Vacuum sealing my cellar

[sandollars]

So I have kind of gone nuts with my new affliction officially diagnosed as

Tobacco Acquisition Syndrome. (with a Minor infection of Pipe Acquisition Syndrome.. Both are incurable according to the Healthcare Professionals.

I am being told there are many afflicted with the same malady and was warned to stay away from them as it seems to be communicable through verbal as well as WRITTEN/READ discourse.

Anyway, I have accumulated quite a war chest since getting into pipe smoking. Well, Literally, it's just a chest of drawers but it's filling up quickly. I decided the other day after realizing I have accumulated enough tobacco to last me 24.97 years (Seriously, I did the math) that I should look at a more permanent and protective solution to assure the quality of these fine weeds as they march down the aging path to Nirvana.

Enter the Vacuum Sealer. I have sealed every tin in my cellar. I understand that Tobacco is not heavily, if at all, vacuum sealed when packaged at the source and they leave air in the tin presumably for aging. I have taken this into account when deciding to seal my cellar and only pulling the air out around the tin and not crushing it. My thought process is that the tin is protected from outside elements via the packaging and should age perfectly without assistance from outside air. It should only require what the blender saw fit to leave in the can. I also hear that some tins are not as reliable as others and will eventually dry out, affecting the aging process. So now I have 4 (and a half) drawers full of vacuum sealed tins and cans of tobacco.

Yet.... Something in the back of my mind keeps tugging.... Did I do the right thing? Some of the absolute BEST tobaccos in my inventory (Esoterica, Squadron Leader, most HHs, Orliks, 3Ps, Sobranie's, etc.) can be smelled THROUGH the tin and I wonder if this is intentional. If it is, then maybe I am performing a disservice to the aging process of my inventory?

I turn to you, oh GURU's with cellars measured in STONE and not ounces (if I recall my English history, a stone is 14 pounds) and with experience measured in decades and not months......

AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING?

ALL input is welcomed.

 

[cshubhra]

25 years later, you will smoke tobacco which has aged for 25 years. Cool!

I am building up my cellar very slowly - as I want to taste a lot, decide if I like it and then cellar deep. I have 7 months of pipe smoking experience over a period of 2 years. (I smoked a pipe for 5 months, stopped for (a little less than) 2 years and then smoked again for 3 months. I have a 3 year cellar and targeting to keep an eventual cellar depth of 8-10 years

 

[trouttimes]

I jar most of my cellared blends so when I get the itch, I can sample easy. That way I check to see how they are changing. I have not found a problem with jars drying out and I can open and reseal when I want. Yes I'm adding air when I open to sample but I have yet to find this a issue and some of my jars are 10 or 12 years old. It does take more room to store which can become an issue for some. Just my way, maybe not the best.

 

[logs]

You should be fine. You may lose a tin or two to mold or rust, but short of putting all of it in Ball jars, you've done what you can do.

 

[jpmcwjr]

You should be fine. Now just get a few tins into bail top jars for everyday smoking, along with a few you'll smoke immediately. Your syndromes are well known here, but usually called "disorders" (DSM IV).

 

[sandollars]

Both of my domiciles are in desert climates and I have a cabin in the woods but only take what I want to use up there so hopefully I won't have issues with either rust or mold. I am only leaving what air and moisture came with the tin originally.

I have about 30 varieties transferred to Mason jars that i enjoy daily and will rotate through my cellar as needed.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease

 

[logs]

Rust has to do with the moisture level of the tobacco inside the tin and the way the tin is manufactured. Pretty sure tins can still rust from the inside out, even after you've vacuum sealed them, although some company's tins are more prone to rust than others. Mold can happen in any blend. I don't think there's any way to be entirely safe. But as I said earlier, I don't think you should worry. You've done what you can do to protect your stuff.

 

[sandollars]

Rust has to do with the moisture level of the tobacco inside the tin and the way the tin is manufactured. Pretty sure tins can still rust from the inside out, even after you've vacuum sealed them, although some company's tins are more prone to rust than others. Mold can happen in any blend. I don't think there's any way to be entirely safe. But as I said earlier, I don't think you should worry. You've done what you can do to protect your stuff.

Rust has to do with the moisture level of the tobacco inside the tin and the way the tin is manufactured. Pretty sure tins can still rust from the inside out, even after you've vacuum sealed them, although some company's tins are more prone to rust than others. Mold can happen in any blend. I don't think there's any way to be entirely safe. But as I said earlier, I don't think you should worry. You've done what you can do to protect your stuff.

Gotcha. Thanks for tolerating my ignorance.

 

[SpookedPiper]

So, I should store my tabaccy in the attic?

 

[SpookedPiper]

You have great patience and funds to individually seal every tin...I would end up spending as much for the bags as I did for the tins!

 

[cortezattic]

So, I should store my tabaccy in the attic?

Only if the attic maintains a constant 70°F, or so. Temperature swings will compromise the seal on tins, but a bag sealing strategy would mitigate the problem.

 

[hawky454]

I’ve been building a cellar for ten years. I mostly use jars but I use Mylar for Gawith tins and all my pouch tobaccos like Revor, Salty Dogs, Warrior, McQuaid, Condor & St. Bruno RR. Otherwise I just leave the tins alone and let them hibernate until I’m ready to enjoy them. I still haven’t lost a tin of tobacco to mold, rust or drying out (knock on wood) but if I lose one or two over the years that’s no big whoop compared to the thousands of tins I’ve accumulated. Some people go the extra mile to try to mitigate all risks of loss but I’m just not that worried about it, plus it would be A LOT of work to go through my cellar now and try to seal everything up.... screw that!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I purchased a quantity of 5 gallon mylar 7 mm bags and filled them up with tins to age more than 10 years. I hear sealed using a clothes iron. Felt no need to vacuum seal. I have enough tobacco to last 30 years plus so it seems logical to put about 2/3 of it in the 5 gallon bags.