Bringing Burn Temperature Down?

[Country Bladesmith]

So I made my very first crumble cakes this past week. They taste great, like really good, but they burn a little hot in my opinion. And I’m a very “slow, cool“ smoker. Here’s what I did:
Cased a heated mixture of Sutliff 515 and C&D Izmir with a 1:1 solution of water and sugar, with a squeeze of lime juice. Mixed, then heated again. Added some D&R Picayune, mixed again, and pressed.

Should I knock the sugar back some?

 

[jpmcwjr]

Can you check the moisture content? Also, how much sugar water was added?

 

[tomatamot]

Sugar out and some fine Virginia in?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sugar out and some fine Virginia in?

Most production tobaccos are cased, and with the already high sugar content of Virginias, it would only add to the burning temperature.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Is there evidence showing sugar burns hotter than tobacco?

 

[cshubhra]

1. Average pipe tobacco burns at 500 C
2. A quick google search did not lead to any meaningful number - but 175 C was the first result that came out as sort of a flash point for sugar
3. Sugar when oxidized will produce a lot of water but so would pipe tobacco or for that matter all organic material

 

[craig61a]

Sugar does make the smoke more acidic, does it actually burn hotter...? Perhaps.

Adding sugar, like cane sugar to your pipe tobacco, will make a nice meal for mold to grow.

Some old estates that I have run across that I assume by the smell were used for goopy, sugary Aros had fuzzy white coatings of of mold in them.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Can you check the moisture content? Also, how much sugar water was added?

Just enough to get the tobacco damp. Definitely not saturated. I used Ernie Q’s recipe of 1 oz to a lb, and scaled it down for my size batch.

Most production tobaccos are cased, and with the already high sugar content of Virginias, it would only add to the burning temperature.

Yeah, I wouldn’t have cased it, but I saw Ernie Q mention in a thread about pressing tobacco, on another forum, that most tobaccos aren’t cased enough, and should be cased again. I figure he knows a hell of a lot more than I do about blending and pressing. ?‍

 

[Chasing Embers]

Just enough to get the tobacco damp. Definitely not saturated. I used Ernie Q’s recipe of 1 oz to a lb, and scaled it down for my size batch.

Yeah, I wouldn’t have cased it, but I saw Ernie Q mention in a thread about pressing tobacco, on another forum, that most tobaccos aren’t cased enough, and should be cased again. I figure he knows a hell of a lot more than I do about blending and pressing. ?‍

Oh I know, was just making a sideways remark about those "fine Virginias". They're cased too.?

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I had another bowl of this earlier, and was able to moderate the temp by smoking it more slowly. I guess I just wasn’t expecting it the first time, and I let it get a little warm. I plan to cut the sugar down on the next batch. Might even do a small batch where I cut it altogether, just to see if it really needs it. In my un-pressed tests, I didn’t see the need, but I thought a little sugar would also help the crumble cakes be more solid.

 

[Worknman]

For me crumble cakes in general tend to burn hot for some reason. Like plugs I can never get them to behave.

 

[Chasing Embers]

For me crumble cakes in general tend to burn hot for some reason. Like plugs I can never get them to behave.

Just drop them into the chamber and light. Very little tamper usage with those.