Harvest Right vs. Blue Alpine

  • EXPERIENCE – Harvest Right developed the very first freeze dryer for home use over a decade ago. Since that time, Harvest Right has led the industry in home freeze drying and has continually found ways to innovate and improve home freeze dryers while also lowering costs.
  • SALES – Harvest Right has sold over 450,000 freeze dryers. Blue Alpine units are new to the industry, and they have sold very few freeze dryers.
  • CAPACITY – A medium Harvest Right freeze dryer has a capacity of around 15 lbs. of food. Blue Alpine claims that their unit has a capacity of 15 lbs. per batch, but the Blue Alpine capacity for water capture and the small size of the trays really only allows for 7 to 8 lbs. of food to be efficiently freeze dried in a batch. In terms of true comparisons, Harvest Right’s small Pro freeze dryer will freeze dry about the same amount as the Blue Alpine unit.
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  • TRAY SIZE – Harvest Right’s medium freeze dryer’s trays have nearly 20% MORE capacity than those of the Blue Alpine.
  • PUMPS – A Harvest Right Premier vacuum pump (which comes with every unit) only needs the oil changed after every 30-40 batches. The Blue Alpine pump needs to have the oil changed after every 5 batches. The Harvest Right Premier industrial pump comes free with every unit, whereas it would cost a $1,000 or more to purchase a similar industrial pump for a Blue Alpine unit to the one that comes with every Harvest Right freeze dryer.  
  • REFRIGERANT – Harvest Right uses a refrigerant that is nonflammable and safe. Because of this, Harvest Right’s freeze dryers get up to 30 degrees colder than Blue Alpine’s. Blue Alpine uses a propane refrigerant that is highly flammable. Resultingly, they are required to place a large warning on the back of their units about the danger associated with this refrigerant.
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  • EFFICIENCY – A medium Harvest Right freeze dryer can freeze dry 30-40% more food than a Blue Alpine freeze dryer and the Harvest Right units will freeze dry faster because they get colder and have a far superior vacuum pump.

    In terms of freeze-drying capacity, Harvest Right’s small Pro freeze dryer and the Blue Alpine freeze dryer will dry about the same amount per batch.

    Blue Alpine runs their freeze dryers at pressures that are too high. This causes many foods to shrivel and become chewy.

  • QUALITY—Because of Harvest Right’s ability to freeze colder than Blue Alpine’s, the quality of the freeze-dried product is much better. It isn’t as caved in and is not so chewy.

  • NOISE – Harvest Right’s freeze dryer is much quieter than Blue Alpine’s. As a result, it can be placed in living areas because it won’t bother people.
  • SIZES – Harvest Right offers a wide range of sizes including small, medium, large, and XL. Blue Alpine only has one size option that has the same capacity as Harvest Right’s new small Pro unit.
  • REVIEWS – Harvest Right has thousands of reviews with an average 4.8 star ranking. Blue Alpine has relatively no reviews.
  • AVAILABLE IN STORES – Harvest Right freeze dryers can be seen, touched, and purchased in over 3,000 retail locations (Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, Scheels, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and hundreds more).  They can also be purchased online at Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, and others.
  • INNOVATIONS – Harvest Right is always working on improving units while keeping costs low. This continuous research has resulted in several model updates through the years including the recent release of the newest Harvest Right Pro models.
  • SCREEN – Blue Alpine’s screen is in a poor location. It is at the bottom of the unit. As a result, water condensation on the door and front of the chamber can drip on the back of the screens causing them to short out. The Harvest Right screen is at the top of the unit.   
  • CUSTOMER SUPPORT – Harvest Right has over 6,000 support technicians located throughout the United States who can come to your home if there is a serious problem. Help is always just a phone call away. This isn’t possible with Blue Alpine. If you have a serious problem with that unit, you will have to figure out a way to pack up a 115 lb. unit along with a 35 lb. vacuum pump and send it back to Blue Alpine.
  • PRICE – Harvest Right’s small Pro freeze dryer and Blue Alpine’s only freeze dryer are about the same capacity but certainly not the same price. A small Pro Harvest Right freeze dryer is $700 less than a Blue Alpine unit.

    Harvest Right’s Pro Medium has nearly twice the freeze-drying capacity as the Blue Alpine freeze dryer. Yet the medium Harvest Right units are $300 less than Blue Alpine’s when they are purchased from one of the many stores that sell them (Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, Scheels, Sportsman’s Warehouse, etc.).

    Another major price difference is that Harvest Right’s freeze dryers come with industrial quality vacuum pumps. These pumps require an oil change once every 30 batches compared to once every 5 batches for a Blue Alpine vacuum pump.  This significantly reduces the cost of oil and also means Harvest Right users will have far fewer oil changes to deal with. If Blue Alpine were to offer an industrial-style vacuum pump like Harvest Right’s, their freeze dryer would cost $1,000 more than it currently does. Therefore, in direct comparison, the price for a Harvest Right small Pro is $2,295 compared to a Blue Alpine unit which would be $3,995, if it had an equivalent industrial vacuum pump with it. This is an increase in cost of $1,700 for a freeze dryer that won’t produce freeze-dried food that is as high quality as the food that is done in a Harvest Right freeze dryer.  

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