Humidity Packs vs Pouch Moisteners

[throbinson]

Wow... been a few years since been on the forums. Hope everyone's been doing well.

Very occasional smoker and have a decent collection of flavours, each in a short/fat mason jar.

I've been using the pouch moisteners, the metal foil covered clay pucks you soak in distilled water for a while and re-use. I found if you sand one side and clean it with alcohol, the adhesive backed veclro pieces will stick great. So, I have a velcro disc inside the lid and on one side of the puck that way it is never in the tobacco. Works great but some have started to corrode I guess, which white lumps and such so, about time to replace.

I've been looking at the 1.5g humidity packs. They say good for 2-3 months, but I use the big ones for my acoustic guitar and while I have one in the sound hole in the closed case, I have the other pack in a ziplock with a splash of distilled water. After a week or so, it's like new again. Thene every month I swap them around. 2yrs now no problems. Figured the same can be done with these packs but they'd be right in the tobacco, and you wouldn't want to have a few of them rehydrating together, you'd need separate bags for each I suspect else flavour contamination.

So, I guess where I am is... the pucks are cheap and easy, but less control over humidyty % versus the 1.5g pouches... are the pouches worth it? stick with the pucks?

What are you guys doing these days with your tobacco?

 

[warren]

What are you guys doing these days with your tobacco?

I simply smoke and enjoy it. I smoke only a a limited number of blends and don't worry about any of them getting too dry before they are empty and discarded. I'm not searching for what I enjoy, found them years ago. So, I don't have to jump around or worry about them getting too dry. If one slips by, I just hydrate it and enjoy.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

You are using those in Mason jars?

I vote “no”!

 

[kcghost]

I love the humidity packs, They work great.

 

[Coreios]

I only use packs for my cigars. I just jar pipe tobacco and forget it.

Pipe tobacco isn't the same as a cigar. It needs to be dryer. Theres no wrapper that will crack. Because it has no wrapper the dryness keeps it lit. If it gets way to dry you can just throw half an apple slice into the jar for a day. That's just one way but theres others and it wont be ruined. But if you start mold growing it's ruined.

 

[bullet08]

That's asking for mold. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it sure looks like asking for it.

 

[PicklesTheFrog]

i have bulk tobacco in jars, while my daily is in a pouch. no pack or whatnot, and its a basic vinyl binder case thing from a japanese store, and it works out for me. i dont smoke every day but it works for what i need.

 

[warren]

If I need to hydrate a tin, I use "coins", as they were called in my day, soaked in well water from my tap. Simply a clay disk encased in perforated metal to be used over and over as needed.

 

[username]

Don't use them outside of cigars. If I had a pipe blend dry out I just use the paper towel trick.

 

[throbinson]

That's asking for mold. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it sure looks like asking for it.

Well, not bought tobacco in 3yrs, everything is in jars with moisture pucks, absolutely no issues. In fact, it was here that suggested mason jars. Good ol' forum consistency.

 

[throbinson]

If I need to hydrate a tin, I use "coins", as they were called in my day, soaked in well water from my tap. Simply a clay disk encased in perforated metal to be used over and over as needed.

That's what I have in the jars. Velcro stuck to the inside of the lids. Once a year I rehydrate one-by-one with distilled water (because I happen to have it anyways) and back in the same jar it came out of. Once in a while, give the jar a good shake. Been working well, but see the mini 1.5g packs now and wondered if any better. May just stick to the pucks, coins, discs, whatever they're called.

I don't smoke a lot. Last I ordered tobacco was pre-covid... Still have quite a lot but a few of my favs are about gone so plan to order more. Debate was to buy more coins at the same time or switch to silica pouches.

 

[daveinlax]

I live in the desert 6 months of the year and travel there with at least 5 lbs of loose tobacco and dozens of cigars. I use bovida packs exclusively in my bagador’s . When they dry out I recharge the in distilled water for a couple of days and then dry the them on the counter for a few hours.

 

[throbinson]

I live in the desert 6 months of the year and travel there with at least 5 lbs of loose tobacco and dozens of cigars. I use bovida packs exclusively in my bagador’s . When they dry out I recharge the in distilled water for a couple of days and then dry the them on the counter for a few hours.

That's what I do for my acoustic guitar. While one is in the guitar, the other is in a zip lock bag with half a shot of distilled water. Every month, swap.

 

[dino]

I only use Boveda packets, large and small, for both my pipe tobacco and my cigar humidors. I find the expense is outweighed by the convenience, no fuss, no muss.

 

[burleybreath]

I wasn't aware of ever needing any humidification if tobacco is kept in Mason jars or their equivalent. What am I missing?

 

[throbinson]

I wasn't aware of ever needing any humidification if tobacco is kept in Mason jars or their equivalent. What am I missing?

Well, apparently not humidity... :D

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Well, not bought tobacco in 3yrs, everything is in jars with moisture pucks, absolutely no issues. In fact, it was here that suggested mason jars. Good ol' forum consistency.

It's pretty consistent - use jars for one term storage and pack them well and don't put water in them, in general. Short term, if you are using a jar like a humidor then have at it. I've got jars I open from time to time that tobacco has been in for two years and still moist as ever.

 

[bullet08]

Well, not bought tobacco in 3yrs, everything is in jars with moisture pucks, absolutely no issues. In fact, it was here that suggested mason jars. Good ol' forum consistency.

Mason jars, yes. No need for moisture puck.

 

[throbinson]

Weird, because mine are sealed up tight but still dry out. Not "dry" like brittle and stiff dry, but not as moist as when put into the jars. I assumed it's because everytime I open the jar some moisture escpaes.

 

[grimpuffer]

Well, not bought tobacco in 3yrs, everything is in jars with moisture pucks, absolutely no issues. In fact, it was here that suggested mason jars. Good ol' forum consistency.

Like some of the others have stated, I would be hesitant to add additional moisture to pipe tobacco that is already being stored in mason jars.