Thank you! This fix was exactly what was needed. Our freeze dryer is working perfectly.

Thank you for this video! The quick shot of how you applied the silicone was all I needed to fix my leak.

You are incredibly kind to the manufacturer’s for all the work you have had to do to make their product work

Thank you for the info. This is like buying a new car and never being told that you need to learn to be a mechanic to drive your new car. Both my husband and I are in our 70's and have lots of other things that take our time besides the freeze drying. I am very disappointed that after just 8 months I am testing and retesting and praying and not hearing back from HR. I guess I should have seen all the videos on people working on their own machines before I bought this.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I hope this video helps you moving forward. Since we switched to the cheapest oil pump and we replaced the relay board, ours has been working like a champ! The oil pump is messy but I swear it is more effective at pulling a vacuum. Good luck!

excellent vid, I have a 2 day old HR fd and I am trying to get mtor down from 1000. It very sad that for this much $ it does not meet spec on arrival.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Oh no! That is horrible news! Changing pumps made all the difference in the world! Good luck and I wish you up and drying asap!

multiple service calls n charges for what these costs is just crazy... call backs and "appointments" ? really ... I was ready to buy a large with a premier but am having a hard time wrapping my head around lack of customer service...

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Very understandable. At least if you do purchase it will be with eyes wide open, which a lot of us unfortunately did not get that experience. Good luck with your journey!

@McSurviveGuys

2 жыл бұрын

Their customer service is truly terrible. Been 2 weeks since I’ve heard back after they first reached out to my ticket.

@boboscurse4130

2 жыл бұрын

you dodged a bullet. garbage product, garbage company. we have a $3000 paperweight

@diver1776

2 жыл бұрын

We had our Harvest Right for just over a year, when we started having problems. We followed the maintenance and oil pump mantnace to a T. But we started having lack of vaccum... And I would never finish the cycle even after 45hrs! Got hold of HR and I can fully agree, "your emergency is not there emergency.." it may be worse then that maybe "your problem have nothing to do with us" anyways. They sent me a new firmware, and we tried it, I mean these are the experts right?! Well the machine wouldn't even work after new firmware. Call them back and they didn't believe me (by the way this took months) they cancelled our ticket. Didn't respond to email. Ignored phone calls.... Finally they wanted to see the unit and we paid for fright to send it to them (if we didn't it's just a paperweight) so another 400$ in shipping where will it end.. I expected to be buying a quality tool that would last us years... They got popular, grew fast, just cared about the $ and left there costumers high and dry.

Reading some negative comments here on HR, I figured I'd share my very positive experience from a few weeks ago. I honestly hadn't used mine in about a year because life got busy and has settled back down where I was gearing up to start using it, I purchased mine in January 2018, now June/July of 2022, I received the email software update from HR for 5.0.19, mine was running 4.0.26, Figured I'd do the update, after I did, my touchscreen didn't work, I honestly don't know if it did before the update as I hadn't run in a year. Called HR, walked me through some things that didn't work, called back and they just went ahead and sent a replacement screen with the latest software preloaded. Installed screen, and no problems. I think that's pretty good for a company that my warranty expired on 3 years ago, and it was no cost to me, no questions asked. Back in 2018/2019 a HR warranty was only 1 year, nowadays it's 3 years. I consistently see HR evolving in a positive direction. So there you have it.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

That is wonderful! I really hope they start doing these things more and more. I love their product and if they can get their customer service consistently good then they will go far. Ours had been running well for 6 months now. When it works it is so awesome!

Outstanding video! Thank you for your time.

Thanks for sharing your advice and your knowledge 👍

thank you for such valuable information

I'm impressed by your attitude in the comments. Pushing forward, adapting, finding solutions.

Your attitude is amazingly calm.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha. I had two months to reach that level of calmness. I definitely had moments I am not proud of. I’m sure HR customer support knew when I was calling and dreaded answering the phone. I was never disrespectful but they knew how disappointed I was in their service. The whole reason the video was created is to try to prevent people from having to experience what I did. This is not to help HR but to help their customers that unknowingly become repair technicians regardless of their skill. This is my most watched video which is sad because that means a lot of customers are having problems.

When I bought TWO driers, customer service was incredible! Since then, in my opinion, it resembles that little skid mark you see occasionally in the bottom of a toilet.

Really good video, thank you for posting this. I've had similar issues. First the drain valve leaked and had to be replaced. That was 3 months ago. A new pressure leak appeared and I've diagnosed it to the Epoxy Plug. When I was diagnosing the drain valve they didn't have the reservation system for support. It took forever to get time with the support techs. My first appointment is happening this afternoon for my new issue. I took your suggestion and made an appointment for tomorrow as well for the follow on... Also this time I'm posting my experience on my youtube channel and entered the link to the video into the Harvest Right support ticket so they can see what I'm seeing.

After 5 years of great use, my machine has the dreaded vacuum problem. After watching numerous videos, your video gave great information. Thank you

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Five years! That is awesome!

So I finally got mine to work for now. The key was using that silicone self-sealing tape over every crimp and fitting from hose to threads. I also replaced the ball valve with a 600WOG rated valve. I suspect the vacuum hoses can leak at the crimps and swivels.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Excellent! Thanks for sharing what worked!

so good when you have a community support.Mine is 6 months old and I got that dreaded vacuum error. Tested drain valve but it is not that. Have another appt to run more tests. Can't believe this is happening already. At last you have others who will support you.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I know your frustration well. Just don’t give up. Good luck!

Glad you figured out your issue. I got five runs and mine hasn’t worked since. Oddly, it passes all the vacuum tests but then fails with a vacuum error when I run a batch. It will go down to 300 mt during the tests, but then can’t even reach 500 in the vacuum freeze cycle. And from there, it just keeps going up! Harvest Right has not helped me figure it out and blew off my follow up meeting last Friday. You sure are right. They don’t seem to care about getting you up and running quickly. Had I known the support would be so bad, I likely wouldn’t have bought it. Now i am feeling like I am on my own, despite this being a brand new machine. Very disappointed with this company. At this point I am ready to send it back.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

At least you are still under warranty. I got the dreaded vacuum error on my last batch and just pulled my items out snd put them in the freezer and walked away. The feeling is similar to driving a non dependable car. You never know if you are going to make it through a batch or not. Good luck. I’ve never experienced your issue and if you get it resolved please come back and let us know what it was.

@fleebin2794

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm I certainly will let you know. At least there seems to be a community of good people freeze drying! I am pretty good at fixing most things but I am thinking this is a vacuum pressure switch, or maybe a chamber leak that only happens when it gets cold. I sure is odd though. I did the same thing. 4 trays of grapes, blue berries and bananas. It was a ton of work. They have gone through about 5 deep freeze cycles but never reached dry. I will likely have to throw them out. I’ll just keep using them until it has a successful run. Then I guess we’ll see. Not sure what that many cycles will do to it all.

@drakecassidy2942

2 жыл бұрын

I'm having the same issues. Please let me know if you find a solution. This is very frustrating.

@fleebin2794

2 жыл бұрын

@@drakecassidy2942 I had to send it back to Harvest Right for repair. It is working now. Their Notes - epoxy was leaking bad and drain hose was the old style and leaking was 284mt, after fixes would go to 84mt. Full frost and temp of -50.3. heat tested good and updated software, pump and hose tested good.

@The411

2 жыл бұрын

This is EXACTLY my issue also. Blasts down below 500mTorr in 7 minutes with the chamber at around -5C But fails the bread run, it does not go below 800. Clearly, there's a seal shrinking too much when it gets real cold.

Thank you Lord.

Mine is always the pump. I go through everything and get a new pump, boom fixed!

New subscriber ... 'found you out of desperation! Thanks for the great troubleshooting tutorial. It doesn't seem right that customers should have to disassemble and repair such an expensive purchase themselves. Some people might not have the ability (or confidence) to do so. We just bought a brand new refrigerator for our kitchen, paying 1/2 the cost of the Harvest Right unit, and when we have a service issue, a technician comes and fixes it. We're not in the Richmond area, but looking forward to checking out your channel nonetheless. Again, thanks for info!

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I admit that breaking into a costly machine when you have no idea how to do it is scary as heck! And I am NOT mechanically inclined at all. But if you step up to the challenge and succeed it is very empowering! I swear if someone on the east coast would have made service calls I would have jumped on it! How about that for a business idea? Thanks for your support and I firmly believe we are all in this together! Good luck!

I can tell you have a Chemistry background. No one else says “stopcock.” In college, many moons ago, I changed from Chemistry to Chemical Engineering, after three years, and was chided heavily for saying “stopcock” in class one day rather than “valve”, or in this case, “ball valve.” Nice video. Thanks!

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I think what this really gives away is how OLD I am!!!!

Thank you so much for sharing. Waiting for my large HW. Praying I don’t get a lemon. For as long as they have been doing this, things should have improved with quality. Very sad

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I heard from a few people recently that things have improved at HR. I bet COVID messed up their supply chain and it just snowballed. I wish you the best of luck!

The 2 tech's that I have worked with are incompetent. If I would have known what I know now I would have never purchased my $3000 boat anchor. Now most of HR efforts are to selling to Home Depot and other big box stores I think the service level will continue to decline.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

So frustrating to hear this!

Making the extra appointments at the same time is smart. I'm not a fan of having to create a service ticket and only communicating through that, just to have them close it 3 days later unanswered.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Whoa! That’s not good. That is the first time I’ve heard that one. I hope you get your problem fixed soon. Good luck!

You can use smoke to find the issue with the vacuum. I would use the word ON/OFF valve.

Thank you.

How did you meet the freeze dryer owner in your community who helped you? My new unit failed on its 4th run, and I have experienced the same problems with Customer Support as others in the comment section. The support videos are not public, and even worse, are incomplete. Having a local freeze drying community would be a blessing, indeed.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I sell freeze dried goods at the farmers market and he struck up a conversation about having one too. I mentioned mine was broken and that is how it started. Sadly it hasn’t gone further than that locally. I have met amazingly wonderful people online from other areas though. I wish Harvest Right would facilitate regional connections of customers somehow. It would certainly help them if they are overwhelmed if we could help each other. I wish you the best in moving forward with your dryer.

Think maybe I’ll build my own.

@Knutekritt

Жыл бұрын

DAVE....COULD YOU LET US KNOW HOW YOU DO IT IF YOU GET IT DONE? My prepper group folks decided this week they are completely done with Harvest Right.....a couple just bought the 4 Patriot ones but the rest are all going tback to dehydrators adn they done care anymore if it isnt as good as FD....

I just got my fd, i have problems with it consistently pulling a proper vacuum. It can but i have a hard time getting it to do it consistently.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve seen where people just replace the drain valve with a higher quality one and it helped. I hope you can figure it out. Good luck!

HI, So you said you replaced the drain valve(your original problem) and created another, how did you fix that problem. I have water coming out from under the foam insulation where it goes into the chamber(on the drain valve). Is that where you use silicone seal to solve that? Thanks!

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Our second problem was fixed by removing the excess connectors and using Teflon tape wrapped five times. I’m worried about water coming out. We just had air leaking so couldn’t achieve pressure. No water.

@myourheartsong

Жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm Thank you for your response. I'm leaking water and the insulation on the bottom of the chamber outside is wet. I will clean and dry it, then silicone. I may have to redo my Teflon tape too,and see if that works. :)

Hi good video, I would like to ask if you’ve had “not getting cold enough error” if so what did you do , I will ring Harvestright this week, we live in uk and there’s not many being used here

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I have not gotten that error. If you get it fixed I would love to know what you did. Good Luck!

@goldenspanner1819

Жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm ok I will , thanks for replying

I could not get below 700 mTorr and I spritzed the groove in the giant door gasket. I also took a fine diamond file and smoothed out any nicks and dings on the stainless cylinder rim thinking the giant gasket could not make a good seal with a rough rim. I finally decided to change the oil. I drained it and even tipped the pump all the way to make sure I got ALL of the oil out! I added about 450ml of fresh Robinair clear premium VP oil and fired up the vac test and NO DICE! I still could not get much below 700mTorr after 20 minutes. I then looked at my brand new oil and it was ALREADY CLOUDY?!? What the heck is going on?! This is a basically brand new large FD (I am running the 5th or 6th load right now) and it was working great for the first three loads. I did the water sucking test on the drain line and it seems to working just fine (no sign of suction). One thing I noticed is the vacuum line from the pump to the cylinder has a peculiar behavior: one end goes finger tight and then I can tighten it about 1/6 of a turn with the expecting slowly increasing force required to rotate. The other end hand tightens pretty good but comes to an abrupt stop. Even with a wrench and light force, it would barely rotate any further, so maybe that o-ring is not getting fully seated?? Where did you get the self sealing silicon tape?

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

We got ours at an Ace Hardware Store. I wonder if it is the hose end or the pump end? Definitely get some carburetor cleaner and spray that connection when you are at 700 to see if it changes. If the leak is there it should jump up quickly and then slowly go back to 700. I would be more worried about the cloudy oil. Should be under warranty and just get it replaced. Make sure you check all the other connections inside the dryer as well. Good luck and let us know how it resolves!

Thank goodness I found you!!! I will be contacting you if I can't fix my freeze dryer vacuum problem. I just got over round and round with them about my circuit board and they finally sent one. I put it in and it seems fine...no more saying factory reset on it...now I have this vacuum issue. my freeze dryer is just six months old! 😩

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I’m actually glad I’m beyond the warranty because I know I’m on my own which makes me dig down deeper to try to fix it without needing them. If it was still under warranty I would get severely frustrated! Good luck, I hope you can identify the problem. First thing I would always check would be the stopcock valve. I keep seeing where that is hanging a lot of people up. It certainly got us.

Follow up...To confirm leak, I closed the drain valve, poured a quarter cup or so of water into the drain hole inside the machine, then opened the valve just enough to bleed out the air and the closed it. Did a vacuum test and could see a lot of air bubbles being sucked in through the hose crimp near the valve. They are sending me a new hose. The hose itself is pretty thin. I read it's a good idea to zip tie the hose against metal side with the metal coupling against the hole metal. Still leaves room to turn the valve handle. Better yet is to make a grommet and put around metal edge of hole then zip tie it. Keeps metal from wearing hole in thin hose. As much as this hose is normall moved around, you know it's got to be hard in the cheap crimps. You probably know all this! Right now I am putting "Shoe Goo" on the crimp while under a deep vacuum to suck it into leaking area. You can also use good silcone caulk. Should work...also add that special tape after it dries. With all the issues listed by others on the internet, they need to make improvements. When I told the HR employee about my drain hose leak, he said it's the first time he's heard of this problem....Ha Ha! Mybe it was his first day on the job.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Oh my goodness that last statement made me bust out laughing!!! Thank you so much for the follow up - it definitely will help others!

I'm six weeks in, broke within days of my 1yr warranty. I had to replace the relay board, epoxy plug and pigtail; now I get high Mtorr readings and mid-batch vacuum failure. When I contacted Harvest Right I was under warranty. My 1st tech appt. took over a week and she canceled the day of, my 2nd tech sent me a bill for the parts anyways and now at 5pm (right before closing) she responds like she never even read my emails with unrelated reply's. I spend hours DIY troubleshooting every day and now nearly $600 spent with no improvement. She also had me upgrade to 16 and I should have ran a test before because she doesn't have a copy of 13 and the only other option is 19. Waiting on a new pump HR has yet to ship. Ordered the silicone tape mentioned, silicone, carb cleaner and new hose (from Canada). Fingers crossed my own process of elimination will fix it without costing 1/3 of a new one. Thanks for the suggestions. I wish HR would not hide (unlisted) their tech instructional videos. Good luck everyone!

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Holy smokes that is frustrating! Our big three problems have been the drain valve, the relay board and pump replacement with the basic oil one. Since those three replacements we have been rolling again. Good Luck!

@susancoulange382

Жыл бұрын

We had a vacuum leak but no screen warning. We have an oil less pump and an original standard pump. Both pumps failed the vacuum test. That told us it was the freeze dryer, not the pump. My husband did the leak test and found the last O ring he checked was shredded. He replaced it and that helped, but still had a vacuum leak....800 mT on standard pump, 1700 on the oil free pump. I insisted he replace all O rings, regardless of what they looked like. Finally, we can get below 500 mT. I am pre-freezing some carrots coins so I can do a test load that I could dehydrate if the vacuum fails. Fingers crossed. I don't have time to fool with HR techs. People, we are running out of time. I love my freeze dryer, as long as it is working correctly!

In the final analysis his is essentially a small freezer with a vacuum pump. Why are they able to charge so much for it? How can there be so many fixit videos for fixingHarvest Right?

How does HR use the files to help with Vacuum problems. I think the FD doesn't tell my pump to come on any more and it started having problems early on, but I didn't know it was the problem, I thought I didn't know what I should do. So I kept questioning myself when in fact the machine was not always working correctly. Now it wont work at all, even in test mode. But if I plug the pump into a standard wall plug it works... Also, I purchased a new oil-less pump and now I've never gotten any run to vacuum since the first run that stopped vacuum after initial vacuum freezer. Yes I have had two appointments and on the third with HR... Any suggestions will be helpful and Thank you. LB

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I feel your frustration and know it well. As far as the log files go I think they use them to see at what point in the process the dryer fails which helps them pin point where to focus their attention. For us everything worked until the deep vacuum point which indicated a leak in one of the connections. Recently we went down again and the pump would run but we could not vacuum at all and used a back up pump to determine that our oil free pump isn't working properly. For you, it sounds more electrical than leak or pump problem. If I were in your shoes, I would be focusing on wiring and the computer boards. At the bottom back of the dryer where the pump plugs in there are wires with clips on the end. You will need to have the back panel removed to be able to see these clips. You might want to confirm that those are connected or pushed in all the way. And definitely keep making multiple appointments at a time with HR to speed up the customer support process. Ultimately we are at their mercy, so be patient and don't give up!

@tlcomput

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm Thank you Yes I think you are right - the wiring or something is not getting power to my pump(s). I tried the older oil pump last night and had same outcome. But the pumps both work with wall plugin. Also, test mode does not get the pumps working and an electric tester does not show power in cord when it should in test mode... I will try to get customer support in this direction. Do you know if the software needs update - I think mine is V4.1.26 that is what shows on startup...?

I’m 10 days into a new machine and have not had a successful run yet. Keep getting vacuum leaks and it won’t warm while drying. I’m frustrated and disappointed that I’ve spent a fortune (to me) on this machine and I’m having trouble right out of the box.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

That is the worst! Another commenter had luck with getting them to replace his broken one and it still didn’t work because of the hose between the pump and machine which they did not replace. They really need regional repair teams that go onsite and troubleshoot until it works! I think it would help so much with relieving the customer service team of the job of training us to be repair technicians!

You have a newer machine than mine. I think most people expect that when they pay $3-5,000 for an appliance that it's going to work out of the box. The level of troubleshooting and repair that HR is expecting out of their customers is incredible. I recently purchased and returned a $750 Premier pump back to HR because they refused to do any troubleshooting with me unless I forked over another $45 'diagnostic' fee. Very poor way to treat your customers.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I think I would have more patience with customer support if it didn’t cost money to use them. It is kind of hard to be expected to pay for diagnostics and creating tickets and still get less than stellar support.

@michaelrichard5554

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm When I bought my unit in 2015/16 they had pretty good customer service. I had some initial issues that were resolved quickly over the phone and I wasn't charged. They suffer from quality control issues now with units leaving the factory without parts, wiring harnesses not even connected, etc. That should never happen. They spend a ton of money shipping units back and forth across the country to address things that should have been caught much earlier. I suppose the solution now is to ship it first and then make more money charging people to talk to you. I hear this story more and more and it doesn't bode well for the company.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrichard5554 let’s hope they figure it out and reorganize their priorities and put this dark era of their business trajectory behind them.

My new machine has been a headache since I received it 3weeks ago, finally pinpointed my issue as a leak on the epoxy seal. If possible can you give me a bit more info on how apply the silicone and tape to it?

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I’m sorry you are struggling so early in your journey. What we did with the epoxy seal is wrapped a wide painters tape around it where half of it was above the seal making a cup. Then with the vacuum running in test mode we squeezed the silicone into the cupped space and let it run for 30 minutes. Turned off the machine and let it cure without releasing the vacuum for a day. Hope this is helpful.

@amyb4741

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm Did your machine have a black foam insulation piece around the epoxy seal? So did you put the silicone up around the wires that come out the top?

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@amyb4741 It did have that insulation piece. We temporarily removed it to wrap the epoxy part with the tape to create the "well" for the silicone. We did put it around the wires that come out the top. Good luck!

I've spent close to 5k on this thing and having vacuum issues after 3 months of use. This is ridiculous!

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I am feeling your pain! I’m over 5k in and down again with heater errors. Just got the relay board replacement today. I wish you the best of luck with the vacuum.

@TheTacticalHouse

2 жыл бұрын

3 weeks for us. We bought a large.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheTacticalHouse ouch that hurts!

@The411

2 жыл бұрын

Mine is DOA.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@The411 dang! There are no words.

ya know...we need to be more self-reliant and figure these things out for ourselves and then just ask for the parts we need. That we can have these machines for less than 20,000.00 is amazing. I know what freezedryers cost. We have also had some issues with customer service and I just go over their heads.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I agree with this sentiment 100%. I figure we can be stubborn and stomp around until they take action or we can empower ourselves. It is very hard when you aren’t tech or mechanically inclined but hopefully community local or online can help! Thanks for watching!

It seems like lots of people have vacuum leak issues with the Harvest Right freeze dryers. Sounds like they need to improve their Quality Assurance. It’s very frustrating to buy something new and have it not work properly.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I agree whole heartedly. It would be a much better business plan and worth the investment on the front end. I keep wondering if things are getting knocked around during shipping. Ours did fine for a year before we had issues but right out the gate seems fishy.

I have problem with my freeze dryer. I have gotten some parts but not that problem and now I have gotten more parts and it needs to take of the cover. I need help to do that. Anyone can tell me how? I’m desperate to use the Maschine again. Haven’t been able to use it from last year July. Very frustrating.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Check out this video. Midway through he starts to take apart the machine and films it. It should help. kzread.info/dash/bejne/naWsq8dtoNTIj6g.html

I have a Non HR FD, it was given to me from my sister, it was sabotaged, the wiring was cut and connected to other wiring. which caused the power switch to burn out. I have replaced most of the wiring and yet to test it. I have contacted the company that doesn't want to give me any information at all about there Schematics. So i am stuck in ways. I know they are completely different machines, however, should be made to the same design. I know HR has a ribbon cable coming from the touch panel to the Motherboard, the one i have has a 9pin cable connection like an old printer cable. The wires coming from the inside compartment(trays) is what i like to know, where on the motherboard they go. if you could tell me at least i have some idea. I do have some knowledge in HVAC, but these wires coming from the trays have me stuff. unless i terminate them, but then it would be working as it was created to.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I think this video might be able to help you - kzread.info/dash/bejne/lJeJmdudic6Ydbw.html

what vacuum does the machine operate at?

@kathyslick5916

Жыл бұрын

Over 1000 mt, got it down to about 500-600. Going to try the silicone caulk on that thing on the top of the drum.

You guys have a decade old harvest right. How in the heck did you even get that at this point?

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

That’s an interesting statement. Purchased this baby February 2020 and it arrived here in April 2020. I used it pretty solidly for a year and in June 2021 we started having problems. It is currently operational - thank goodness!

Where did you get parts?

@foreverfoodsfarm

7 ай бұрын

The tape we got off the internet and the fittings from Lowe’s. The hose comes from Harvest Right.

Imagine having to do this with your refrigerator, something is wrong with these freeze dryers that you have to make repair videos

So strange that Harvest Right has everyone trained to do their jobs for them. Our FD is under warranty and has been broken for 2 weeks. We have had to spend dozens of hours of our own time troubleshooting. At this point there's nothing left to troubleshoot. But after spending $3,000 our garden is producing and we have no freeze dryer.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

That makes me really sad. I know what you are going through. My whole business plan tanked when mine went down during harvest. It is impossible to have a backup when you already took a huge leap to purchase one. I do hope HR improves. Until then we just have the community.

@boboscurse4130

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm They're sending a new pump. Not much indication that it's the problem but we're hoping it is.

@barbaramandy8708

2 жыл бұрын

@@boboscurse4130 hey! It’s me….the one having the vacuum issues. I replaced my valve with a good one from Lowes. I couldn’t find the tube silicone locally so I had to order it and it came yesterday. Running a vacuum test now to see if changing that valve will help. How’s your machine? Still running? (I hope!)

@boboscurse4130

2 жыл бұрын

@@barbaramandy8708 Yes it's been running non-stop.

@barbaramandy8708

2 жыл бұрын

@@boboscurse4130 so happy for you!! What a relief! I’m still down. Last week with HR was a complete disaster. The tech told me he didn’t think it was the sensor board, he thought it was a leak so he sent me instructions for testing with carburetor cleaner. He had me send pictures of o rings, inside of door gasket… nothing is wrong. Ran the test and I couldn’t find any leaks. I ran a vacuum test without the shelving unit and it got into the 300s. I emailed all that I formation along with thumb drive. Next day call, he had not read my emails. He had me do a mock batch, shelving unit in, no food and told me to run it, continuing on through errors. By 2:30 am I called it quits after continuing on through 2 errors. The mT never went below 900. Sent emails (multiple) and thumb drive. No response. Was supposed to have a call on Friday and I asked for confirmation to make sure he remembered the call. Never responded. He missed the appointment and I went wild. Did a group email to everyone I had ever spoken to expressing my extreme displeasure and frustration, and he finally responded saying he had vertigo. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Here it is Monday and I’m no further along. Have already called and written. I’m about to file a complaint with the BBB. Sorry for venting

Basically, they are taking your money and then you are stuck - 5 years and still trying to get it to work right consistently. And, then (mine was bad from the beginning), they tell you that your warranty is over! They DO NOT sell an extended warranty!!! They have put up videos under the /support area and it was helpful, but it does not fix the workmanship on these units. It is a shame that there are 10+ more years before their patent runs out. When it works, it is wonderful - but when it sits during harvest times - well - very frustrating. I am disabled and got it because it takes less physical labor and lifting than canning. And, I like the product much better than the commercial brands where you spend huge amounts of money and get who knows where it came from or how it was grown food.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I created a business plan in 2019 that revolved around freeze drying our fruit we grow. In 2020 we launched our business with the idea that the first year was about research and development. The FD worked like a champ and we learned our lessons and was ready for 2021. June is our first major fruit harvest with a second big push in July and August. I was devastated when the FD was broken during both of these seasons. Lessons learned are to be creative, flexible and have redundancy. Now that I don’t have any fruit to harvest it is working again. Almost feels like a cruel joke. No worries because we have a better business plan now where freeze drying is a smaller percentage. When it works though it is the greatest! I still love it and believe in the concept.

Big lessened learned dont buy Harvest Right And/OR insist that they fine someone to do the WARRANTY WORK on the freeze dryer you paid good money for. You are not a Harvest Right tech out employee, stop making it worse on others who dont have the time or the will to spend on weeks of “fixing” a brand new machine. It is an emergency I purchased a machine, waited my time and now have a piece of junk. With food prices rising daily it is a no win situation. I can either spend more money and time trying to fix it myself or send it back and have them send me another one. POINT: IT ISNT YOUR FAULT STOP ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIRS.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I agree with your frustration!

It's on Harvest Right if their product is not built to be durable and is failing.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

I agree 100% but I would rather spend my time freeze drying than getting upset at Harvest Right.

LOL I think if I am going to go ahead and get one that: (1) I am going to Silicone the whole machine first!!!!

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

Might not be a bad idea!

Same here... my dryer wont go down past 800mT It went down past 500mT in the test within 6 minutes... I thought I had a good one.. nope.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe this will help - kzread.info/dash/bejne/nKVk3LirlKWxgaw.html. Seems as though the software changes help lessen the vacuum error.

@The411

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm Thanks, but this dryer is only a week old and is on this version already.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@The411 oh no! That is not good!!!

@The411

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm May I ask what size the o-rings are that go in the chamber elbow joint ? My o-ring looks like a rabid beaver gnawed on it.

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@The411 I do not. We took it off and took it with us to the hardware store back during summer and do not remember. Sorry.

I think I'm just going to sell the fucking thing

Try Stay Fresh freeze dryers no problems with them.

anyone wanting to sell there freeze dryer contact me.

Third load on a new machine and now have a crimp leak in the drain hose. Such piss poor quality hoses. I better get one with no BS. Should have never bought his.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

I hope that fixes it. Good luck!

@BowWowPewPewCQ

Жыл бұрын

Yes, HR has really cheaped out on hoses causing lots of problems for many people.

@kathyslick5916

Жыл бұрын

@@BowWowPewPewCQ You know there's a little space around the metal hose connectors where it attaches to both the hoses. I pushed silicone caulk into that space under vacuum. I also bought new suction hose o-rings at Home Depot. They are the right diameter but just slightly thicker. This helped some. One thing that bothers me is the technicians will tell you differant info than what's in the manual. Like how deep the vacuum should go and how quickly. I am still getting air blowing out of vacuum pump when filter cap is removed. This should not be happening according to the manual. Indicates a vac leak is still there. Going to do another spray bottle test and check out that connection at the top of the tank. Mine is a scratch and dent...and it was dropped. Should have gotten twice the money off.

I’m so disappointed with my purchase of this thing. i’ve been chasing a leak myself and i just find it ridiculous to have to do all this shit to a couple month old THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR appliance.

@foreverfoodsfarm

5 ай бұрын

I’m so sorry for your experience. I know it is very frustrating!

@chriscanavos2275

3 ай бұрын

Yup. These machines are garbage. Same issue with mine. Among soooooooo many other issues

And now they want me to pay for the tech help...

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Yes - to “read the log files”. Hang in there. We came very close to having a $4k paperweight. But when it works it is AWESOME! I’m packaging elderberries and figs right now as I type this. The part you are navigating now is the worst!

1 oil less pump is garbage 2 the company has the worst customer service

@The411

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. I'm pretty sure the customer support are close friends or family of the company owners. There is no way they can be that useless and still retain employment.

Your heat pump is too close to the ceiling.... Someone did not follow the instructions 😸

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

Do you mean the mini split?

@MrBiron1

2 жыл бұрын

@@foreverfoodsfarm yes for the model that it's supposed to be clearnce min 4 inchs

@foreverfoodsfarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrBiron1 well that sucks. Thanks for the heads up!

Very good reasons why you should steer away from Harvest Right. They are operating on their past reputation and that they have had no competition. Now there is competition that has higher quality and support. Do your research before you buy a Harvest Right.

DO NOT BUY A HARVEST RIGHT FREEZE DRYER. These units are built like Prototypes and are nowhere near anything that resembles a product ready for market.

These machines are bullshit I'm about to rip my hair out.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

It can be an extremely frustrating experience to be sure!

So I’ve waited around 2 weeks for a new display and USB board, installed them per instructions and I still have a useless machine. This really sucks, don’t buy these machines.

@foreverfoodsfarm

Жыл бұрын

That is so frustrating! I hope you get it figured out.