Blue Alpine Medium Elite
The Blue Alpine Medium Elite is a medium home freeze dryer with 5 trays and a published batch capacity of 12.5 lb of fresh food. It ships with an oil-sealed vacuum pump. Same Idaho-built medium cabinet and 12–20 hour cycle as the Select; the extra $600 buys a touchscreen, a solid-state relay and temperature sensor on every shelf, saveable recipes and the ability to adjust a batch mid-cycle. Per pound of batch capacity it sits 13th of 16 priced home units here, at about $296/lb.
- Batch
- 12.5 lb
- Trays
- 5
- Pump
- Oil
- Approx. price
- ~$3,695
Shelf-level control without stepping up to a lab unit
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, read from bluealpinefreezedryers.com. Rows marked est. are arithmetic on those figures; energy at $0.17/kWh, the 2025 US residential average.
- Batch capacity
- 12.5 lb
- Tray size
- 9″ × 13″
- Tray area est.
- 585 sq in
- Per tray est.
- 2.5 lb
- Pump
- Oil
- Voltage
- 110 V
- Circuit amps
- 15 A
- Power draw
- 1,560 W
- Energy per batch est.
- 25.0 kWh · $4.24
- Cycle time
- 12–20 h
- Dimensions
- 20″ W × 21″ D × 30″ H
- Weight
- 110 lb
- Touchscreen
- Yes
- Wi-Fi app
- No
- Colors
- Sky Blue, Midnight Black, Blazing Orange, Alps White, Forest Green, Orchid Lavender, Tropical Teal, Berry Pink
- Warranty
- 1 year full warranty (continental US); limited 3 years on sealed refrigeration system; vacuum pump 1 year
- Country of origin
- USA
- Approx. price
- ~$3,695
- Price per lb of batch est.
- ~$296 / lb
Power draw is the maker’s peak, per manufacturer ('13 Amps Maximum Power Draw (1560W max)'); average '9.0 Amps Average Power Draw (1080W average)'; '120V, 15A Breaker (Normal Wall Outlet)' figure.
Batch capacity: maker: 'Up to 15lbs of food per cycle with 10 lbs being a normal 24-hour cycle'; 10-15 lb range, midpoint recorded.
Features
- 5 trays
- Oil pump
- 110 V
- Touchscreen
- Smart sensing
- Under 20″ wide
- Multiple colors
- Made in USA
From the spec sheet
Points for and against, drawn from the published figures — not owner reports.
- Per-shelf temperature sensing and control, which the Select lacks
- Touchscreen with saveable custom recipes
- Batches can be adjusted while running rather than restarted
- Plugs into a normal 15 A outlet
- KF vacuum fittings, the standard used on lab equipment
- $600 over the Select for the same trays, pump and capacity
- Still an oil pump in the box; the oil-free upgrade is separate
- No app yet despite the installed Wi-Fi hardware
Compare the Medium Elite
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- Batch
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- Trays
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- Pump
- Oil
- Power
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- Batch
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- Trays
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- Pump
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- Power
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