Weighing up the pros and cons of new equipment

[Medusa]

I love my pressure cooker, it needs a new seal and valve, my dehydrator which is only two years old and has not been used much and which I was just beginning to enjoy has broken. We took it apart but could not find anything obvious to fix, no loose wires etc. We were given a small air fryer from a colleague which she didn't want and which I really like especially for saving electric instead of turning on the oven, but it is not big enough and I need a larger one, a new dehydrator and replace the seal and valve on the pressure cooker. Storage space is also at a premium in the kitchen. My thoughts, pressure cooker parts will not cost much, a bigger air fryer will cost £100+, new dehydrator a level up from the one I have £100+. I could replace everything or I could replace all of them with something like a Ninja which will cover all bases plus more and take up less space. Husband suggested the Ninja, I think that replacing everything separately would be more sensible so that I am not relying on just the one machine even though it will all take up more space.

[GillyBee]

I also have a small kitchen and was looking at the Ninja too. For me it is a "No" because my other equipment is all still in good order and works on camping stoves if there is a power outage so the only benefit is kitchen space. I will put up with what I have.

[jennyjj01]

I love my pressure cooker, it needs a new seal and valve, my dehydrator which is only two years old and has not been used much and which I was just beginning to enjoy has broken. We took it apart but could not find anything obvious to fix, no loose wires etc. We were given a small air fryer from a colleague which she didn't want and which I really like especially for saving electric instead of turning on the oven, but it is not big enough and I need a larger one, a new dehydrator and replace the seal and valve on the pressure cooker. Storage space is also at a premium in the kitchen. My thoughts, pressure cooker parts will not cost much, a bigger air fryer will cost £100+, new dehydrator a level up from the one I have £100+. I could replace everything or I could replace all of them with something like a Ninja which will cover all bases plus more and take up less space. Husband suggested the Ninja, I think that replacing everything separately would be more sensible so that I am not relying on just the one machine even though it will all take up more space.

In an 'ordinary home' There never seems to be enough kitchen cupboard space, and kitchen gadgets, fryers, blenders etc just seem to hog precious worktop. So, dehydrators, Stockpots, Pressure cookers, Air Fryers, Deep fat Fryers, Food processors have to really justify their ground rent, or get relegated to non-kitchen locations.
I don't know the answer. Much of my kitchen gear lives in the garage.... Which won't fit a car in.
Much stuff has filled the boxroom, and the loft is chokka.
The more cupboards you have, the more stuff you will get. Human nature.

[WomanOfTheWoods]

I cook everything from scratch and other that a stick blender and a slow cooker everything in the kitchen is traditional.
My large Le Creuset pan collection is from the 1970s. And as good as the day it was made.
I've recently gone through 2 dehydrators, and neither lasted 2 years. So I'm not buying another one.

I've never tried the modern pressure cookers. But have visions of a kitchen disaster in the 70s when my Mother was scraping the contents of the pressure cooker off the kitchen ceiling. And I was always terrified of the thing and the hissing noises.

I'd try going without the kit for a month or two. And then after that you'll know which items you've missed the most and want.

[Frnc]

I cook everything from scratch and other that a stick blender and a slow cooker everything in the kitchen is traditional.
My large Le Creuset pan collection is from the 1970s. And as good as the day it was made.
I've recently gone through 2 dehydrators, and neither lasted 2 years. So I'm not buying another one.

I've never tried the modern pressure cookers. But have visions of a kitchen disaster in the 70s when my Mother was scraping the contents of the pressure cooker off the kitchen ceiling. And I was always terrified of the thing and the hissing noises.

I'd try going without the kit for a month or two. And then after that you'll know which items you've missed the most and want.

I bought a blender and I've only used it about three times. It's mint condition, so I keep thinking I should sell it. Either that or find some use for it. I hate having stuff I don't use, it's a waste. I might try making soup.

[ForgeCorvus]

Medusa: You can still airfry even though your pressure cooker needs fixing, when you've got the seal & valve you'll then only not be able to dehydrate.
Three different tools for three different jobs would be my choice.

WotW: Have you tried a solar dehydrator? No parts to go wrong and its not like you're short of space on a small holding..... I've been looking into them recently

[rik_uk3]

A £100 dehydrator? Buy two £30 ones and use the £40 saved for you pressure cooker spares.

[grenfell]

Question for those with air fryers.
There was a short programme on the radio recently where they talked about these air fryers. The main focus was the efficiency but they did also mention that they ( or some?) can be used for dehydration as well which seeing as they are largely a hot air device seems to make sense. Has anyone here used one for dehydration? On the one hand I like the idea of a gadget that can perform more than one function but on the other if it breaks then that's two functions down the drain at the same time.
The radio programme if anyone is interested,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0018hjr

[Medusa]

Question for those with air fryers.
There was a short programme on the radio recently where they talked about these air fryers. The main focus was the efficiency but they did also mention that they ( or some?) can be used for dehydration as well which seeing as they are largely a hot air device seems to make sense. Has anyone here used one for dehydration? On the one hand I like the idea of a gadget that can perform more than one function but on the other if it breaks then that's two functions down the drain at the same time.
The radio programme if anyone is interested,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0018hjr

On the day that I realised my dehydrator had broken I had just harvested a whole load of herbs so tried the dehydrator method. They dried fine and much faster than in the dehydrator, but herbs are so light that they blew around all over the place and stuck to the element. I gave it a good clean out afterwards but I still keep finding bits of leaves.