scottfree
I’m in Colorado at 8100’ (higher is drier). My
tobacco cellar is a real cellar, of various sized Mason jars (Ball & Kerr brands) & tins, which remains at 60-65ºF year round; humidity varies little, though is higher than the rest of my house. Both jarred & unopened tin tobaccos have aged well under these conditions.
I think that avoiding swings in ambient temperature, & to a lesser degree humidity, reduce the chance of lid seal failure.
The few jar failures have been attributed to either faulty lids or bits of tobacco between the lid & jar rim.
A well seated & sealed lid should become depressed within a week or two of jarring (my exceptions are a few jars of flakes that are nevertheless well sealed).
Narrow-mouth jars have smaller seal area & may be less likely to leak than wide-mouth jars. Despite this, I favor these
wide-mouth 1/2 pint Mason jars for ease of pipe loading.
Jar your bulk tobaccos small: 1/2 pint (8 oz by volume) jars hold on average about 2 oz of tobacco.
BTW - overtightening the lid band can ruin the seal; finger-tight is usually sufficient. Also, stacking jars may lead to lid seal failure.