I’ve run the 9-tray Excalibur for years as my daily driver, so when I finally got time behind the 10-tray Performance model, I was mostly curious whether the extra capacity actually holds up the way Excalibur claims — even drying with no tray rotation, at real full-load capacity. Short version: it does, and the horizontal airflow design is the reason.
Pros
- 16 sq. ft. of drying space across 10 stainless steel trays
- Horizontal Parallex airflow dries evenly without tray rotation
- Two-phase (two-time, two-temperature) drying setting
- Digital timer running up to 80 hours
- 3-year limited warranty
Cons
- Large footprint — needs real counter or shelf space
- Premium price versus stacked/expandable competitors
- 800W draw means noticeable electricity cost on long jerky cycles
In This Article
Key Specs
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Drying Space | 16 sq. ft. across 10 trays |
| Tray Material | Stainless steel |
| Temperature Range | 85–165°F |
| Airflow Design | Horizontal Parallex (side-to-side, not stacked) |
| Timer | Digital, up to 80 hours, two-phase capable |
| Power Draw | 800W |
| Warranty | 3-year limited |
Drying Performance
The headline feature here is the horizontal airflow design, and it’s the main reason I’d point people toward Excalibur at this tray count over a stacked, expandable unit. Air moves side-to-side across all ten trays from a rear-mounted fan, rather than up through a vertical stack — which is exactly the airflow concern I flagged in my 10-tray capacity planning guide. In practice, that means you can load all 10 trays at once without needing to rotate them partway through a cycle, and top and bottom trays finish within a reasonable window of each other.
The two-phase drying setting is a genuinely useful feature at this scale, not just a marketing checkbox. Running a higher temperature for the first stretch of a jerky batch, then dropping to a lower finishing temperature, cuts total drying time without sacrificing texture — something I’ve leaned on for the settings in my beef jerky guide.
Load meat and produce trays on opposite ends of the unit if you’re running a mixed batch. It won’t eliminate flavor transfer entirely, but it reduces it noticeably compared to alternating trays throughout.
Build Quality
Stainless steel interior and exterior, stainless steel trays, and an armored glass door put this well ahead of plastic-bodied competitors on long-term durability — the same tradeoff I cover generally in my stainless steel upgrade guide. The trays themselves are dishwasher-safe, which matters more at this scale since hand-washing ten trays after every batch gets old fast.
10-Tray vs. 9-Tray: Which to Buy
If you’re deciding between this and Excalibur’s smaller lineup, the honest answer is that the 9-tray model — covered in my Excalibur 9-Tray review — is the better fit for most households. The 10-tray earns its keep specifically for hunters processing whole-animal batches, gardeners handling a full seasonal harvest, or anyone running the machine near-constantly.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: hunters and anglers processing large batches of jerky, gardeners preserving bulk harvests, small-scale sellers.
- Not a fit: anyone making occasional snacks for one or two people — a smaller tray count will be more practical and cheaper to run.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The horizontal Parallex airflow system is specifically designed to eliminate the need for tray rotation, unlike stacked vertical-airflow dehydrators.
Only if you’re regularly processing large batches. For most households, the 9-tray model covers the same use cases at a lower price and smaller footprint.
It runs at a moderate hum, quiet enough for most kitchens to run overnight without being disruptive, though it’s noticeable if you’re sitting in the same room.
Bottom Line
The Excalibur 10-Tray Performance Dehydrator is built for people who actually need the capacity — the horizontal airflow and two-phase drying settings make it one of the few high-tray-count units that dries as evenly as it claims to. If your batches are smaller, save the money and footprint for the 9-tray version instead.
