rehydrate bulk tobacco??

[homrecker]

hey...just ordered some Propylene Glycol PG Solution to rehydrate the bulk pipe tobacco I buy(inexpensive kind)as it seems to be rather dry when I get it. Question: how should I apply the PG to the tobacco?? Some kind of small container with holes or soak a hydrostone?? I assume the PG should not touch the tobacco....
thanks in advanced....Richard

 

[mcitinner1]

http://pipesmagazine.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/album/10722/pa090968-600x450.jpg
I use this setup. Definitely use distilled water and fluff the tobacco twice daily. I put the quart jar in the photo for perspective. Also don't get carried away with the spray bottle. It's possible to grow moldy in the container if too damp. 8)
I forgot to say you can soak the sponge with distilled water instead of spritzing the tobacco if you are concerned with mold. It takes several days either way.
Also there is an article on the front (home) page of this site about rehydration.

 

[zekest]

homewrecker, just dripple some of the PG over the dry tobacco and mix well, let it sit in an air tight container for a few weeks so the moisture level is somewhat equal, then try a bowl to assess the results.

 

[mcitinner1]

Patrick thanks for reminding me about water pillows. I will be sending for some. I have several small quantities needing hydration.

 

[jitterbugdude]

To each his own.. for me just a couple of spritzes of water on the tobacco. Let it set for a few hours and you are good to go. There is a learning curve involved though. Too much and the tobacco is too wet which means you have to let it set out and re dry.

 

[allan]

Welcome, homerecker
I had about 1/2 pound of tobacco in a fake mason jar that completely dried out. There are many techniques to use, as mentioned above.
I did the very slow method of putting the dry out stuff in a bowl with a towel dunked in distilled water covering the bowl.
Put the whole thing in a plastic bag and waited and checked every 12 hours or so. Took a few days, but it worked.

 

[cobguy]

If I have a jar that's getting empty and starting to dry out I just add a few fresh flakes to it.
The newer flakes dry and the older flakes rehydrate ... problem solved! ::

 

[saltedplug]

C&D uses 12% as the standard for their tobacco. Pease, I think, wants his manufactured a few percentage points higher. I go with them and think that the whole issue of rehydration is a kind of obsession. I don't rehydrate unless obviously too dry, and sometimes I don't even do that. I have bulk 1792 that is dry, but it has never kept me from smoking or enjoying it. And as distilled water rehydrates very well, I would never use PG, whose half-life is about two centuries. Why gump up good tobacco?

 

[mcitinner1]

"I don't rehydrate unless obviously too dry, and sometimes I don't even do that."
I received a one pound bag of white burley this past summer that was beyond crunchy to the point when I rubbed my hands together a large pinch turned into tobacco dust. I tried to smoke a bowl, and it was so harsh that it really hurt my throat. So I spread the whole pound across the container in photo in the above post. It took about 10 days to rehydrate to a proper feel. :?

 

[saltedplug]

I'm glad you were able to bring it back to good. I'd have returned it for a refund. Dry to the point of it turning to dust is way below acceptable, or at least to me.

 

[boilermakerandy]

Years ago when I first started buying tobacco in bulk from Craig Tarler I commented to him that his tobacco was very dry. He said "That's because I believe in selling tobacco and not water". He recommended hydrating it with distilled water or, in the case of Virginia blends (which I smoked exclusively at that time), good bourbon whiskey. I used to spread the tobacco out on newspaper and spritz it with Evan Williams bourbon (the black label, the green label has no flavor) from a spray bottle, stir it around and leave it overnight, spritz it again and mix it around (you get the picture) and when it got to a hydration level I liked put it in my storage containers. The process usually took a couple of days. Whiskey is a great addition to many tobaccos. I've never tried it but I imagine a good peaty Scotch would be great on a Latakia blend.
One does have to be careful though, if you mist it with distilled water or whiskey be sure to mix it up good and leave it to air out to where it feels just fresh (hard to explain but sort of soft like tobacco fresh from a tin and certainly not moist) in order to avoid mold. Dump the propylene glycol down the drain, I would never put that stuff on tobacco. A 59 cent gallon jug of distilled water or a ten dollar bottle of whiskey will provide you with enough hydration fluid to last many years.