the the facts provided on how these two units perform, sound, and how they appear aesthetically on my kitchen counter. Also, as others have suggested, I purchased the 9 pack Premium 14" x 14" non-stick dehydrator sheets that I will trim down to size and because I am a dehydrator newbie, I also purchased Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook. Well, that's about all I have for now. I made the purchase today (2/4/2012) and I will update my review periodically after I've received and utilized the Sedona food dehydrator in hopes that my experience with this product (good, bad, or ugly) may help others make a more informed purchasing decision in bettering their lives by all the health benefits they and their families may receive by eating as much raw food as they possibly can. ** EDIT/UPDATE ** 2/13/12 Well, it turns out my suspicions were correct. Right out of the box, this dehydrator works like a champ, no defective or DOA unit here. Here are some observations/key points to keep in mind if you do decide to make this investment: - Shipping was very fast. One thing to keep in mind though is that this product is packaged (and delivered) in its original manufacturer's box, which clearly depicts (with pictures, labels, descriptions, and all) that what's inside is a fancy schmancy food dehydrator. If you live in a neighborhood like mine where the UPS driver drops off deliveries at your front door (without ringing the doorbell and without requiring signature for delivery), a box in plain sight which clearly identifies its contents may entice a dishonest person to help him/herself to your package if you are not home to receive it at the time of delivery. If that is the case, consider having this product shipped to your place of employment (if allowed) or to a relative, friend, or trusted neighbor that would be present to receive the product when it does arrive (assuming you wouldn't be). - Read the instructions/warnings straight away. You have a small window of opportunity to remit the product registration (10 days after purchase/delivery, which is the only way to effect the commencement period of the warranty). The registration 'card' is in fact just a page in the owner's manual that you have to tear or cut out. After filling out the required information, the instructions would have you fold the sheet in half and tape or glue the seams, affix the required postage, and then mail it off as-is. I personally find the material to be too flimsy to be mailed off as-is, considering all the human and mechanical handling the page will undergo during transit, so to ensure this information makes it to Tribest in Cerritos, CA in tact, I opted to insert this sheet into an envelope and mail it that way. I suppose if someone were paranoid about ensuring the product registration reaches its destination, he/she could send the envelope with delivery confirmation. - Make sure you remove the tray spacers (my verbiage) before turning the unit on. The spacers are there to protect the trays during transport. Remove all trays and wash in warm, soapy water before placing any food items on them (they are NOT, repeat - NOT dishwasher safe); however, due to their large size, I placed them in the dishwasher so they can air-dry naturally (do not use the heated drying feature on your dishwasher if you choose to do the same). I'm sure these parts have been manufactured and not washed and/or sterilized afterward. You don't want to introduce any germs from abroad into you and your family's home or digestive system. - The electronic display was pretty self-explanatory and I was able to figure out all its operations within a few minutes without having to delve into the owner's manual (typical male). While the trays were drying, I turned the unit on to inspect the operation of both fans and heating elements. At first, there was slight smoke and a light burning odor. These conditions did not concern me as I figured the heating elements were just burning off dust particles that may have settled onto them post manufacturing. As suspected, the smoke and odor cleared up within minutes and I have not witnessed either since. - To date, I've dried grapes into raisins, banana chips, strawberry slices, and have made fiber flaxseed crackers from my green juice pulp - and this unit has been humming along non-stop since I received it ... ALL without a problem. So with regard to the Excalibur user(s) who experienced problems with the Sedona food dehydrator, my guess is that he/she/they were used to the performance (heat/fan settings) of the Excalibur, expected the same results in the same amount of time and in the process, grossly under or over estimated drying times with this unit. Since I have no prior dehydrating experience, I have no biases that may cloud my judgement and/or provide a less than fair review; therefore, what you have before you in this writing is a genuine objective assessment of the results I've produced thus far by simply following the owner's manual and my recip
