Square Tin Seal: Recent Experience

[minerLuke]

Even though this issue has been discussed a lot recently I thought it may be worthwhile to share with the forum my recent experience.

This past fall, I decided to open a tin of about 2-3 year old FVF from my stash and on opening I noticed it was quite a bit dryer than I remember them being when I bought them. It smoked fine so didn't think too much of it at the time but around Thanksgiving I thought I'd open another tin and it was the same, if not even drier. Remembering what I'd read about potential sealing issues with the square tins I thought I'd better start popping them and smoking them and sure enough, of the 6 tins I opened so far of the dozen I have, only one a Bob's CF, still had a seal and was fairly moist as expected. The other tins, a Chocolate Flake, Navy Flake and Firedance Flake were all very dry although not to the point of being unsmokable.

I still have a few more tins to pop so I'll update once I get through smoking these tins I have open now.

I'm not trying to rag on our friends in Kendal, I love the tobacco they make and will continue buying and smoking as often as i can get it! But if anyone is trying to horde their tinned stuff for the tobacco apocalypse or to invest in for their retirement plan, I would suggest either mylar the tins or transfer to glass if you are planning on not smoking them in the next year or so!

In case anyone is wondering, all these tins were purchased about 2 to no more than maybe 3.5 years ago from US prominent internet retailers.

 

[Terry Lennox]

It's mostly an issue with the newer tins. I'm not sure what year they started to use weaker seals on the newer tins. I have tins from over a decade ago and they are fine. If anyone knows the date the seals and tins changed let us know.

 

[andrew]

Yeah those are the new tins. They suck. You have to vacuum seal them in mylar or a bag if you want long term storage from them

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

They have begun pressurizing their tins recently. At least my brand new stuff had a hiss and I think I remember Rachael saying they fixed the issues. The Gold tins I’ve opened have all been fine. So I think it’s the silver tins within the last 2-3 years. I have some of those as well and my entire tobacco box smells like Bob’s Chocolate Flake…hopefully those will be fine as well in time. So far so good.

 

[Servant King]

Appreciate the shared experience. It does appear to fall in line with the consensus on the subject. Most of my tins are round, but the few square ones I have got transferred basically as soon as I acquired them. Not that I'm paranoid; I just felt it was prudent to adopt a better safe than sorry approach right off the bat.

Additionally, my few C&D/GLP "pull tab" cans present their own potential for seal breakage, but such an event would likely be loud enough that I'd know about it! Of course, I'd have to be home at the time. Some of them already have a nice bulge going--my lone tin of C&D Canal boat from 2016 looks like it could pass for a football with a different paint job.

All of this was a catalyst for me to transition to bulk baccy and mylar, which represents the majority of my current holdings. I only wish I had done it sooner, but that's just the way it goes.

 

[Zamora]

It's been predicted that whatever Mac Baren blends aren't axed by STG will now be sold in circular tins

 

[BingBong]

I think it was fixed maybe a couple of years ago at G&H. The last Navy Flake I bought had about 18 months in it, from the date code, and was fully moist when I popped a tin.

 

[beefeater33]

Don't whine like a lil' bitch....................

 

[eljimmy]

Question, if you knew about the problem, why not mylar or jar them when you purchased them?

 

[sablebrush52]

Even though this issue has been discussed a lot recently I thought it may be worthwhile to share with the forum my recent experience.

This past fall, I decided to open a tin of about 2-3 year old FVF from my stash and on opening I noticed it was quite a bit dryer than I remember them being when I bought them. It smoked fine so didn't think too much of it at the time but around Thanksgiving I thought I'd open another tin and it was the same, if not even drier. Remembering what I'd read about potential sealing issues with the square tins I thought I'd better start popping them and smoking them and sure enough, of the 6 tins I opened so far of the dozen I have, only one a Bob's CF, still had a seal and was fairly moist as expected. The other tins, a Chocolate Flake, Navy Flake and Firedance Flake were all very dry although not to the point of being unsmokable.

I still have a few more tins to pop so I'll update once I get through smoking these tins I have open now.

I'm not trying to rag on our friends in Kendal, I love the tobacco they make and will continue buying and smoking as often as i can get it! But if anyone is trying to horde their tinned stuff for the tobacco apocalypse or to invest in for their retirement plan, I would suggest either mylar the tins or transfer to glass if you are planning on not smoking them in the next year or so!

In case anyone is wondering, all these tins were purchased about 2 to no more than maybe 3.5 years ago from US prominent internet retailers.

Square and rectangular tins are not as leak proof as the round tins and canister types for a couple of reasons. A consistent distribution of pressure can be achieved with a circular seal, but not with a rectangular or square one because the pressure with the latter is always greater at the corners than at the center of any side. Square and rectangular tins are sealed with a simple gasket as opposed to being screwed down. As far as I'm concerned these square and rectangular tins are slowly leaking from the get go.

Many, many years ago I wanted to find out what the source was for the tobacco smell that was filling my closet where I stored a lot of my cellar at that time. So I got some Tupperware containers and filled one with square and rectangular tins of Virginias and V a/Pers, another of square and rectangular tins of Latakia blends, another with just round tins, and another with canister type tins. I then sealed the containers and left them sealed for a few weeks.

When I opened the container with the square and rectangular tins of Virginia blends I got a snoot full of Virginia. When I opened the container with the square and rectangular tins of Latakia blends I got a snoot full of Latakia. When I opened the container of round tins there was no smell, nor with the canister type tins.

The older tins were more robust, but not that much more robust. I wouldn't spend money on a vintage tin of anything in a square or rectangular tin that's over 10 years old. The odds that it's lost pressure are much greater than round tins of that age and older, in my experience.

These tins were never meant to last for years and years. Aging is the consumer's choice, not a necessity, (except for makers who push their tobaccos out the door when still green) and not the responsibility of the manufacturer, whose job it is to see that the contents will be good long enough to be sold after shipment.

Some years back, Greg Pease changed his position on aging in the original tin after finding a number of "disappointments" in his cellar. In a letter he wrote to the Briar Blues blog site he suggested jarring the contents as soon as possible and aging in the jar.

People can do what they want with their holdings. No complaints if your square and rectangular tins don't hold up long term.

 

[paulfg]

Question, if you knew about the problem, why not mylar or jar them when you purchased them?

this,it has been stated many times that these tins are not for storing

 

[coming to_falling too]

Hasn't it been reasoned by GH that in the past the tins were too hard to open so they're basically fine with tins popping before they reach the consumer? Think that's what they said in one of other threads on the subject.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Gawith uses round tins on their limited edition 'Reserve' blends. Don't know why, but they do.


Summer Reserve 2022


Summer Reserve 2024


Seasonal Reserve

 

[minerLuke]

Question, if you knew about the problem, why not mylar or jar them when you purchased them?

I never purchased these tins with any intention to cellar them for long term, I just hadn't got around to smoking them yet. I have a fair amount of Gawith blends that i bought in bulk, either the bags or the TV dinner trays , that went straight in to Mason jars.

 

[Snook]

Maybe I'm an outlier here, but if I were experiencing this issue I would just open 'em all up and dump 'em in a jar. But that's the only way I cellar, anyway.

 

[Terry Lennox]

They have begun pressurizing their tins recently. At least my brand new stuff had a hiss and I think I remember Rachael saying they fixed the issues. The Gold tins I’ve opened have all been fine. So I think it’s the silver tins within the last 2-3 years. I have some of those as well and my entire tobacco box smells like Bob’s Chocolate Flake…hopefully those will be fine as well in time. So far so good.

Ah yes I think it's the silver tins. Good to hear the latest tins are good now.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wait, so you found a way to dry FVF? Awesome!

ha ha

If you can pull the lid off with your barehands, it’s lost its seal. If you have can’t get it open with your barehands, let it ride.

 

[minerLuke]

So just to update, I opened the last four Gawith square tins I have and all four were not sealed and were to varying degrees dried out. The Black XX Twist has dried so hard you could use it for a Billy club now.

So to sum up, I had 10 tins left which I bought 2-3 years ago. Of the 10 tins, NINE had a failed seal and only one tin (a Bob's CF) had the vacuum seal still intact.

I don't know if I had a really bad run of luck or what, but nine out of ten failed is pretty bad. I would still buy the tins but knowing this now I would definitely transfer them into Mason jars right away.

 

[zercules]

Hopefully you can rehydrate the dried tins. Boveda packs are a good, easy option.

If you’re like me and don’t jar until you’re ready to smoke it or put in your rotation, may I suggest the tupperdore route? Without humidification of course. All tins I have that aren’t pop-tops go into airtight tupperwares in case the seal breaks before I get to it. Less mason jars means less space taken up in my cellar.

 

[First Sealord]

Wait, so you found a way to dry FVF? Awesome!

ha ha

If you can pull the lid off with your barehands, it’s lost its seal. If you have can’t get it open with your barehands, let it ride.

There's been issues reported by various customers over the lack of vacuum sealed SG tins. I had to transfer quite a few tins to mason jars upon reception of my tins. That was 2 years ago.