Drying Time Calculator
Plan a dehydrator session: pick a food type, enter slice thickness and temperature, and get an estimated hour range scaled from a reference thickness and temperature.
Estimated drying time
How the estimate is built
Each food type starts from a baseline low–high hour range measured at a reference slice thickness and a reference dehydrator temperature. The calculator scales that baseline two ways: linearly with thickness (a thicker slice takes proportionally longer, since moisture has farther to travel to the surface), and with a temperature factor that speeds drying above the reference temperature and slows it below.
This is a planning estimate, not a countdown timer — airflow, humidity, and how full the dehydrator is all shift the real time. Start checking for doneness near the low end of the range and don’t rely on the clock alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the result a range instead of one exact number?
Drying time depends on more than just food type — humidity, airflow, how crowded the trays are, and natural variation in water content all shift the real time. The calculator gives a planning range built from a baseline hour range for that food, scaled for your slice thickness and temperature; always finish by checking the food itself rather than the clock.
How does slice thickness change the time?
The calculator scales time roughly in proportion to thickness against a reference thickness for that food (0.25″ for most meats, fruits, and vegetables; a thin leaf for herbs). Doubling the thickness of a slice roughly doubles the estimated drying time, since moisture has to travel twice as far to reach the surface.
How does temperature change the time?
Each food type has a reference temperature. Running the dehydrator warmer than that reference speeds drying, and running it cooler slows it, using a common home-drying rule of thumb of roughly 12% faster for every 10°F above the reference (and proportionally slower below it).
How do I know when it's actually done?
Use this estimate to plan your session, then confirm doneness by feel: jerky should bend and crack without snapping cleanly or feeling tacky/wet; fruit should be leathery with no pockets of moisture when cut; herbs should crumble easily. For meat, doneness by feel is not the same as a safe internal temperature — see the dehydrator temperature guide for general guidance on that.
General planning estimate only, not a food-safety certification. Always confirm doneness by feel, and for meat, confirm it reaches a safe internal temperature before or during drying.