Mason Jar Bomb- A Warning

[beefeater33]

So I'm rummaging around my tobacco stash this morning and find this:

It's 9 100 gram bricks of Wessex Gold in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. I sealed these up in July of 2014.

HHHMMMMMMMMMMM, looks pretty tasty I say to myself, why not break into it?
Well, I went to unscrew the cap and BAM!! The cap blew off, sounded like a SHOTGUN blast! Totally caught me off guard.... I nearly Shat myself, wife comes running, thinking I discharged a gun! This thing had some F&#*king PRESSURE! Aging be damned, I'm going to "burp" all my jars today, gonna wear safety glasses & earplugs too..... 8O
Anyone else have this happen?.......

 

[jackswilling]

Wow

Never seen anything like that.

Thanks for putting this up.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Did you happen to notice if the lid was belled out before opening it?

 

[beefeater33]

Did you happen to notice if the lid was belled out before opening it?

No, I didn't, but I sure will from now on!!.......

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wow, I bet those have really been having some magic happen. I don't like the larger jars. I have some of the half gallon and gallon jars, but the larger the jar, the more tensile pressure the glass has to deal with.

The smaller jars, I can knock over my backyard fence with a baseball bat without breaking. The quart and larger... not so much.

 

[fitzy]

Wow that's crazy. Let us know how those aged gold bricks smoke.

 

[ashdigger]

While not the same explosive action I have had a few that were bulged and shocked me when I opened them. I check every jar before opening now. I'm like cosmic, I use smaller jars too.

 

[beefeater33]

the larger the jar, the more tensile pressure the glass has to deal with.

You know, I never thought about this- makes sense. There's a lot more volume in those big jars. I normally use the smaller ones as well, pints and half pints......... Lesson learned!

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

You could just puncture the lid with a drill when you eventually go to open it if you think it's pressurized.

Unless you think the glass is anywhere near failure and it's close to exploding, that could turn nasty.

 

[crashthegrey]

Although frightening when unexpected, the payout is likely to be amazing now.

 

[sw0snuff3r]

I've had this happen with some bulk Toque snuff once. They process bulk when ordered so it was very fresh. It had been in the jar only a couple of months and just as you mentioned, sounded like a shotgun blast when opened and the lid flew out of my hand. The jar went from a cool cellar to the upstairs where it was hot and humid for a couple of hours before opening. I attributed it to the temperature change and fermentation, did your jar go through a temperature change before opening as well?

 

[briarbuck]

Next time take a video. It would be way more entertaining that just a picture.

 

[cortezattic]

It happened to me too! link

 

[grouchydog]

You could just puncture the lid with a drill when you eventually go to open it if you think it's pressurized.

Unless you think the glass is anywhere near failure and it's close to exploding, that could turn nasty.

If in doubt, wrap the jar in a towel first.

 

[jmill208]

I hear my jars 'pinging' all the time.

Never thought much about the pressure building to a dangerous level. Hmmm...

 

[mayfair70]

As Grouchydog recommends, a sturdy towel to open older jars is a good idea, and can protect you from potential glass fragments. You are very lucky it wasn't worse. I've been hearing my little jars popping softly the past few weeks. I keep them near a window, not in direct sunlight, and we've had the windows open on cool nights.
When I was growing up, we used those and quart jars to store peaches. We did an open canning process where you boil the fruit, jars and lids at the same time in separate pots on the stove. It is basically a sterile technique to then scoop the peaces through a funnel into the jars and use tongs to put the lids on. You then tighten the lids and wipe down the jars with a towel. Once every few years a jar would explode sending shards of glass and scalding hot peach magma flying in all directions. You had to keep the pots the same temperature or the glass would shrink or expand and cause the glass to shatter. The thought of a kitchen table full of little orange time bombs is strangely comforting to me now. Stay safe !

 

[woodsroad]

So..... What did it smell like?

 

[didimauw]

It's like a tobacco terrorist!!! :puffpipe:

 

[dcrguns]

Had that happen to me too with a jar of bulk Bayou Morning. Blew tobacco all over me!

 

[Cliff_K]

I had a 8oz jar blow the top when I opened it a couple of weeks ago. And 2 4oz jars that sealed to the point I had to use a bottle opener to pop the tops off