Hobby brings up a good point here about moving the lid back a bit- You need to remember that you are not 'smoking' your chiles. You are 'smoke DRYING' your chiles. Smokers are not set up to have the air exchanges necessary to do a good job. For the best results, you should occasionally remove the lid entirely to allow the excess moisture to escape. This allows you to dry in a fraction of the time and also to smoke at lower temperatures. -Jim C Mild to Wild