Ideal Size Ball Jar?

[Buckler]

Hey folk, wondering what people find the ideal ball jar size?

I like to standardise which is why id like to start out on the right foot.
I have seen people use the little ones, medium and some people buying bulk stuffing full the big ones.

Is there a problem with storing a small amount of tobacco long term in say a medium ball jar?
Is it better to have your ball jars full for longer term storage??

 

[Chasing Embers]

I use the square 16 ounce wide mouth jars exclusively. I get 1 pound of ribbon cut in them, 1/2 pound of flakes, and 1/2 pound of cube cut in them.

 

[Buckler]

I use the square 16 ounce wide mouth jars exclusively. I get 1 pound of ribbon cut in them, 1/2 pound of flakes, and 1/2 pound of cube cut in them.

Great, thank you. I think half pint will be the average but want to use the common wisdom...

 

[Chasing Embers]

Great, thank you. I think half pint will be the average but want to use the common wisdom...

Those are quite tiny. I sometimes use those for open tins if I don't plan on smoking all of the tin within a week.

 

[olkofri]

What I use:

Those 250 ml jars will hold the content of one tin. You have to press the tobacco tight some for it to fit, but it will fit and it will keep the moisture. I've blends I jarred almost three years ago and they're still so moist that I have to dry them before packing. I use the 500 ml jars for 100 g tins.

Remember, that the more air you have in the jar the more the tobacco will dry out.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I use 1/2 and 1 pint mostly because I like variety in what I smoke. 1/2 pint will hold 2 oz, 1 pint will hold 4 oz in general. I don't want to open 8 oz or 16 oz all at once the way I prefer to smoke. I just canned 3 lb of C&D Sunday Picnic and 1 lb of Opening Night in 1 jars. Easily fit 4 oz into each. I also figure if a smaller jar loses it's seal or the tobacco in it somehow gets contaminated, less of a loss. And the tobacco will not dry out with some air in the jar. Where is the moisture going to go when it is in a sealed jar? That's right, nowhere. If the seal is air tight, it is certainly moisture tight.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I've been using big jars, the quart jars. I just bought some wide mouth half pint jars, I think I'll use these on out... Seems better to have smaller jars, so they're not open as long.

 

[Buckler]

Sorry, I miss calculated. 8Oz = 1/2 pint. ?

We got pint, Oz & ml...
This world needs to standardise. :P

Those are quite tiny. I sometimes use those for open tins if I don't plan on smoking all of the tin within a week.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I use 1/2 and 1 pint mostly because I like variety in what I smoke. 1/2 pint will hold 2 oz, 1 pint will hold 4 oz in general. I don't want to open 8 oz or 16 oz all at once the way I prefer to smoke. I just canned 3 lb of C&D Sunday Picnic and 1 lb of Opening Night in 1 jars. Easily fit 4 oz into each. I also figure if a smaller jar loses it's seal or the tobacco in it somehow gets contaminated, less of a loss. And the tobacco will not dry out with some air in the jar. Where is the moisture going to go when it is in a sealed jar? That's right, nowhere. If the seal is air tight, it is certainly moisture tight.


View attachment 31890

Periodically check lid tightness. As the jars eventually seal themselves, the lids loosen.

 

[Casual]

This world needs to standardise. :P

The world? Haha, you must be American, because almost the entire rest of the world did standardize! But the 363 kg gorilla has kept its Imperial measurements.

 

[Buckler]

The world? Haha, you must be American, because almost the entire rest of the world did standardize! But the 363 kg gorilla has kept its Imperial measurements.

Lol, nah, Australian, and yes, lets not get in to how the metric system is *cough far superior *cough...

 

[Chasing Embers]

Lol, nah, Australian, and yes, lets not get in to how the metric system is *cough far superior *cough...

So was Betamax, look how that worked out.

The metric system has never made sense to me.

 

[rushx9]

Half pint. Especially if trying to standardize. I have a few pint jars and a couple of quarts that get neglected because I don't want to interrupt the aging process just for a bowl every once in a while. Also, I cellar very wide but not very deep so there are lots and lots of blends that I have just a few ounces of, and only a few that would merit a big jar anyway.
I especially prefer smaller jars with rare blends.. Every time I crack into a little 2oz jar I get the same joy as opening a fresh tin. I can understand why @chasingembers prefers the largest jars... dude has something like 3 metric tons of tobacco hoarded away???

 

[mingc]

Sorry, I miss calculated. 8Oz = 1/2 pint. ?

We got pint, Oz & ml...
This world needs to standardise. :P

To make things more confusing, British pints/quarts/gallons are different from US pints/quarts/gallons, and a US fluid ounce is not the same as a British fluid ounce. ?

That said, a 2 oz./1.75 oz/50 g tin of tobacco will fit nicely into a 4 oz Ball jar. Multiply from there.

 

[Buckler]

Half pint. Especially if trying to standardize. I have a few pint jars and a couple of quarts that get neglected because I don't want to interrupt the aging process just for a bowl every once in a while. Also, I cellar very wide but not very deep so there are lots and lots of blends that I have just a few ounces of, and only a few that would merit a big jar anyway.
I especially prefer smaller jars with rare blends.. Every time I crack into a little 2oz jar I get the same joy as opening a fresh tin. I can understand why @chasingembers prefers the largest jars... dude has something like 3 metric tons of tobacco hoarded away???

Awesome. That is really helpful.
Thank you!
Maybe just fill 2 1/2 pint instead of 1 full pint jar..?
That way you get a nice looking shelf.
Time will tell.

 

[rushx9]

Awesome. That is really helpful.
Thank you!
Maybe just fill 2 1/2 pint instead of 1 full pint jar..?
That way you get a nice looking shelf.
Time will tell.

Sure thing!
You get a nice looking shelf, but more importantly, you can smoke one jar immediately and the other in a year, or even 5-10 years. You could split a larger quantity into several jars, date them, and then smoke one per year and observe what each year in glass does for the blend.
I read where Russ Oullette recommends packing your jars a bit on the loose side and leaving a finger or so of space at the top for optimal ageing.

 

[Buckler]

That sounds like an awesome idea!!!i will totally do this. Thank you!

That’s interesting about leaving the air gap. I have seen videos of people packing the jars over full and then using the lid to compress it down. My concern would be a stray but of leaf poking out and leaving an air gap...
I’ll have to look up this Mr Oullette

Sure thing!
You get a nice looking shelf, but more importantly, you can smoke one jar immediately and the other in a year, or even 5-10 years. You could split a larger quantity into several jars, date them, and then smoke one per year and observe what each year in glass does for the blend.
I read where Russ Oullette recommends packing your jars a bit on the loose side and leaving a finger or so of space at the top for optimal ageing.

 

[Akousticplyr]

So was Betamax, look how that worked out.

The metric system has never made sense to me.

 

[donjgiles]

My only tip for filling jars is, leave a bit of room at the very top. The worst thing that can happen is, if you get some tobacco between the lip of the jar and the seal on the lid. It will not age and it will dry out. Keep your lids free of debris.

 

[stokesdale]

Ideal ball jar size? I don't know, I never measured my balls before, they're pretty heavy though and hang pretty low...probably need at least a 1 quart jar...a pint jar certainly won't be large enough. Oh, and that's a quart jar with a large mouth, not the small mouth jars.