Jar Lid Pop

[mr_future]

When pushing down on the lid of a closed ball jar, there is a satisfying pop as the lid springs back. After only a few days, some of my tobacco jars have lids that don’t pop due to a vacuum pulling them down. I also have jars of a few month’s vintage that still pop. Is it ok for jars to pop or is it a sign I will have dry tobacco due to lack of seal?

 

[Snook]

I don't have an answer but I am also curious about this. I kind of figured the pop lid feature was more intended for actual canning, so I never concerned myself too much with those jars that did it.

 

[craig61a]

As long as the ring is tight you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. The ring should be fingertip tight.

 

[proteus]

Tobacco ferments and temperature changes can either create or remove vacuum. If your mason lids on Mason jars pop up and down it has no vacuum. If it does not pop up and down it has vacuum. If it used to have a vacuum and now pops up and down then your tobacco ferments and creates gas to fill the vacuum. All things equal it perfectly fine. Flavors are subjective so you'll have to try it out to see if you like the effects. Most of my longer term storage jars are vacuum sealed. If you close up a jar with warm air and your storage location is cool it can create a weak vacuum as the air inside the jar cools. To create a more dramatic vacuum close the jar fresh from a 170 to 200F or so degree oven.

 

[johnnyflake]

In my experience, if the lid pops, you have lost the vacuum seal. You cannot replace it. At that point, you have lost the 100% seal. That does not mean that the venting of the jar is wide open. There is still a very strong seal, probably in the 90% range. The tobaccos should continue to age well!

 

[pinem]

It's a mystery. I have jars of FVF that started off creating a vacuum, that later pushed the lid upwards. I have other jars that created a vacuum and stayed that way. I have tins that are bulging and tins that don't.

If you want to know if you have a good enough seal, put the jar in a relatively airtight container for a month. After a month, pull the container lid and sniff. If you smell tobacco, you might have a problem. If not, your golden.

 

[buroak]

Not to split hairs, but is it a “pop” or more like a short, sharp “twang”/“ping”? I do not worry about the sharp sounds. That seems to me like metal under pressure but with the flex at the center I would expect it to have.

 

[mr_future]

Not to split hairs, but is it a “pop” or more like a short, sharp “twang”/“ping”? I do not worry about the sharp sounds. That seems to me like metal under pressure but with the flex at the center I would expect it to have.

I figure I am already splitting hairs so happy to deep dive. When I depress the lid there is muted pop, and then it snaps back with a twang.

 

[buroak]

I figure I am already splitting hairs so happy to deep dive. When I depress the lid there is muted pop, and then it snaps back with a twang.

That sounds perfectly normal. I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[SSGT.]

I figure I am already splitting hairs so happy to deep dive. When I depress the lid there is muted pop, and then it snaps back with a twang.

I wouldn't worry about it but if it's one of those things that eat at you, you can always replace the lid they're only like 14 bucks for 50 of them.

 

[prairiedruid]

Heat causes gas and liquids to expand. When canning food you use heat to expand the food and when it cools it creates less pressure inside the jar compared to the outside environment thus creating a "vacuum" seal. When you jar tobacco you are doing it at room temperature so there is no temperature difference between the room and the inside of the jar. So if the temperature in your room changes 10 to 20 degrees it is enough to cause the lid to pop in or out. Not anything to worry about, also fermentation of your tobacco over time will increase the pressure in your jar a little bit as well.

 

[telescopes]

I find that over time, as the tobacco sucks up the inside air, the lids become incredibly tight.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Leave your kids alone and quit over thinking it. If you use enough mason jars over a long enough period of time, it is likely you'll lose a couple. Overall,n however, I believe it is the best storage method you can use.