Keeping Tobacco Fresh Questions

[agnosticpipe]

Jay, I find that if I soak myself with scotch I completely forget all about what the humidity of my tobacco is. :lol:
On the other hand, I've been using Ball/Mason canning jars in various sizes to store my tobacco in for years. I have opened a jar that I was aging after over 2 years, and after I unscrewed the ring, I had to pry the top off because it had sealed itself quite well, and the tobacco was just fine. I try not to leave more air than I have to in the jar, but I believe that the humidity of the air in the jar when you screw down the lid may have some affect on the tobacco, but not much. I figure that the air in the jar will absorb the humidity out of the tobacco up till is has the same humidity level as the tobacco. If for some reason the air kept on absorbing the humidity out of the tobacco, it would seem that you would see condensation on the inside of the jar. I have never experienced this and as long as the jars are sealed well, the tobacco I take out always seems to be at the humidity level when I sealed it. If you are opening and closing the jar to use any tobacco, and the outside air is very dry, the tobacco will probably lose some humidity over time.
I may be off my rocker here, because I have no formal physics training, I'm only going by my own experiences over the years.

 

[phil67]

Perhaps I ought think about storing my jars in the fridge
The room temperature where they normally live is a pretty constant 23 degrees.

There would be no beneficial reason whatsoever by storing the sealed jars in a fridge when it comes to pipe tobacco. Temperature is more of a concern, combined with RH, when it comes to storing cigars. Just place the tobacco in Mason jars as you're doing and don't fret about the temperature.

 

[jefff]

Buy it , jar it, smoke it as you will. A person could drive themselves crazy over proper storage.
Or, you could just enjoy it for what it is, when it is.
I have seen wine folks sweat storage less than pipe smokers.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Jay, I find that if I soak myself with scotch I completely forget all about what the humidity of my tobacco is. :lol:
Orley, a man after my own heart ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[judcole]

To the OP:

If you have it in jars it will keep without gadgets. If you have it in tins, and you are not going to smoke a tin within a couple of weeks after opening it, empty the contents into a jar. It's that simple.

 

[bigpond]

Foggy said:

I keep open cans in an old cigar humidor with a wet piece of sponge. Any box with a closeable top, such as tupperware would do.

Great idea. I'm going to try this.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Orly- I am a bit of a physics guy, and I think you nailed it. And careful with the Scotch, it can make Penzance taste like Mixture 79!

 

[deathmetal]

He kids! We all know that Penzance is Mixture 79!