I have used an American Harvest Snackmaster for years with good luck. They used to be about $30 at Wal-Mart but are now more expensive. I bet you could find one on Ebay

Thanks fiedlermeister I just went to Wallieworld.com and see that they still sell those and actually have one for $45 which isn't bad plus I can get it right away which is nice because my peppers are ready to go.

i had a cheap one from 10+ years ago, has a very small fan and heater at the bottom, it worked well for many years. the trays started to break up and decided to buy a new one. It was the cheap Nesco one at Wal-mart and it broke in just over a month... Maybe just my bad luck. Though when it worked it was awesome...

I've got an el cheapo Nesco and it's been working beautifully for 6 months now. (After reading web of hair's post I hope I didn't just jinx myself!). I'm a heavy user and it's gotten quite a workout.

Are you all just doing peppers and such in these or has anyone tried Jerky too?

I used my old one to make jerky alll the time! I wish i had my infatuation with peppers when I made it all the time. I used to always make a few 'Death Pieces' ones that were extra hot...

I also dry my herbs and this year tomatoes. The small pile is cherry tomatoes and the larger mixed varieties

Strouper2,

I own one of the cheap Ronco ones (bought it new at Target about 15 months ago).

It works for light use, I am giving it heavy use because I have so much to dry. I will buy or make a higher capacity one, but the Ronco works for a few peppers. I have also dried tomatoes, figs, nectarines, carrots, kale, onions, celery all successfully.

It has worked great for preparing food for a backpacking trip for two people, it is just underpowered in the sense that the plant is producing more tomatoes before the ones in the dehydrator are ready. If you produce a lot of food and have established fruit trees like we do it is underpowered, but at $20 it is a good deal if you just want to dry a few peppers occasionally.

I have a sun dried tomato business (go to http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0821570826219.html this link for recipes for sun dried tomatoes in a wine marinade My "secret" recipe!

Because this is a business, I have the model below which costs about 300.00. I also have a 20 shelver I bought used 12 years ago and it still works like a champ. I realise most people couldn't justify the expense but boy, if you are going to be doing a lot of dehydrating, a good one is well worth the money.

Food Dehydrator Model SSFD
A professional dehydrating machine for meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Made of stainless steel. Equipped with a rear-mounted fan, heating element (800 W), and a thermostatic control. Comes with twelve 16" x 14.5" chrome plated shelves. The thermostat is adjustable to a maximum temperature of 175º F.

Model: SSFD
Power: 800W
Amps: 8W
IInner Dimensions: 15.25" x 16.5" x 13.5"
Electrical: 110V/60/1
Weight: 28.5 lbs.
Dimensions (LWH) : 18.75" x 16.5" x 17.5"

I have the FD-35 Snackmaster® Entr'ee Food Dehydrator:
http://www.nesco.com/products/?category=300&subcat=100&id=42

I bought it at Menards for $35. Has worked just fine for me. I don't use it a lot, but I've not had any problems with it at all. It comes with 8-9 curing packets and the same amount of two different spice packets. Both spices taste good. If you like hot Jerky, then definitely add some Cayenne or spicier stuff!

I've used it for drying Peppers:
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u298/kj_57301/HotPeppers2008/09_04_2008002.jpg

I have also made jerky with great success. No problem. Don't see any point in buying an expensive unit if you are only going to use it occasionally or for "small" batches at a time (can extend it from the 5 plates to 7). There's no selectable heat, so you don't want to use it for Peppers where you plan on saving the seeds. However, take the seeds out first and problem solved. I have not needed temperature controls and I don't really see that I ever will.

There's only a couple of things to watch out for. Don't crowd the peppers on the bottom, because they will take longer to dry. Also, you really need to split the Peppers to ensure as little drying time as possible. If you make spices out of the Peppers, they really need to be very dry. I use a cheap Proctor Silecs Coffee grinder ($10, Wal-mart) to grind the peppers to dust (everything, including seeds). I put the spice into some Mainstays pepper Jars ($7 for 6 classy jars at Wal-mart).

It takes me 5 hours to make Jerky (to the consistency I prefer) and anywhere from 7-12 hours to completely dry peppers. When I make Jerky, I typically use low fat ground beef (preferably 93/7). You have to pat the Jerky often to try to eliminate fat from 80/20 and even then, it's very hard to get the "fatty" taste out if it. Spicing the Jerky with some habs or Fatali you've dried and ground is definitely recommended :)

Fun hobby!

well the lst few spices I have made, I've been told I better be packaging that up and selling it! So one of those fancy high tech ones might be an option if I decide a pepper spice biz.....

No, I don't use mine just for peppers. I'm a raw foodist so my dehydrator is plugged in and running almost everyday.

I have had the Nesco American Harvest for a few years now. I use it to dry hot peppers for making pepper flakes, I dry my herbs and things like celery and onions. I have also made jerky and fruit leather with it. I love it!!

Mine has been on for 10 days straight now.
I bought a bushel of pears, then Peaches, and and now nectarines. I have been drying them in about 12 hours periods. I am unable to keep up and am thinking of making jams to preserve things before they go bad. How does Jalapeno Peach sound or maybe Peach Habanero?

Have yet to try them on my peppers yet (was not a very productive summer for my peppers) but have used my dehydrator on fruit and jerky a lot in the past. Best part about it is I have purchased my dehydrators at thrift stores. Just check every so often and you can get them for $5 or less.

The Mr. Coffee's dehydrators are little work horses. I have used mine for everything from beef jerky to Peruvian Habs.

I am going to dry some limes and orange Habs with it soon to make a chili-lime powder.