Our Honest LEM Products 1154 Review for 2019

One of these is LEM Products 1154 Digital Food Dehydrator. It’s an extremely durable unit with a large drying area, allowing its owner to dry substantial amounts of his favorite food at any time. Is this the right drying machine for your needs? Read on and find out!

Specifications

POWER: 700W

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 90 – 155°F

THERMOSTAT: Adjustable

NUMBER OF TRAYS: 10

Drying Space: 16 square feet

WARRANTY: Up to 5 years

Auto Shut-Off: Yes

TIMER: Yes

Features

The LEM Company was founded all the way back in 1991 by Larry Metz. With decades of experience in the meat industry, Larry established the company and started creating quality meat-drying equipment.

Today, LEM manufactures more than 700 different products, including dehydrators. Their drying machines are robust, reliable, and built to fulfill the demands of customers who can’t live without jerky and other dried treats.

Although not as popular as dehydrators made by, for example, Excalibur, LEM’s models still have their fans across the country. They are, after all, among the most durable and efficient dehydrators available on the market.

The first thing to notice about LEM Products 1154 Digital Dehydrator is its size. This is a genuinely massive drying machine, with dimensions of 18″ x 16″ x 16″. The unit weights close to 35 pounds and has a sizeable 18-inch wide door. For the matter of comparison, most of the smaller models don’t weigh more than 10 pounds, while the medium ones always stay in the 20s.

With a dehydrator of this size, one can pretty much dry any food he wants. Combined, the drying shelves of LEM Products 1154 provide the user with 16 square feet of drying space. It goes without saying, but this model is a must-have for all those who always want to dry a lot of food at once.

The obvious requirement for such an enormous drying machine is the kitchen’s space you’ll dedicate to it. Kitchens of average-sized homes are typically small for an appliance of this size, especially if we’re talking about standard kitchen counters. Many customers usually find other places for their dehydrators – porch, patio, dining room, and other areas.

We should also mention that, due to its size, LEM Products 1154 is unsuitable for people who aren’t that much into food drying. If you only occasionally dry small amounts of food, this model probably isn’t your best choice.

The control panel of this dehydrator has received a lot of praise from its users. It is very straightforward and can be easily used even by those who never used a food-drying machine before.

One of the control panel’s most remarkable features is that it allows choosing three preferred settings. These are selected with the quick-set buttons. An owner can use this convenient feature to pre-select the timing and temperature for three of his most commonly used settings.

As you can already guess, this removes the need to worry about accidentally selecting the wrong setting. One can simply choose one of his favorites presets and go to bed with complete peace of mind. Once the drying process is over, the model’s auto switch-off feature will power everything down.

Using the heating power of 770 watts to dry the food, LEM Products 1154 is more potent than your average dehydrator. Given its size, it’s something we expected. The unit’s high wattage is guaranteed to dry the food much quicker than the cheaper and less-powerful models at the same temperatures.

However, one unexpected thing about this dehydrator is that its maximum temperature stands at 155ºF. As you probably already know, this isn’t an ideal temperature for meat.

With jerky requiring a temperature of at least 165ºF to remove the potential threats (like Salmonella, for example), the users of this model must cure the meat for a time before putting it inside this machine. The minimum temperature of 90ºF, however, means that the unit is suitable for dehydrating other kinds of food.

Having to prepare the meat for drying is not convenient. However, a dehydrator is the best way to go after doing so. The food dried in a dehydrator is highly recommended due to uniformity – the machine is capable of drying it evenly.

Although large, the drying shelves of this model are very easy to clean. All you need is some cooking oil. The food slides right off the trays, particularly when it’s sliced thinly. Furthermore, the model’s high wattage (770W) means that cleaning after each drying isn’t that necessary.

Despite being so gigantic, LEM Products 1154 is actually a lot quieter than most of its competition. The whirring noise is noticeable only from up close – you won’t hear it from another room.