braddsn Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 A lot of you I am sure are already aware of this.. but for those of you who are not, hopefully this will help ya. I ruined 2 batches of stars over the last couple days because I took them directly out of the roller and put them in the dehydrator. The dehydrator saves me a lot of drying time, it's a handy thing to have. But I am finding that the stars need to air dry for a couple days first, before going into the dehydrator. The stars that were ruined were all cracked badly. I think some comps are more prone to cracking than others, but I think it's safe to say as a general rule to let them air dry for a couple days before throwing them in a dehydrator. ymmv. Hope this helps someone avoid the mistake I made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Did they have nitrate and aluminum? Any idea how hot it gets in your dehydrator? I know mine feels hotter than I would want to put stars in. My dehydrator seems to dry on one side and things need to be turned over to evenly dry. I bet the one side drying and shrinking while the other is still wet is causing the cracking. I find a fan is good for most things. Some added heat can help but I'm not usually in that big of a hurry. Also, if you are using electricity around pyro comps it needs to be away from anything flammable in case it were to go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiwanluthiers Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I never force dry stars because it can get driven in... and also I have no idea how hot a dehydrator is, I'd put it somewhere outside away from anything flammable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparx88 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) I use a "Nesco American Harvest dehydrator and jerky maker" for drying "some" stars and other pyro. It's a nice peice of machinery and does it's job. Comes with 5 trays and adjustable heat from 95F to 155F. Maybe something to consider if your in the market for a new or better one. Here, just looked it up and they still have the same model I got just named different and goes to 160F and one less tray. Other than that it's the same as mine bought 8-9 yeras ago or so.http://www.nesco.com/products/Dehydrators/Dehydrators/FD-60-Snackmaster-Express-Food-Dehydrator/session_c3b77b47ebc0/ Edited February 3, 2015 by Sparx88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 True story. This is especially bad with glitter stars. Fan dry them for a day or two first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've heard too much pressure on stars from plates can lead to cracking too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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