I recently acquired some 100g cans of HU blends, and I am wondering what folks' experience is with these cans for storage? They look to be fine, but as I live in a high dry climate, I have to be reasonably diligent about making sure tobacco is well sealed so it doesn't turn to mummy dust. Any of you fellas have experience with HU tins for a couple year's in the cellar?
HU 100g Can Storage Viability?
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As we’ve been seeing in another thread, there are lots of different best practices around long-term storage of tobacco.
I tend to move everything I’m planning to cellar into mason jars. I just trust them more than I trust tins.
YMMV
— pruss
I assume you are referencing the paint can type tins with the pop off top. I don't transfer them to jars, but that is just me. I know there are a lot of members on here that will tell you to jar it up to be safe.
I only jar open tins, and bulk. I will vacuum seal up all my bags, boxes, and cellophane unsealed tins.
I only jar open tins, and bulk. I will vacuum seal up all my bags, boxes, and cellophane unsealed tins.
The paint can tins are not 100% sealed. After three years on the shelf I noticed a slight difference between the moisture content of cans of Directors Cut that had the additional plastic lid and those that did not have the additional plastic lid. None was near drying out, but the difference was tangible. Unfortunately, the plastic lids are no longer offered. I've kept the one that I got from Hans to use on replacement cans. Those cans with the additional plastic lid seem the same as when new.
Depending on how long you intend to store and age HU blends you should probably jar them.
Depending on how long you intend to store and age HU blends you should probably jar them.
I have zero long term experience with HU paint tin blends. I have 1 tin of Director's Cut that is 4 or 5 years old, will probably pop it before long. I am sealing the HU paint tins in mylar as back up due to lack of any experience. Every newer HU paint tin I've opened has seemed very solid. However, there's been enough posted here about these tins to make me want to put in some back up.
past summer I have opened 3 years old tin of Rainer's Long Gold ,contents were 'perfetto, but those were in flake form which probably keep fresh longer than Ready Rub cut type of tobaccies
Because it’s just metal on metal I wouldn’t use for long term. Either jar it or put the whole thing in Mylar with minimal head space. Oxygen absorbers would be fine to stick in with the tins.
I don't see how that would solve the perceived problem. Might hinder or slow down a leak but wouldn't provide a 100% seal.
I was curious about this myself, and perhaps with everyone placing Esterval's orders they might be curious as well. The current tins don't come with plastic lids, but I was able to find replacement lids for Pyrex bowls that are exactly 4 inches in diameter (same as the HU cans), so my hope is that with the metal lid in place and the plastic lid, the tobacco won't deteriorate too much over time. Hopefully they fit well and the second layer of protection will give a longer-lasting conservation of the contents.
I seal these paint cans in Mylar just because I don’t trust them but I recently bought several tins of aged HU from 2013. So far I have opened tins of Edward G, Fayyum Kake and Tuarekh and all have had normal moisture level. The Fayyum kake and Edward G I dry for 30 min before smoking as they are a little to moist for me. So the tins I have had either held up or the contents were pretty moist to begin with. I still would seal them in Mylar if you are planning to store them long term.
I got a 2015 paint can of directors cut from my secret santa and even after being jarred since December and opened periodically to smoke out of, it's still plenty moist.
I would think the cans will hold up long term. I’m in the construction industry, and I’ve opened actual paint cans that were years and years old (with lids that look like someone closed them with their boot) and the paint inside was still good. It seems to be a very air-tight system. If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t store water-based paint in them
This might be an outlier but back in 06-07 I was working with George Brissie ( Famous calabash collector RIP) and he bought a tin of Reiner LGF, we smoked a bowl and he gave me the can. That can has sat in my cellar since that day and I was always afraid to open it due to the sentimentality of the can. A few weeks ago I decided to open it and assumed it was bone dry. Turns out it was perfectly humidified. Smoked a bowl in George’s honor and jarred the rest. It turns into a spice bomb after all these years.
Actual paint cans have a channel seal that provides a much more complete seal than the type of tobacco tins used by HU and others. They're not the same sealing design. The tins I've had over the last 6+ years have all lost a little bit of moisture. They haven't dried out, but they're noticeably drier than their siblings from the same order, with the extra plastic caps.
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