Well, summer is coming on, and the humidity I left the South to escape has followed me once again all the way to New England, but this year it comes with the added torment of ruining my favorite new hobby. We’ve been at 70 or 80 percent humidity the last couple of days, and my tobacco is not taking it well: shag, ribbon, flake - all I get is steam and ash, and following my normal packing and tamping instincts only seems to make things worse. I guess the obvious solution is to let the leaf sit out for longer before smoking, but that would require planning and self-determination, and all those other stressful things that the pipe usually helps me find respite from. Anyone have summer smoking tips to share? Packing/tamping/drying techniques? Cob vs briar? General conceptual approaches? Thanks!
Atmospheric Conditions
- Thread starter shughes0212
- Start date
About 10 seconds or so in the microwave for your tobacco will help if you don't have time to dry like normal.
I like drying my tobacco in the oven after I have turned it off. It has to be off or the oven fan would blow the tobacco all over the place. I find 5-10 minutes in an oven cooling down to be about right.
Try gravity filling.
Technique is more important than material. Any well drilled pipe is going to smoke equally as well.
I live in a high humidity area as well. I find if I lay my tobacco out on a plate, then place my plate on top of a lamp shade with the lamp on it dries my tobacco out well enough. I smoke inside and we have the air conditioner on this time of year and that helps out tremendously.
I'm also in an area where it is quite humid most of the time.
The obvious solution is to dry the whole tin, or several if you like variety. Just let the tin or jar sit with the lid off for a week or two. The humidity will keep it from turning into mummy dust.
I have never had tobacco dry out to much. The other day I found some flakes on the floor in my garage. They must have laid there for months. They smoked perfectly.
The obvious solution is to dry the whole tin, or several if you like variety. Just let the tin or jar sit with the lid off for a week or two. The humidity will keep it from turning into mummy dust.
I have never had tobacco dry out to much. The other day I found some flakes on the floor in my garage. They must have laid there for months. They smoked perfectly.
Are you sure those weren't scraped-off gaskets?
You simply cannot dry tobacco when the ambient humidity is 80% or more. Hopefully, indoors is a lot lower, so drying inside can work. Esp with a/c or other dehumidifying gear.
I dry several ounces at a time, and then seal them in jars. That way I have tobacco from a bunch of sources ready to go. If hiking, take just a few bowls with you in a tightly wrapped baggie.
I live in the northern part of the South. It is humid enough to grow mold on your shoes if you don't have air conditioning. With a.c., the humidity evens out and isn't a problem. In New England -- I know from an extended trip there years ago -- a.c. is often not necessary, so people suffer through the occasional heat wave. But if you have a.c., that will mostly take care of it. In the South, a.c. is like central heating, pretty much a standard amenity. Even pets become draggy until the a.c. comes on in the spring. Whoever invented residential air conditioning (was it Carrier?) made possible the demographic shift to the sunbelt.
I still just dry on a paper plate. It's rather humid outside, but not that bad indoor with AC on. Might take few minutes more than heater.
Microwave. Pack looser. I'm in Indiana right now, very high humidity. Am not having a problem.
Awesome. Thanks y’all. Lots to try out there. I keep dreaming of building some sort of (de)humidor cabinet, but that’s a ways off. @mso489 that’s it exactly, though the summers have been hotter the last couple years, so I finally broke down and got a window unit to sleep with. Growing up in TN, we would literally get mold on the legs of the chairs.
my suggestion is to tough your way through it until you get used to it. Simplest and easiest solution to apply.
When it gets very humid here, I also pack a bigger bowl and expect to leave more dottle.
well I can think of a few things that aren't like that. For example sometimes it's best to read the directions first. Like an atom bomb for example. But I do feel like part of the issue can only be solved by conditioning ones self. There are other factors too. But even though no one says it I think the body adjusts to pipe smoking especially under shitty weather (I hate heat and humidity rather smoke in a blizzard).
Ha! I would believe that. Sort of like losing beginner’s tongue-bite: it’s mostly a learning process, but I wouldn’t be surprised if your mouth chemistry and everything doesn’t gradually shift as well.
I know even when I have the rare no attention over smoked pipe and it bites it doesn't bite me like it used to. Can't prove it but I feel like my body learned not to get burnt.