I agree that something is not right but hard to tell what it may be. Can your feel the fan running, the air moving? Trays overloaded too thickly?

I do our basil at 105 degrees and even the biggest leaves are done in 4-5 hours.

Dave

Hmmm - I thought I was the only one with this problem. It does seem to take a long time on the low setting for herbs. So - I decided perhaps it was best to return to outdoor drying for these.

I'm in the process of trying to dry my mint before late summer produces rust problems. I have a 2 screens tied together that I extend outside my kitchen window - it works better than the machine. It has air circulating from below also which seems to help.

I know outside drying is not always the best. For more solid things - cherry toms, apricots, bananas, tho - I prefer the Excaliber.

Bejay

Are you drying them on the flat sheets ? You need mesh sheets for herbs. My American Harvest has mesh sheets for drying herbs. It only takes a few hours on them.
You can try laying them on paper towels on plates and doing them in the microwave, too. Works fine for basil for me. I am also assuming you meant you took the leaves off the stems. You wouldn't dry the plant with the leaves on the stems.

My dehydrator can take up to 2 full days to dry leaf things out. Peppers take about 3-4 days.

Try bumping up the temperature a bit. 110-115º maybe?

Here, it's usually so dry that I can dehydrate about half a bushel of mint in 4 hours.....

David - I know what the desert is like for drying too - as we used to spend more time there - mostly vacationing. It was a great place for making sun tea, solar cooking, washing cars, drying clothes, etc. I loved it for drying apricots (the old fashioned way) - with a box covering the cots - and using sulfur to keep from browning. It was a lot of extra work - but the end result was quite pleasing -as the cots didn't brown and stayed plump and taste was not compromized.

On the other hand, now I'm 6 blks from the ocean - and am also aware of Florida at this time of year - so to "each his own" when it comes to dehydrating.

Right now, we are in our "June, July - summer gloom" period - when it can be damp, cold and foggy until noon or later - then perhaps the fog will recede and the hot sun comes out to greet my poor offerings. It is a challenge at best, but I'm sure everyone has their own Achilles in that regard.

I am now praying over all my lovely squash plants - Hubbards, cukes, zukes - looking out for the first sign of mildew.

Don't mind me - I'm just babbling on this a.m. (waiting for the fog to clear).

Actually, I dry onions, garlic, macadamias outside now, they may take a bit longer but no problems. On the other hand, I dry lemon salt, garlic and onion salt in the oven, and the fleshy fruits - banana, apricot, plums, etc. in the dehydrator.

The herbs seem to work well in the homely 2 screen contraption butterflied together - that I hang on the south side of my house from the window casing. The air circulates freely around it - and the house reflects some heat back on the screens. It works quite well - and great on energy conservation too.

Bejay

Thanks everyone.

We are using mesh screens, the fan is running and the temperature has been measured to be accurate. Definately not overloaded either.

We did notice that the smaller leaves dried much before the larger ones. Some of the large leaves are 3-4" long.

I had the same problem last summer trying to dry spearmint in my Excalibur. I finally gave up and hung them upside down in the hallway. It has to be something about the dryer itself - everything else dehydrated just fine including some pretty darned juicy tomatoes.

This is definitely a humidity issue. The Excaliber numbers are guide lines. Often I have to make adjustments. better to dehydrate longer than turn up the heat too much, though. You can ruin it by too much heat. I am in the Ozark Mountains and dehydrating 3 types of Basil on 8 trays today. Will let you know how long it takes.
Love this site and want to thank everyone that contributes... when I am neck deep in the garden or kitchen and need an answer fast, I can usually come here.

Here i though something was wrong. I'm in Montana with 18% humidity and the Basil has been in the Excalibur for 10 hours and still not dry. The parsley that was in with it dried in about 5 hours and is already stored. What is the issue here? I'm just starting Cutting Celery leaves and wonder if i'll have the same problem.......

All leaves have a waxy cuticle that protects them from dessication. Perhaps giving the basil a rough chop, or if you have already a finer chop, will help you speed the process along.

It is worth noting the basil and parsley keep more of their flavor if frozen. I harvest, chop, [sometimes vacuum seal], freeze. When I dried them in the Excalibur, the flavor was gone.

Here's what Tammy, the queen of dehydrating, has to say about herbs. "Dehydrate2store"

"Prior to dehydrating, never chop or cut any parts of the herb that you will be dehydrating (leaves, petals, etc.). This will release oils and reduce the flavor of your finished product. Instead, dry the plant as a whole and then break or crush after fully dehydrated.
Keep your dehydrator between 90-100�F when dehydrating herbs.
If you wash your herbs first, dry any excess water (hang upside down to air dry or fold between a paper towel) from your herbs before placing them in your dehydrator."

From me,
Basil does have oil in it, and it can take longer to dry. BUT 12 hours is way too long so I would guess it's either the oil, or maybe too wet when put in? Also, the larger the leaf, the longer it takes. I would also bet that humidity may be a factor too.
All in all, Good luck!

Hey, all that oil will mean some great tasting basil though!

I have am having the same issue. I live in Georgia and my basil leaves have been dehydrating for over 36 hours, and they aren't anywhere near dry. Mushrooms, onions, kale, etc have dehydrated just fine. Only the basil won't dehydrate.

Hopefully you aren't doing it outside with all the humidity? That would take forever.

Dave

All of my herbs take FOREVER in my Excalibur. Basil takes DAYS!