Empty Space in Jar

[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. ?

Well, obviously I put this in the wrong spot. This belongs under “whatcha smoking October.” My apologies as I had several windows open. Just add it to my day of glory with technology winning.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

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.

Barring a fairly significant temperature change, what is going to cause some massive amount of evaporation into the air? If such a thing were to occur, you'd see moisture forming on the inside walls of the glass jar. Only time I've ever seen that is when I initially heated the tobacco to jar it. Day or two later, all the moisture was absorbed back into the tobacco. I see no way an additional few cubic inches of air is going to impact the aging or long term integrity of the tobacco stored inside.

 

[craig61a]

Baccy in the jar-o...

 

[btsteve]

I would think the difference in that amount of air would be minimal either way. Although more oxygen in the jar in my opinion would age it quicker. Most anything oxygen is in contact with ages it quicker. I am just not sure whether that would be good or bad. Then we get into the anaerobic changes to the tobacco and my head explodes.

Sometimes I think we over analyze it all and it probably doesn't make much difference.

 

[JohnMosesBrowning]

Barring a fairly significant temperature change, what is going to cause some massive amount of evaporation into the air? If such a thing were to occur, you'd see moisture forming on the inside walls of the glass jar. Only time I've ever seen that is when I initially heated the tobacco to jar it. Day or two later, all the moisture was absorbed back into the tobacco. I see no way an additional few cubic inches of air is going to impact the aging or long term integrity of the tobacco stored inside.

"what is going to cause some massive amount of evaporation"? Nothing. I never suggested as much. I simply offered the idea that a large amount of airspace in a sealed jar can draw out moisture from the tobacco. I didn't think it was a controversial statement at the time. If I put two ounces in the bottom of a one gallon sealed jar, I would not expect the tobacco to have the same moisture content a year from now as it does today. If I'm insane, please ignore me. (I'd have to be insane to store tobacco in such a manner, but I exaggerate for illustrative purposes only).

 

[jp267nh]

Oh good I see others are using Ball jars as well. An elderly neighbor gave me about 75 as she no longer cans. Wasn't sure if it was the best way to store tobacco. Still a bit green on some aspects to pipe smoking!

 

[jewman22]

I do it all the time, usually when I cant get the smaller jars, the only thing it affects is the amount of space on the shelf. I have yet to notice any change in moisture or taste since moving them from the tin to their jar.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

If the jar was extremely large for the amount of tobacco, and the jar had super low humidity, there would be a slight loss of moisture to the air in the jar. But, with normal sizes of jars we're talking about, and normal humidity, there would be no practical difference.
In fact, in many areas, the moisture in the air of the jar would add moisture to the tobacco, rather than remove it. LOL

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

If the jar was extremely large for the amount of tobacco, and the jar had super low humidity, there would be a slight loss of moisture to the air in the jar. But, with normal sizes of jars we're talking about, and normal humidity, there would be no practical difference.
In fact, in many areas, the moisture in the air of the jar would add moisture to the tobacco, rather than remove it. LOL

Not sure why the “LOL” - the suggestion that the tobacco will become more moist from the air in the jar isn’t all that defensible.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

Not sure why the “LOL” - the suggestion that the tobacco will become more moist from the air in the jar isn’t all that defensible.

Maybe I misunderstand your comment. But, just as dry air in the jar could lessen tobacco moisture, damp air in the jar could increase tobacco moisture. In practical terms, neither occurs.

 

[mikecronis]

Air is fine. To monitor humidity, have a DIGITAL humidistat inside the jar. You can buy like 5 for $20 on-the-cheap on eBay (make sure they're calibrated right). If you notice you're going under 70%, you can add a little puck they sell that's a sponge in a plastic disc, or a Xykar gel pack does the trick on top. I find it gets a bit stale under 60%. Blue mold could start if over 80% for a long time.