Coolidor for my pipe tobacco

[Chrislw324]

I know I can open tins and transfer them to mason jars, and I do, but I like the idea of buying a cooler and putting a few boveda packs in for my various pipe tobaccos and putting opened tins and even mason jars in them. If anything, it would be another added layer of protection.

Anybody do something like this?
If so, what's a good humidity level for pipe tobacco?

 

[craig61a]

You’re a belt and suspenders guy…

Storing tobacco at it’s ambient humidity (approximately 18%) is sufficient enough. Cellaring in jars or Mylar is more than sufficient for long term storage. Anything more invites mold.

Just in case you’re expecting a nuclear detonation nearby, put that coolerdor in an underground bunker for the ultimate layer of protection…

 

[Doctor Chopper]

I use water tight totes, basically the same thing. In this dry winter climate I definitely use moisture packs. Humidity does not have to be as high as cigar packs, but that is what is readily available to me so I use them.

I only do this for opened tins, I do nothing for sealed tins or jars.

 

[craig61a]

As for opened tins, I keep the contents in small bail jars.


You can easily place 2 oz. in these, and they will keep the tobacco in smokeable condition for a long period of time. If the tobacco does dry out, a few drops of water will rehydrate it.

 

[Bob the bear]

I use the boveda packs with mason jars. Works very well to dry out the wetter blends and normalise the humidity. It does take a while to work though. 2 weeks at least

 

[5star]

Pipe baccy isn’t like cigars. Put it in a mason jar. Put the jars in a dark, cool place without wide temperature variations. You’re then good to go.

I’ve also put some pipe tobacco in sealed mylar bags. Mainly for space saving purposes. But not enough years have gone by for me to personally comment on the effectiveness of this storage method. Seems like it’d work well. I’ll find out in about a decade.

Mac

 

[Bullmoose]

I use the boveda packs with mason jars. Works very well to dry out the wetter blends and normalise the humidity. It does take a while to work though. 2 weeks at least

Which rH % do you use for cellaring? I have been wanting to buy these for a while to drop in my mason jars. I was thinking 58%?

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Boveda packs are great for cigars. I don't think they're necessary for pipe tobacco. Like others have said, jar up the tobacco, and place in normal room conditions and you should be fine. To each their own though.

 

[Bullmoose]

Boveda packs are great for cigars. I don't think they're necessary for pipe tobacco. Like others have said, jar up the tobacco, and place in normal room conditions and you should be fine. To each their own though.

That’s great news. I’ve always vacuum sealed my mason jars and have never had any issue at all. I guess this boils down to the old if it works, don’t fix it truism.

Thanks!

 

[bullet08]

One open jar gets mold, every open jar/tin share it?

 

[BiginV3gas]

I don't know if I'm doing it right (I'm old to cigars and new to pipes), but this is what I've come up with. I bought a series of Iris 19-quarts storage bins of Amazon. I went with these because of the foam sealing gasket and the tight clamps. Into these, I've been placing 32-oz wide-mouth mason jars with tobacco; in each jar, I've been dropping in a small Boveda 62% RH pack. I've also been dropping in a larger Boveda 200gr. 62% RH pack into the bin, because I also put opened tins in there that I don't intend to jar. Since cigar humidors rely on both cedar and cigars to help stabilize the humidity between openings, I taped some thin sheets of cedar to the bottom of the bin. I don't know if that works as I intended, but it was cheap and made me feel better.

 

[bullet08]

Pipe tobacco doesn't need additional humidity than what it came with. Storing an open tin in its own airtight jar is just fine. You might actually want to dry the tobacco before smoking it. Mold is not a huge issue, but keeping in separate jar with its own lid helps with cross contamination.

 

[captpat]

Optimum humidity for pipe tobacco is much lower than the optimum storage humidity for cigars, thus as others have said boveda packs are largely unnecessary, unless the tin is open and you live in a desert. I normally open a tin ~1 week before I anticipate smoking it to let it dry out, some tins (notably SG) are left without a lid for several days.

I don't open tins simply to transfer to a mason jar or mylar bag, luckily I've not had a tin fail on me. Similarly I've not had any mold problems in any of storage methods mentioned. Tobacco that is in the rotation is kept in its tin, mason jar, or transferred to a bail jar like the one shown by @craig61a.

 

[Bob the bear]

Which rH % do you use for cellaring? I have been wanting to buy these for a while to drop in my mason jars. I was thinking 58%?

Yeah 58 perc are the ones I use

 

[NomadOrb]

It seems like the cigar guys are stuck in their ways and aren't interested in the sound advice from everyone here.

You guys do you, but the process you are going through sure does sound unnecessary. Coolidors, tuppadors, boveda, all unnecessary and don't really add any benefits.

But if it makes you feel better, who am I to argue.

 

[Cyxelsid]

As for opened tins, I keep the contents in small bail jars.

View attachment 206188
You can easily place 2 oz. in these, and they will keep the tobacco in smokeable condition for a long period of time. If the tobacco does dry out, a few drops of water will rehydrate it.

Ok, I was wondering if anyone else was using these, as opposed to mason jars. I find these to be less of an inconvenience than the mason jars, simply because I don't have to fiddle with lids.

 

[NomadOrb]

Ok, I was wondering if anyone else was using these, as opposed to mason jars. I find these to be less of an inconvenience than the mason jars, simply because I don't have to fiddle with lids.

Bail top jars are great if you're going through the tobacco relatively quickly, although I've had some in a jar for a little over a year and it was fine.

 

[Cyxelsid]

Bail top jars are great if you're going through the tobacco relatively quickly

Well, I have only been at it for a few weeks, and I am buying 1 oz samples for now. So I should be ok then. But, once I start building a real cellar, I guess these won't be good for longer term storage.

 

[5star]

I don't know if I'm doing it right (I'm old to cigars and new to pipes), but this is what I've come up with. I bought a series of Iris 19-quarts storage bins of Amazon. I went with these because of the foam sealing gasket and the tight clamps. Into these, I've been placing 32-oz wide-mouth mason jars with tobacco; in each jar, I've been dropping in a small Boveda 62% RH pack. I've also been dropping in a larger Boveda 200gr. 62% RH pack into the bin, because I also put opened tins in there that I don't intend to jar. Since cigar humidors rely on both cedar and cigars to help stabilize the humidity between openings, I taped some thin sheets of cedar to the bottom of the bin. I don't know if that works as I intended, but it was cheap and made me feel better.

You may actually cause mold problems if you add the Bovedas to your mason jars.

I’m a long time cigar smoker (30yrs +). Have been smoking a pipe 7-8yrs. Cigar guys often think they need to do the same with pipe tobacco as cigars, but it may actually cause problems to do so. Just put your pipe baccy in mason jars & nothing else. It’s one of the additional benefits of pipes - less storage hassles.

Mac