Is there a such thing as over drying hops?

i think if they spontaneously combust they may be over dried

I imagine you could over dry them if you use heat when drying. The way I dry mine is using two air filters, put the hops in a single layer between them, then bungie cord the filters to the back of a box fan, put it on low and prop it up on a couple of chairs. They dry nice and slowly over a couple of days which helps preserve the aroma and oils. When they are kinda papery, and dry on the inside when you break one open they are done, and into the freezer they go.

They will get really brown and crispy if over dried. I just use a couple window screens from my garage, and set the screens on a couple boxes, then set a fan up below them. They are dry in about a day this way. My garage is usually pretty warm at harvest time though. oNce they come off the bine, it doesn't take long.

I have the same setup as ChuckB. I made a square frame out of 2x4's and stapled screen to the bottom. It holds a lot of hops but don't fall out if you move them around while drying. I set the frame up off the ground and put a fan blowing straight up under them. They dry in a day or two. I first tried drying them in a big food dehydrator on a low setting, but even after being in there overnight they basically fell apart they were so dry.

I take old window screen and make a bag out of it. The I plop it in front of an AC vent. After a couple of days they are nice and dry.