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Force drying 'warning'... cracking stars.


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Posted

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. :)

Posted

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.

Posted

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.

  • Like 1
Posted (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 by Sparx88
Posted

True story. This is especially bad with glitter stars. Fan dry them for a day or two first.

  • Like 1
Posted
I've heard too much pressure on stars from plates can lead to cracking too.
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