And a $5.00 hygrometer takes the guess work out, and allows the safe drying of several ounces at a time. Some tobaccos with lots of PG will feel damp, when the moisture content is quite low (under 50% RH at 70º).
Drying Time Log?
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And a $5.00 hygrometer takes the guess work out, and allows the safe drying of several ounces at a time. Some tobaccos with lots of PG will feel damp, when the moisture content is quite low (under 50% RH at 70º).
That's part of touch. No coolness of sense of moisture welling when pinched. Still pliant. Hit that mark and you're likely to get the most flavors from a non gooper blend.
Too many variables. Just feel it. Dry it if it needs it.
I get all of that - I think a lot of the original intent is being missed, however.
I understand that I can feel it to know if it’s ready to smoke, or not. That’s not the point. The point is to know, by blend, a ballpark amount of time it will take from being pulled from the tin/jar to achieving this dried state.
I get that atmospheric variables exist, but if tobacco A takes about 2 hours to be ready to smoke and tobacco B takes about 8 hours to be ready to smoke, and my life/schedule is such that I may only have an hour to smoke, I think it seems reasonable to have some type of log available so I can try to know, in advance, about when I need to take different blends out so they’re ready when it’s time to smoke.
I think a lot of folks are getting a little too deep with it. I was just talking about getting in the ballpark and tracking that time so if I wanted to have a bowl of x after dinner, I know to take it out at 3:00pm, etc.
It doesn’t do me any good to feel it after dinner and say, “Nope, not ready.” Again, I get it. You can tell by touch. Cool. But that’s not the intent of the question.
I understand that I can feel it to know if it’s ready to smoke, or not. That’s not the point. The point is to know, by blend, a ballpark amount of time it will take from being pulled from the tin/jar to achieving this dried state.
I get that atmospheric variables exist, but if tobacco A takes about 2 hours to be ready to smoke and tobacco B takes about 8 hours to be ready to smoke, and my life/schedule is such that I may only have an hour to smoke, I think it seems reasonable to have some type of log available so I can try to know, in advance, about when I need to take different blends out so they’re ready when it’s time to smoke.
I think a lot of folks are getting a little too deep with it. I was just talking about getting in the ballpark and tracking that time so if I wanted to have a bowl of x after dinner, I know to take it out at 3:00pm, etc.
It doesn’t do me any good to feel it after dinner and say, “Nope, not ready.” Again, I get it. You can tell by touch. Cool. But that’s not the intent of the question.
I guess I kind of keep mental notes for the ones I smoke. I know dense flakes like Erinmore and Irish Flake will take longer. I don’t do too many “goopers,” so nothing for me to worry about there. If you’re worried about drying time, I found recently that if I prepare the tobacco and then set it on a coffee filter under an incandescent desk lamp, even damp tobacco dries out pretty quickly, without losing toppings or taste.
I just do it by touch. Assess the dampness when it comes out of the tin/jar and dry as necessary, checking on it once or twice until it's ready. Most blends are pretty reliable, there are few enough that are finicky (like Stonehaven) that it's pretty easy to remember specific drying times for those blends.
If I have a very specific time I need to smoke I will choose a blend that I am very familiar with so that I can have a good idea of where it will be at a specific time.
If I have a very specific time I need to smoke I will choose a blend that I am very familiar with so that I can have a good idea of where it will be at a specific time.
Way too much fussing and waiting. Why not take you time and get 6-12 ounces (4-8 blends) dried so you'll always be ready?
Go on.
Can you just dry that much and then jar it at the desired level and it’ll stay? If so, this solves the problem pretty easily and I didn’t realize it was possible.
Ayyy-uppp! I wouldn't try it without a few tiny hygrometers, but it's very possible without.
I simply dry most of it right in the jar, leaving the top off for hours or days, checking the moisture level every now and then. After I get down to near 60% showing, I'll seal it up, and then check the level in a couple of days, It will show maybe 10 points higher, as the air in the jar and the mass of tobacco equiibriate.
I say go ahead and do it. Enjoy your hobby. We all could probably learn something once you've gathered a good amount of information. It should be fun.
If not dry enough right out of the jar, I just leave it out overnight. Too much overthinking wrecks smoking for me.
Presumably, the reason you'd log the time is so you can predict how long it will take next time. While this would no longer be useful for me, as I pretty much know how long it will take, I don't think it's a bad idea. The big variable that you might fight is humidity levels. That makes a huge difference. Summer versus winter. Living room vs basement. Still, you may learn to adapt your timing to conditions. Over the years, I have learned relatively how much PG various brands and styles of tobacco use. Factor in the cut and how much you've rubbed out the tobacco and you'll eventually intuit how long it will need and will be right most of the time.
One side note is a technique used by my buddy, Mike Z, who uses a roughly 4-cup disposable plastic food container to prep his tobacco. Early in the day, he'll put a bit of tobacco in there, fluff it, then puts on the lid. This exposes the tobacco to a high volume of air, which will dry out out just a bit without much danger of overdrying. Bear in mind that he smokes only non-aromatics. When we get together to smoke, he'll commonly offer to share dinner of his "perfectly prepared" tobacco. And you know what? It generally is just that -- perfectly prepared.
One side note is a technique used by my buddy, Mike Z, who uses a roughly 4-cup disposable plastic food container to prep his tobacco. Early in the day, he'll put a bit of tobacco in there, fluff it, then puts on the lid. This exposes the tobacco to a high volume of air, which will dry out out just a bit without much danger of overdrying. Bear in mind that he smokes only non-aromatics. When we get together to smoke, he'll commonly offer to share dinner of his "perfectly prepared" tobacco. And you know what? It generally is just that -- perfectly prepared.
Im going to agree with some others on here and say that there is way too much over-thinking going on. Maybe some people love having hard data for every single thing they do. For myself, it'd make my hair turn grey. I just leave it out and put it in the pipe when it feels dry enough
No hard thinking nor wasted time, nor guess work:
I simply dry most of it right in the jar, leaving the top off for hours or days, checking the moisture level every now and then. After I get down to near 60% showing, I'll seal it up, and then check the level in a couple of days, It will show maybe 10 points higher, as the air in the jar and the mass of tobacco equiibriate.
Followed by lots of ready-to-smoke tobaccos.....
I simply dry most of it right in the jar, leaving the top off for hours or days, checking the moisture level every now and then. After I get down to near 60% showing, I'll seal it up, and then check the level in a couple of days, It will show maybe 10 points higher, as the air in the jar and the mass of tobacco equiibriate.
Followed by lots of ready-to-smoke tobaccos.....
A type C personality would be the one to make and maintain a spreadsheet.
A type A would just want to know the info and not be bothered with details. In fact details usually just piss them off.. Don't ask me how I know....
Just saying...
Interesting. I didn't know that. Regardless, you can take my spreadsheets when you pry them from my cold dead hands.A type C personality would be the one to make and maintain a spreadsheet.
A type A would just want to know the info and not be bothered with details. In fact details usually just piss them off.. Don't ask me how I know....
Just saying...
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