I got an excalibur 5 tray dehydrator. They are a bit pricy, but I haven't heard anyone complain about theirs.

I use mine for peppers and jerky mostly, but, I've dehydrated apples, tomatoes, various herbs, etc.. as well.

I have a Nesco Snackmaster. I have 7 or 8 extra trays for it as well. I also have an older model Nesco that delivers heat from the bottom up. I have about 12 trays for each. They both work very well. I use them for both Jerky and drying peppers. The Snackmaster will run you about $60 I believe. I don't remember mine being that expensive but I bought it 5 or 6 years ago. Unless you really want to get something fancy, that should be all you need to dry peppers. The extra trays are easy to come by as well but they are a bit pricey. You can find them in many department stores.
Bruce

Here is a link that might be useful: Nesco Dehydrator

Mine is just the cheap-o presto brand one...I believe it can be found at the big box stores. It's fairly quiet, and I have no complaints. I don't use mine often...maybe a few weeks out of the year.

Mine is just the oven in the kitchen. Works great. Its my poor mans dehydrator. LOL
Just heat the stove to the desired temp (150-200), turn it off... wait 5 minutes for all the coils too turn off, put them on a pizza tray- spread them out and cut if too thick and put it in the stove. Let the dwindling heat do the job. Redo from the beginning after the heat is gone, usually 2-3 hours.

Things to remember.
1. Take out the chilis before you turn on the stove again. If you forget, you cook them and when they dry the powder is dark.
2. Dont turn on the stove too high. A big mistake is if 200 degrees takes 8hrs, 400 takes 4. I have found that 200 is about the limit since the heat dissapates over time. Only use 200 when you start drying (maybe 2-3 times), 100-150 is the norm, about the same as a regular dehydrator. This keeps the color and capisum levels high.
3. Remember, the house will smell like caspium. Make sure you dont have guests coming.
4. As the chilis dry, remove the dry ones. They do not all dry at the same time. Just make sure they are crunchy/hard before you put in the batch back in. This way, the dry ones dont get overcooked in there.

It takes practice, so you could experiment with some extra peppers if you have, but I will admit it works great. It is a little more work then the regular dehydrator and you really will get to know your chilis, but hey, we use what is available when we need to improvise.

This post was edited by RonnyB123 on Sun, Dec 29, 13 at 22:05

I like Ronny's dehydrator. LOL
What I like about it most is : ONE LESS OBJECT to have and store away when you're gonna need it the next year. I watch a lot of cooking tv shows. I have found out that real good chefs use very few gadgets. They do most of their work with a couple of good chef knives. A chef that uses a gadget to squeez juice out of a lemon or measures salt/pepper (like Martha Stewart ) is just an imitating cook. JMO

Of course, I have nothing against having something that you make it work like a horse for you. Those things can be real time saver and efficient too. And a good dehydrator can be one of them.

True. Don't by a dehydrator on a whim. Only if you are sure you will be getting good use out of it. I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of my two dehydrators over the years. The one I got at an auction for $4 and it came with 12 trays.

The problem with the oven method is most don't go down to a low enough setting. I used the oven before I got my dehydrator, and it works, but, I am much happier with the temperature controls of the dehydrator. I would guess it is more (energy) efficient as well, but, don't know for sure.

This post was edited by tsheets on Sun, Dec 29, 13 at 23:17

is there an ideal temp at which to dry peppers?

what about a toaster oven, on "warm"? I was given one recently and it would be nice if I could use it for that.

Judo: I would simply "try" the toaster oven method. If it works out for you, great, if not, then maybe the dehydrator is your next option. The dehydrators usually have a temp control and go anywhere from under 100 degrees to about 160 degrees. I usually dry my peppers at 125-140.

If this year goes as planned, I'll definitely be buying a dehydrator as well.

Judo, best bet is to get a simple oven thermometer and see how warm the warm setting is on the toaster oven. You can get em cheap in the kitchen section at walmart. I think I paid $5 for one that I use with my smoker/grill.

Speaking of smokers, if you have a propane smoker, I bet that could easily double as a dehydrator. Most will do those low temps and as long as you don't add wood chips then you wouldn't be smoking the peppers.

I usually dry my peppers at a slightly lower temp as I find it preserves color better. I usually run it around 120.

As far as smokers, if you're going that route, might as well add some wood chips while you're at it. :-) I smoke some peppers first, then finish drying them in the dehydrator.

I agree on the smoker route. If you have a smoker, then I would definitely use the smoke part of it while drying peppers. Just my preference though as I love smoke flavored foods.

One more consideration. I don't know about using an oven or even toaster oven for drying peppers, but if you try to dry super hots in a dehydrator, you had better not do it in the kitchen or any other living area. You might find it uninhabitable for a while after wards. i would assume the results would be similar when using an oven.
Bruce

Thanks all for the advice. I'm buying it on a whim, but for $50, I think its worth it.

I'm gonna go with the Nesco FD-75A. It'll be a few months, but I'll let you know how it goes...

That dehydrator will serve you well. I think it comes with 5 trays. You can start with that and by extra trays as you go on.
Bruce