I'm pretty good at saving seeds. Remove then from the pods using any method you like. Use gloves (I have surgical gloves) to protect your hand if the peppers are hot. Put the seeds in a small plastic cup and leave anywhere for a minimum of thirty days. This will ensure they are dried out before you store them. While waiting for them to dry, pick up some desiccant gel packs - something like -
http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-Cotton-50-Pack-Dehumidifier-Silica/dp/B003TD24PY/ some small ziplock bags and some large yellow manilla envelopes.
After 30 days have passed, label the bags with the type of seeds and the year picked, along with any other relevant information, such as whether the pods were open-pollinated or isolated. Then, place the seeds and one of the gel packs into a ziplock bag. Then, put the bag into the envelop and close it.
Always split and try as much as you can to flatten the peppers, before putting them on the trays. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I always place the peppers with the skin facing up.
Some people here use higher temps, but I use my Nesco (
http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75PR-600-Watt-Food-Dehydrator/dp/B000FFVJ3C/) on the lowest - 95 C setting. It retains all of the color and flavor.
Regarding drying times - My manual states that peppers take between 5 and twelve hours. That is an absurd inaccuracy. It takes at least 72 hours for my peppers to get dehydrated. This is for Cayenne shaped pods with thin fruit. For larger round peppers, or peppers with thicker fruit, it can take another day or 2. If you are going to eat the dehydrated peppers quickly, you can take them out sooner. The purpose of dehydrating is to preserve the chiles. Fruit spoils because the water content and any moisture promotes bacteria growth and oxidation, so the goal is to remove ALL of the moisture. A good way to determine full dehydration is the "snap test." Remove a dried Pod and try to break it in half. If it snaps, with a "crispy" sound, then it is fully dehydrated. If it bends and does not break, then there is still moisture remaining, and it needs more time in the dehydrator.
Post dehydrator storage is not too important - I use ziplock bags and have them on a shelf.
If the unit has some kind of warning, stating not to operate with fewer than 4 trays, pay attention to it. It is OK to have peppers on one tray and empty trays above and below it. I think that maybe the unit can get too hot with fewer trays than recommended.
Also, if you dehydrate superhots, like Bhuts, be careful where you have the unit running. Last year, my unit produced some pretty toxic fumes. I have a high tolerance, but when I waked by, my eyes watered and I sometimes coughed!
I'm dehydrating some Superchiles as I write this.
Best of luck!
