At 1:49 PM -0400 6/24/02, Mark Barringer wrote: >This is another "MAD DOG INST-POLL." > >I am shopping for a small-scale dehydrator in anticipation of harvesting a >nice crop of Thai and hab peppers at the end of the summer. I don't want to >spend a lot of money on a unit with a lot of bells and whistles; I just want >one that is durable. I have two dehydrators (got one from Mom and one from Dad for Christmas. Sometimes it's good to have parents that don't communicate anymore). I'll have to check to see what brands they are, though I _think_ the one that I like best is a nesco (doesn't quite look like the one from the link you sent, but simmilar). The one I like best has the heating element and a fan on top. This dries a LOT faster, and a LOT more evenly. I would strongly suggest getting a dehydrator with a fan. It also has a thermostatic control (well... I don't think it really is so much a thermostat as just a rheostat in series with the heating element...), which is nice, though I think not really necessary. The other one has the heating element on the bottom and no fan. It does a good job, but does so slower and less evenly. You have to check each tray to see if things are done, as some trays will dry much much faster than others, depending on where they're located and what's on them and the trays arround them. Also, with the heating element on the bottom, if I dry anything fairly juicy (like fruit or the fleshier chiles) or with grease/oil (like making jerky), the drippage will drip down where the heating element is. That makes cleanup a little more difficulty, since you really shouldn't dunk the whole thing and because the element gets physically in the way. Additionally, though it has not happened to me yet, some grease/oil or some food that shrunk too much during the process could probalby fall on the heating element and make smoke. I use the one with the fan for most of my drying needs. But, when I have a lot to dry (like I plan to when harvest time from my dad's garden comes arround, and hopefully I can make open fields again this year (and maybe before most folks have left this time) I'll go ahead and dry the thinner chiles on the non-fanned one, and use the one with a fan for the more fleshier chiles. -- Chad Gard, KB9WXQ INCHASE: http://www.inchase.org Co-founder SCOA: http://www.stormchasersofamerica.org Member #3 INSWA: http://www.insw.org Unit #21