Empty Space in Jar

[Brachra]

Are there any downsides to filling a 16oz jar about halfway? Or should I aim for as full as possible? I have lots of 16oz i want to use up but dont wish to put such large quantities in each one. Im aware I can get smaller jars but thats not my question. I was thinking about 4oz per jar instead of the usual 6 or more I pack in there.

 

[Brendan]

I couldn't see why not, as long as they are airtight.

 

[bullet08]

I like a lot of room in my jar. Just from storing 2 oz in 2 oz jar and 2 oz in 16 oz jar, I prefer 16 oz. 2 oz in 2 oz jar is little tight for ribbon cut. As time goes by, they were more or less all broken up. Coin and flake had plenty of room.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I was thinking about 4oz per jar instead of the usual 6 or more I pack in there.

If you're referring to the 16 oz. wide mouth jars, I jam 16 ounces into them with an industrial caulk gun to save space. No reason why you can't only partially fill them.

 

[Brachra]

If you're referring to the 16 oz. wide mouth jars, I jam 16 ounces into them with an industrial caulk gun to save space. No reason why you can't only partially fill them.

View attachment 101620

I was worried more about too much air maybe causing excess dryness. Or maybe tightly packing reduces mold chance...or any other number of things I can pull out of my ass and worry about. thank you

 

[Chasing Embers]

I was worried more about too much air maybe causing excess dryness. Or maybe tightly packing reduces mold chance...or any other number of things I can pull out of my ass and worry about. thank you

Very welcome. As long as the jar is sealed, dryness shouldn't be an issue. It will lose some moisture as the jar's environment attempts to balance itself but it won't be detrimental to the tobacco.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

How can the air dry it? The tin is sealed, where would the moisture go? I see no issues filling the jars half way. Should get plenty of aerobic aging.

 

[Jimmy_Jack]

I think I saw that someone here dips the tops of their cellar jars in wax to get that extra seal. I think I like that idea.

I would suspect that once the jar is hand tight, supposing you have a clean seal, the air or no air will not make a difference. The atmosphere inside is what it is.

 

[JohnMosesBrowning]

How can the air dry it? The tin is sealed, where would the moisture go? I see no issues filling the jars half way. Should get plenty of aerobic aging.

I'm thinking that if the "relative humidity" of air trapped in the jar is relatively low, then moisture from the tobacco can evaporate into that air, creating a higher relative humidity within the jar. In a small jar with almost no air space, it would be a non issue, but as one imagines larger and larger jars with the same amount of tobacco at the bottom, it becomes easier (for me) to imagine the tobacco drying out inside - sealed or not. As a thought experiment, imagine very wet tobacco in a sealed room. The room is air-tight, but certainly the two ounces of tobacco sitting in it will dry out.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

I'm thinking that if the "relative humidity" of air trapped in the jar is relatively low, then moisture from the tobacco can evaporate into that air, creating a higher relative humidity within the jar. In a small jar with almost no air space, it would be a non issue, but as one imagines larger and larger jars with the same amount of tobacco at the bottom, it becomes easier (for me) to imagine the tobacco drying out inside - sealed or not. As a thought experiment, imagine very wet tobacco in a sealed room. The room is air-tight, but certainly the two ounces of tobacco sitting in it will dry out.

Man, you've got some big jars. LOL

 

[Inspired Idler]

How can the air dry it? The tin is sealed, where would the moisture go? I see no issues filling the jars half way. Should get plenty of aerobic aging.

My curiosity lies with the aerobic aging aspect. I thought I've read somewhere that once all of the oxygen is used up by the bacteria, a different aging process begins in the oxygen depleted environment (the name escapes me). Assuming I'm not speaking out of my arse, could there be pronounced differences between jars that are tightly packed versus loose packed jars?

 

[originalnutcracker]

Greg Pease wrote about the two stages of ageing as above, and I would never disagree with him! As I recall, he advocated for a small amount of air in the bottle. I’m too much of a miser.....

I’ve had tobacco in jars for years - some full and some not - as long as the seal is good I’ve never had an issue. Recently switched a whole lot to Mylar- we’ll see if it’s the same.

 

[Grangerous]

These are half gallon, 64 ounce Jars. Each has a full pound-16 ounces of tobacco. — The tobacco is packed in tight but of course some air remains.

 

[FurCoat]

View attachment 105367
These are half gallon, 64 ounce Jars. Each has a full pound-16 ounces of tobacco. — The tobacco is packed in tight but of course some air remains.

That's me. I pack them pretty tight. 8oz in a quart jar for loose tobacco and a pound of flake.

 

[lraisch]

I have a humidor that I use for my standard blend and I've found that if it is full, tobacco will stay fresh for weeks. As the amount of tobacco in it decreases, the mixture becomes dry much faster. I think that too much air space allows moisture (both water and volatile flavor elements) to evaporate.

As for anaerobic vs aerobic effects, even tightly packed tobacco will have considerable oxygen trapped as long as it is not a solid mass. Depending on what exactly you're jarring my opinion is that you're better off with a full jar. Of course, my opinion is worth exactly what you're paying for it.

 

[sandollars]

The largest jars I use are 16 ounce. In hindsight I wished I would have stuck with just 4 and 8 ounce jars. Once opened, the anaerobic aging stops and I just don't smoke enough to open a whole 16 ounces at a time. I do vacuum seal my lids though which mitigates some of the oxygen.

Besides, I like variety, so there's that too...

 

[bullet08]

What you do is, fill half way with tobacco and ask your girlfriend to suck all the air out of the jar. The tobacco will pop like popcorn. Maybe not.

 

[sandollars]

What you do is, fill half way with tobacco and ask your girlfriend to suck all the air out of the jar. The tobacco will pop like popcorn. Maybe not.

Silly Bullet..... Only the CUBE CUT pops like popcorn.....

 

[solideogloria86]

Some would say empty space is beneficial.

Breathing Room

I love surprises. A couple months ago, I pulled the rings on freshly minted tins of three experimental blends. These had come out of the press just days earlier, and had no time to settle before being sliced and tinned. They were fresh and young and interesting, but not yet representative of...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[JKoD]

Not satisfied for the evening with the Dempsey, so rather than 5 Bros again to get that fixed, I reached for an OJK White. I know it’s not the best reviewed tobacco in the OJK line, but it’s pretty darn good. Only tin I’ve ever bough of it - 2017 can (lucky B&M find). Found a somewhat magical retailer…and they have dust on the tops of some tins, and they don’t quite stack the same cause they have a bit of an expansion to them. Same price for all - so, I’ve learned to check the rotation abilities of retail stores that aren’t huge and don’t see a ton of foot traffic other than people on a quest for Penzance ?. I need to go back there - I’m over budget, but hell with it. Picking up aged tins for slightly higher than online retail? Yup. All day. Where is this place? Missouri. ?