How to Pack Cellar for Moving Cross-Country.

[musicman]

Hi all. I am moving from Tucson, AZ to Cincinnati, OH in about 4 weeks. Among other logistical challenges is the problem of how to move a not huge, but also not insignificant cellar (maybe 20-25 pds). The cellar is generally packed in a combination of unopened tins, canning jars, and mylar bags.

Any advice on how to properly move these? It would generally be much more convenient if I can move most of it (except what I'd like to smoke in the next couple of months) in the moving truck. We're planning on getting a upack (28 ft trailer that we pack and they haul) and it might sit in a lot somewhere in storage for up to 6 weeks when we get there, while we're buying a house, etc. Has anyone had any problems moving tinned, jarred, or mylar bagged tobacco in conditions that might not exactly be ideal (the trailer won't be temperature controlled or anything). Of course when we order from, say, SPC and get ground shipping, it's in a similar situation, but this will be for quite a bit longer.

Also, any advice on packing the ball jars? I've got at least 100-120 to pack. Any thoughts based on your experiences are greatly appreciated.

 

[Johnkelly55]

Hey, Musicman,
my wife and I moved from FL to PA in March. I had a collection of tins (20) and, maybe, 8 mason jars. The jars go back to 2012 and they are precious to me. So, I put it all in a Coleman cooler. And they did great. I’ve reopened all the jars and they are still moist, etc. I found I had to take special care with my pipes. I have one broken stem- still need to get it out for repair. My wife was a bit dubious about my extra care. But, then, I also babied my speakers and my Denon receiver!
JohnK
Take Care… I’d like to hear what u do!
oh, I am still missing a few pipes… don’t know how… and was searching for them today

 

[Servant King]

Just set 'em all here, and let O'Brien do the rest.


I wish I could be more helpful... ? I'll defer to @hoosierpipeguy on this...he'll be able to advise, I'm sure.

 

[musicman]

Just set 'em all here, and let O'Brien do the rest.

View attachment 91922
I wish I could be more helpful... ?

If only moving was that easy! I’d beam the entire house, including wife and dogs. ?

 

[kcghost]

Obviously, putting the containers the tobacco is in into a larger container, like a cooler is the way to go.

 

[bullet08]

I used one of those plastic containers with latches. Sort of like footlockers. Cardboard boxes just didn't do for me in case it gets crushed and damage the tins.

 

[5star]

I’d definitely be concerned about high temperatures. (We set a record of 112F this summer.) That amount of baccy I could constantly monitor would come with me in a cooler. Any that I couldn’t be monitored I’d have a friend keep for me in an a/c environment till cooler temperatures in the fall when he could ship them to me.

 

[musicman]

I’d definitely be concerned about high temperatures. (We set a record of 112F this summer.) That amount of baccy I could constantly monitor would come with me in a cooler. Any that I couldn’t be monitored I’d have a friend keep for me in an a/c environment till cooler temperatures in the fall when he could ship them to me.

Yeah that’s my primary concern. It’s just not feasible for me to pack these in a car. I’d have to choose between bringing my wife and dogs or the tobacco. The move will be happening Sept 15ish, so I might take a look at temps and decide then, and then leave the boxes of unopened tins here and have a friend send ‘em ups sometime in October.
Another idea is opening all my jars that I’m not deliberately aging and transferring the contents to Mylar, which could also be left then sent.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Mason jars are surprisingly hard to break, especially sealed. It is a tempered borosilicate glass. I move crates of jams, preserves, and etc to and from market every week, slinging boxes, and customers dropping them left and right. I also keep thousands of empty jars in the barn which is not exactly a kid glove sorta environment. At best, I’d wrap each jar in a newspaper page and put in boxes…. mostly just to dampen the sound of any rattling.

 

[didimauw]

Yup, I moved my cellar in two larger storage totes, with bubble wrap where I deemed necessary. Jars are hardy.

 

[Waning Embers]

 

[solideogloria86]

The one piece of advice I have. Be careful of extreme cold Temps. I read a story years ago about a guy who moved in winter. Cold Temps zapped the flavor out of his entire cellar. I hadn't really thought much about it. Kept a couple jars in my work truck for convenience. Left them over winter. Completely dead come spring.

 

[snagstangl]

I moved about a year and a half ago. Lots of jars. Used the heavy duty bank boxes. They stack well, you cant over pack them. Paper and bubble wrap. sat in some not ideal temp conditions. Still came out fine.

 

[musicman]

Mason jars are surprisingly hard to break, especially sealed. It is a tempered borosilicate glass. I move crates of jams, preserves, and etc to and from market every week, slinging boxes, and customers dropping them left and right. I also keep thousands of empty jars in the barn which is not exactly a kid glove sorta environment. At best, I’d wrap each jar in a newspaper page and put in boxes…. mostly just to dampen the sound of any rattling.

Yup, I moved my cellar in two larger storage totes, with bubble wrap where I deemed necessary. Jars are hardy.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I've dropped a jar on our tile floor from 4 ft up and it just bounced as I held my breath and hoped it didn't break. I'm probably going to do exactly what @didimauw did with the jars: Put them in plastic totes with some padding to keep them from bouncing around.

I moved about a year and a half ago. Lots of jars. Used the heavy duty bank boxes. They stack well, you cant over pack them. Paper and bubble wrap. sat in some not ideal temp conditions. Still came out fine.

Perfect. This is exactly the sort of first hand experience I was hoping to hear about. Sounds like the jars at least will be fine in some warm temps. Last time we moved it was early August. Mid September should help some with the hottest temps, and the trailer will likely be sitting the longest in Ohio, which isn't too warm that time of year (well, compared to southern Arizona at least).

 

[musicman]

View attachment 91961

Might have to find some of these and give them a try!

 

[karam]

The one piece of advice I have. Be careful of extreme cold Temps. I read a story years ago about a guy who moved in winter. Cold Temps zapped the flavor out of his entire cellar. I hadn't really thought much about it. Kept a couple jars in my work truck for convenience. Left them over winter. Completely dead come spring.

Isn't this odd? You'd guess cold preserved if anything. I'd be more worried of heat.

As for moving, will do it soon myself, but my "cellar" is smaller, so one cardboard box with some bubblewrap should do. For linge term I am moving to mylar.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't see an issue with the Mylar and tins. I'd probably wrap the jars with thin bubble wrap and store them in totes. If you're lucky enough to have stored what you have in the original boxes, I'd layer bubble wrap on top, bottom and sides inside of a tote making certain to fill in any open areas with bubble wrap.

Why don't you pay a little extra and rent a climate controlled storage unit for the short term storage? For that matter, 25 lbs doesn't take up that much space, you could just retrieve it and take it to wherever you're living.

 

[scloyd]

Yeah that’s my primary concern. It’s just not feasible for me to pack these in a car. I’d have to choose between bringing my wife and dogs or the tobacco.

Who rides in the car with you all the way to Cincinnati? Wife, dogs or tobacco? I hope I never have to make that decision.

Seriously, good luck. Moving can be very stressful, especially long distance moves.

 

[Peter Peachfuzz]

The change in humidity will be shocking..

 

[badbeard]

Just moved from Oregon to Kentucky with my cellar. Wrapped all jars in bubble wrap and stuck them in couple of those sealing sterilite storage bins along with tins and bagged stuff. No issues despite going through various temps and elevations(no tins popped). They rode in a 12 ft trailer, and had a good three days stoving, particularly through Utah and Wyoming where temps were at or above 100F. All was well.
Freezing would be my only real concern, as crystallization can really jack up tobacco.