Harvest Right Countertop 360: First Look at the New Countertop Freeze Dryer

What Is the Harvest Right Countertop 360?

The Harvest Right Countertop 360 is a four-tray home freeze dryer with the vacuum pump and the water capture built into the cabinet. It is 17.7 in high x 25.8 in wide x 18.5 in deep, weighs 110 lb, and freeze-dries 5 to 9 lb of fresh food per batch, up to 1,500 lb a year, on a standard 110V outlet with a dedicated 15-amp circuit recommended.

Harvest Right's other four-tray machine, the Small Pro, is a tall cabinet with a separate pump beside it and a drain hose running to a bucket. The Countertop 360 also holds four trays, in a cabinet that is low and wide, and the pump and the drain pan are inside it. It is available to order through Trimleaf in stainless steel, black, pale blue and sage green, part number HRFDCT360.

It makes sense when the machine has to go on a counter. It weighs 110 lb, which is 19 lb more than a powder coated Small Pro, so choose the spot before it arrives.

Colors and Finishes

The Countertop 360 comes in four finishes: Stainless Steel, Black, Pale Blue and Sage Green. The machine is the same in all four, with the same four trays, the same enclosed pump and drain pan, and the same 5 to 9 lb batch. Only the outside changes.

It sits out on the counter rather than in a garage or basement, so pick the finish for the kitchen it will live in. Stainless Steel matches steel appliances and costs a little more than the other three, which share one price. Black sits quietly next to black or dark appliances. Pale Blue and Sage Green are the softer choices for a white, cream or wood kitchen.

Countertop 360 vs Small Pro

Most people looking at this machine are choosing between it and the powder coated Small Pro. Both hold four trays, but the Countertop 360 takes 5 to 9 lb a batch against 6 to 10 lb, stands 17.7 in tall against 26.8 in, and keeps the pump and the drain pan inside the cabinet. Our Countertop 360 vs Small Pro comparison puts every figure side by side and says which kitchen suits which machine.

Where the Pump and the Water Go

Freeze drying turns the ice in frozen food straight into vapor. Utah State University Extension describes it as sublimation, the direct transition of a solid to a gas, and Penn State Extension says the process removes up to 98 percent of the water in the food.

On the Pro machines the vacuum pump is a separate unit that sits beside the freeze dryer, and the water drains through a hose into a bucket. Harvest Right's Countertop setup guide shows what changed on this one. The pump is inside the cabinet and slides out when you need to fill it or check the oil sight glass. The water collects in an enclosed drain pan, and you empty it by pulling the pan out and sliding it back in.

In a kitchen this means there is no pump on the floor and no hose hanging over the counter edge into a bucket.

The machine is heavier for it. The setup guide says two people should lift the machine, from the metal bottom, never by the door or the drain.

The pump ships without oil. Slide it out, take off the cap and add the included mineral oil until the sight glass reads about three-quarters. Check the glass after every batch.

Living With the Built-In Pump

On a Pro machine, the pump and the drain limit where the freeze dryer can go. Harvest Right's freeze dryer FAQ says to place a Pro on a surface at least 3 feet above the ground so the drain hose can drop vertically, and to put the end of the hose in a 5-gallon bucket or a drain. It also says never to let the end of the hose sit under water, because opening the drain valve then pulls water back into the chamber and ruins the food.

The Countertop 360 drains into a pan. Harvest Right's instructions for it are to pull it out, empty it and slide it back in. There is no hose to route, and the machine does not have to sit above a bucket.

The pump sits inside the cabinet and slides out for service. Oil goes in through a capped fill port, and the level shows in the sight glass. Used oil can go back in. Harvest Right says to drain it through the included filter and return it to the pump, or refill with new oil. We sell spare vacuum pump oil and the oil filter.

The standalone Premier pump that ships with a Medium Pro is 16.3 in long and weighs 32 lb by Harvest Right's figures, and it needs its own space next to the freeze dryer. On the Countertop 360 the pump is inside the cabinet, so follow Harvest Right's airflow rule: plenty of room around it, and never an enclosed cabinet or a tight space.

The standalone Premier pump is listed for the Small, Medium and Large freeze dryers only. If the pump in yours fails, go through Harvest Right's warranty service before buying a standalone pump. Its general warranty covers vacuum pumps in the first year, and the compressor, condenser and evaporator in years two and three.

The Countertop 360 and the Rest of the Home Line

Harvest Right's home line now has five machines, from four trays to seven. The Countertop 360 takes the smallest batch of the five. All of them run on 110V.

Model	Trays	Fresh food per batch	Per year	Price
Harvest Right Countertop 360	4	5 to 9 lb	1,500 lb	$1,295
Small Pro $1,795	4	6 to 10 lb	1,800 lb	$1,795
Medium Pro $2,395	5	10 to 15 lb	3,000 lb	$2,395
Large Pro $3,095	6	18 to 27 lb	5,000 lb	$3,095
X-Large Pro $4,995	7	40 to 50 lb	10,000 lb	$4,995

Capacity rises faster than the tray count. A Large Pro handles more than three times the Countertop 360's yearly volume. It also needs a dedicated 15-amp circuit on a NEMA 5-15 outlet, and the X-Large Pro needs a dedicated 20-amp circuit on a NEMA 5-20. Our Harvest Right size guide goes through each step.

Power and Circuit

The Countertop 360 plugs into a standard 110V outlet and is rated at 1,600 W. Harvest Right recommends a dedicated 15-amp circuit for it, and requires one for the Small and Medium Pro.

I'd follow the recommendation. A batch runs for many hours, and a breaker that trips partway through because the fridge kicked on interrupts it. If the only outlet near your counter shares a circuit with something heavy, sort that out before the machine arrives.

Batch Time, Noise and Running Cost

Expect a batch to run overnight, candy to finish much sooner, and the machine to be audible in your kitchen. The table gives Harvest Right's published figures for its Pro home machines and the standalone Premier pump, which are the nearest reference for the Countertop 360. The last column says what each figure applies to.

Room temperature also changes batch time. The Pro owner's manual says a batch that takes 24 hours at 75°F could take over 40 hours in hot temperatures. A kitchen is usually inside the efficient range, which is an argument for the counter over a hot garage.

Harvest Right puts most foods at 13 to 35 hours a batch, so the machine will be running overnight in your kitchen.

On noise, Harvest Right rates the standalone Premier pump at 52 decibels and compares it to a refrigerator. Expect to hear the Countertop 360 while it runs. What user tests measured is below.

The Countertop 360 is rated at 1,600 W. Harvest Right's cost estimate for a Small or Medium Pro is $1.25 to $2.80 of electricity a batch.

What User Tests Found

Candy runs fast, a full load of fresh fruit can run long, the machine is quieter than the older Harvest Right setup with the pump outside, and it fits under an 18 in wall cabinet with very little to spare. The tests behind that are below. Where several users saw the same thing, the table says how many, and the Countertop 360 review covers the user test results in more detail.

Batch times in user tests

Plan around the fruit run, not the candy run. The user put the long time down to three things: full strawberry trays, berries with seeds, and fruit that went in fresh instead of prefrozen. Spread the food thinner, slice it evenly and prefreeze it, and a batch should come in nearer Harvest Right's range. Those three sliced-strawberry trays filled about one and a half half-gallon jars, just over a quart of freeze-dried fruit per tray.

Candy is where the small machine looked best. One user who did little candy on their earlier Medium, because it took so long, finished a batch of taffy, Bit-O-Honey and toffee bars in under three hours. On the Medium it took 5 to 6 hours at least, and most of the time 8 to 10. The chocolate on the toffee bars melted off, which is why the instructions in the box say to leave chocolate out.

Noise and heat

Most users set out to answer one question: can you live with it in a kitchen? One user who has owned Harvest Right machines since 2017 measured 54 dB once the pump started, about a dishwasher, and called it the quietest model they had run. Another said the cool-down stage was about half as loud as their Medium. A third compared the sound of it running to a washing machine on a normal spin cycle, constant and noticeable but not bothersome.

Four of the six said it was quieter than the older Harvest Right setup with the pump outside. It is not silent, though: one user switched it off while filming to get away from the noise.

Harvest Right rates the standalone Premier pump alone at 52 dB, so a 54 dB reading for the whole machine fits, although the user did not say how far the meter was from it. On heat, one user found it gives off less than their Medium, about what a fridge puts out.

Counter Fit, as Measured by Users

It fits a standard counter, but the height is close under a wall cabinet and you need to reach both sides of the machine.

The machine measures close to its spec. The space around it is what to plan for. The pump door is on the right and the drain valve is on the left, so you need to reach both sides. One user's only design complaint was exactly that, and they slide or swivel the machine a little on the counter when they need either one.

Under wall cabinets it is tight. Three users put the usual gap between counter and cabinet at 18 in, which leaves about 0.3 in over a 17.7 in machine (a fourth said 19 in). One also pointed out the vent on top, over the pump, where its heat escapes. If your gap is that close, keep the machine out from under the cabinet while it runs.

Small things that came up in use

• The door seals with a twist latch that pulls it onto the gasket. One user who has run every model since 2017 noted there is no longer a door seal to line up by hand.
• There is one power cord. The pump plugs in inside the cabinet, so there is no second plug to manage.
• The screen asks you to empty the drain pan when you start a batch. The pan slides out and its lid comes off for emptying and washing.
• The front vent has a removable, washable air filter, and a built-in fan cools the pump.
• Filling the pump to three-quarters on the sight glass used almost the whole bottle of oil in the box.
• Small Pro trays do not fit. The Countertop 360's smaller trays do fit a household freezer more easily for prefreezing.

Batches Compared With the Small and Medium Pro

A smaller batch means more runs. Taking the middle of each machine's batch rating, here is the number of batches 50 lb of fresh strawberries would take.

Against a Medium that is three more runs. At the 40-plus hours one user saw for a full load of berries, that is about five more days of machine time for the same harvest. It works the other way too: Harvest Right's rating of 1,500 lb a year, at 5 to 9 lb a batch, means 167 to 300 batches, or about 3 to 6 batches every week of the year.

That is the job the Countertop 360 suits: small batches of leftovers and garden produce as they come in. Two users made the same point. If you put up a whole garden or a hunting season at once, the Medium Pro's larger trays save days of running time.

Placement and First Run

The cabinet is 17.7 in high, 25.8 in wide and 18.5 in deep. Measure the counter depth and the gap under your wall cabinets before you order. The machine also needs air. Harvest Right asks for a level surface, open space and clear vents, and says never to put it in an enclosed cabinet or a tight space.

Let the machine sit for 24 hours so the refrigerant settles after shipping. Then fill each tray with moist bread and run one normal cycle. Harvest Right calls this a burn-in batch. It confirms the machine works and clears any manufacturing odor. Check that the bread is completely dry, then throw it away.

First-run checklist

Clean the door with warm water and a dry cotton cloth. Harvest Right says no household cleaners.

Look at the sight glass after each batch. When the oil turns cloudy, dark or milky, filter it through the included filter or replace it. Harvest Right puts that at about every 20 to 30 batches.

What Comes in the Box

The Countertop 360 comes with the freeze dryer, a small Premier vacuum pump, a small impulse sealer, 25 6x9 in mylar bags, 25 oxygen absorbers, four stainless steel trays, an oil filter, vacuum pump oil and the Guide to Freeze Drying.

The Small Pro bundle comes with 50 bags and 50 absorbers, so the Countertop 360 starts you with half as many. If you plan to run it hard from the first week, order more with the machine. They are with the other freeze dryer accessories.

Wi-Fi is optional. With it you can check a batch from your phone in the Harvest Right app, which also has recipes and support. The machine runs a full cycle without it.

Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Go Bigger

Buy the Countertop 360 if the kitchen counter is where the machine has to go and you want the pump and the drain inside it. It is 9 in shorter than a Small Pro, and it does not need a second spot for a pump.

If you have bench space at least 3 feet off the ground, in a utility room or elsewhere, I would look at the Small Pro first. It takes 6 to 10 lb a batch and up to 1,800 lb a year. A Medium Pro takes 10 to 15 lb a batch and up to 3,000 lb a year, which suits a family putting away a garden.

Owners tend to say the same thing about size. One owner with four machines wrote: "Almost everyone says they wish they got the size bigger. I have 4 units, 1 medium, 1 large, and 2 XLs." A five-year owner wrote in a long-term review: "My advice is to go with a size larger than you think you need, and if it's between being able to get the larger size and purchasing the oil-free pump, go with the larger size!"

Those owners are talking about the Pro machines, and a bigger Pro is taller still. If your counter cannot take one, the Countertop 360 is the size you can use. If it can, read our Harvest Right freeze dryer review for what the Pro line is like to own.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Harvest Right Countertop 360?

A four-tray home freeze dryer, part HRFDCT360, with an enclosed slide-out vacuum pump and an enclosed slide-out drain pan. It is 17.7 in high, 25.8 in wide, 18.5 in deep, weighs 110 lb, runs on 110V at 1,600 W, and carries a 3 year limited warranty.

How much food does the Countertop 360 freeze dry per batch?

Harvest Right rates it at 5 to 9 lb of fresh food per batch across four 7.1 x 12.6 in stainless steel trays, which works out to 358 sq in of tray space, and up to 1,500 lb of fresh food a year.

Does the Countertop 360 need a special outlet?

No. It uses a standard 110V outlet and is rated at 1,600 W, with a dedicated 15-amp circuit recommended. It is not a 220V machine; only the commercial HRC-100 requires a dedicated 30-amp 220V circuit.

How big is the Countertop 360 and will it fit on a kitchen counter?

It measures 17.7 in high, 25.8 in wide and 18.5 in deep. Measure your counter depth and the gap under your wall cabinets before ordering, and leave open space around it. Harvest Right says the vents must stay clear and the machine should never sit in an enclosed cabinet.

What is the difference between the Countertop 360 and the Small Pro?

Both hold four trays, but the Countertop 360 is 9 in shorter, 8.4 in wider, 3 in shallower and 19 lb heavier, with a smaller 5 to 9 lb batch. Its vacuum pump and water capture are enclosed inside the cabinet instead of sitting outside it, and it drains into a slide-out pan rather than a hose and bucket.

How long does a Countertop 360 batch take?

Harvest Right puts most foods at 13 to 35 hours a batch and candy at about 2 hours. In user tests, candy mode finished in under 3 hours and a load of fresh berries that had not been prefrozen took over 40 hours. Prefreezing, even slices and lighter trays bring fruit back toward Harvest Right's range.

How often does the pump oil need changing?

Check the sight glass after every batch, and filter or replace the oil once it turns cloudy, dark or milky. Harvest Right says that is typically needed after about 20 to 30 batches.

Should You Buy the Countertop 360?

Buy it if a freeze dryer has to live on your kitchen counter. You get four trays, 5 to 9 lb a batch, and a vacuum pump and drain pan enclosed in the cabinet, so no pump or bucket needs room beside it, though the cabinet still needs open space around it for airflow. Against the Small Pro you give up a little batch size, and you take on a 110 lb machine that stays where you put it.

If you have room for a taller machine and its pump, a Small Pro or Medium Pro dries more food per batch. The Countertop 360 is available through Trimleaf with Harvest Right's 3 year limited warranty, and warranty service is handled by Harvest Right. You can compare it with every other model under freeze dryers for sale.

For running costs, our guide to what a freeze dryer costs to own covers electricity, oil and payback.

Related Guides

• Which Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Size Should You Buy?
• Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Review
• How Much Does a Freeze Dryer Cost? Prices, Running Costs, and What You Actually Pay
• Best Freeze Dryers for Home Use: Compared
• Harvest Right Wi-Fi Kit and App: Setup, Compatibility, and Troubleshooting